[Spitfire]

Ok, now this is pretty cool. Have any of you seen the SmartFlower solar power units? They now have a unit designed specifically for charging your EV using solar power called the SmartFlower POP-e

Have a look at the system here : https://www.smartflowerpacific.com/smartflower-pope/

And here's a pic :

 

[Sean Nelson]

Unless you can hook that thing up to an external solar array I can't imagine it generating enough power to charge your car very fast.

 

[EldRick]

I'll be entertained to see the price of this thing for 6kW in the desert on a sunny day. I'm guessing it will be completely prohibitive for anything not defense-related.

 

[Electro]

They did have this listed underneath for companies ?

Perfect solution for your electric vehicle fleet or employees’ own electric vehicles

 

[Bazinga]

The flower looks nice and the concept sounds good, but at that point the business may as well go the normal solar panel route and put it on the roof or set it up so that the panels cover the parking lot for shade. That flower looks like it takes up a lot of space.

 

[Electro]

There has to be some sort of advantage to this though otherwise it wouldn't really be a marketable product?

 

[Spitfire]

I don't know enough about solar power yet to know if the power output on this is good compared to conventional panels of the same square footage. One nice feature is that it tracks the sun and it folds up at night/poor weather. But the price point might actually be the killer. Units start at $20,000

 

[bxd20]

Solar panel roofs on EVs add maybe 1-2 miles to range after sitting in the sun all day. This seems like about the same size. It's almost pointless to charge with.

 

[DaV8or]

There has to be some sort of advantage to this though otherwise it wouldn't really be a marketable product?

It's advantages are-

• It follows the sun for greater efficiencies. Rooftop panels are almost never at optimum angle to the sun.
• It's an all in one plug and play unit. Plop it in the yard and start making power.
• It's portable. When you move, you can take it with you.
• It's self cleaning, so increased efficiency here too.

Questions I have about it are-

• How does it hold up to the wind? Looks fragile and complicated.
• Why does it need to fold up? It seems like needless complication, expense and not the most efficient use of surface area.
• Where do you put it? Many people (like myself) have no place to put something that big in the yard and how do the neighbors and HOAs feel about it?
• How in the world do you "plug and play" hook it up to your house? There has to be electricians and permits involved for sure.

It looks like it could work for some folks, but I bet cost vs. kwh is poor. I think the needless (IMO) complexity of the machine will be a headache for the owner in the future. I think the portability of the unit is an unrealistic feature.

The sun tracking is it's most redeeming feature, but I would have liked to see a design that was more robust and less complicated.

 

[Bazinga]

It looks like a great product for gardens and such, areas with lots of space and not a lot of foot traffic so it's not blocking anyone because this picture shows it taking up half a sidewalk.