Sono Motors has unveiled its Solar Bus Kit to help public transportation companies reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The retrofit solution was unveiled at the company’s ‘Celebrate the Sun’ event in Munich, which was attended by more than two thousand guests.
Sono Motors’s Solar Bus Kit has been designed for the common 12-metre public buses in the European market, including the Mercedes-Benz Citaro and MAN Lion City.
Sono Motors will offer its Solar Bus Kit as a complete and efficient retrofit solution for bus fleet operators aiming to reduce diesel consumption and CO2 emissions. The Solar Bus Kit allows subsystems such as heating, ventillation and air conditioning (HVAC) to be partially powered by renewable energy to save fuel, costs and carbon emissions.
Indeed, Sono Motors states that each kit can reduce fuel consumption by 1,500 litres a year and save up to 4 tonnes of CO2 annually. These benefits provide a payback time of approximately 3–4 years for bus fleet operators. Sono Motors is currently partnering with 19 companies worldwide, including MAN Truck & Bus, to implement this solar technology on a variety of vehicles.
If you look at the very top of red London buses nowadays the roofs are painted white to reflect light and heat during hot summer days reducing the load on the HVAC so the bus companies might as well install solar panels.