Solar Cars: The Oldest Energy Around
Author: Andrew Beckers
With zero emissions, solar cars present a sunny solution to eco-friendly car buyers. It also makes good sense to develop a green car technology that doesn't call for a complicated infrastructure or any type of fueling station. What could be easier than using an already existing energy source like the Sun, right? After all it was around since the beginning of the solar system, well before fossil fuel. If it were only that simple, we'd probably already have done it. In spite of universities and corporations building solar cars every year for the past 20 years for the annual Australian World Solar Challenge solar car race, we're not quite there yet.
A solar car is really an electric vehicle powered by solar energy. Photovoltaic (PV) cells in the form of solar panels convert sunlight into electrical energy. The process generates heat, which is converted into electrical energy and stored in an on-board battery. The battery serves the same basic purpose as a gas tank on an internal combustion car.
In spite of the great bounty of sunshine there for the taking, solar car technology is elusive. The solar electric power source needs a lot of PV cells, which are expensive, and the efficiency level of PVs is estimated to be only 10% to 15%. These are daunting challenges facing engineers, and it's more likely a hybrid solar with another fuel source is the only viable option in the near future, yet the concept is intriguing enough for engineers inside and outside universities to take a pure solar car prototype into a more advanced development stage.
Are there any solar cars out there?
French manufacturer Venturi says their solar electric AstroLab hybrid concept car yields an improved PV cell efficiency level of 21%. It's not exactly a family car with its 2-seat tandem cockpit configuration, but it's one possibility. The Hungarian manufacturer Antro has designed a solar gas-electric hybrid other wise known as a tribrid scheduled for production in 2012, and Tesla Motors has an electric car that can be recharged with solar power with 2009 models available in the U.S. and Europe. These are only the first advances in solar car technology. As time goes on more and more manufacturers will be developing and incorporating some type of solar technology into preexisting propulsion systems. This will create a new sort of hybrid, disconnected from fossil fuels, yet still not fully reliant on the Sun's energy
Perhaps with the recent high intensity photvoltaic cells designed by a company in Israel, many of the energy efficiency problems will be taken care of. It is not clear though if they can be designed for cars.
Conclusion
Solar energy and more specifically solar cars would be an amazing advancement in future car technology. They would allow for free travel and nearly unlimited accessibility. Time will tell if all the problems associated with harnessing the world's oldest energy source can be dealt with. If the hurdles can be passed then for sure solar cars will be the wave of the future.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/automotive-articles/solar-cars-the-oldest-energy-around-536941.html
About the Author
Andrew Beckers writes about information helpful to humanity. Learn more about Solar Cars
how can i build a solar panel?
i really need to know how
because im building a solar powered car for science fair :]
thank you!
solar car physics project?
hey! so, for our final in physics, we have to build a solar car. and i am at a loss. i have no clue how to do this. any help would be GREATLY appreciated. thanks so much!!
how to build quick and simple solar car?
the car have to pass 20 meter . must go straight
how to build the best solar car?
hey guys i have to build this solar car. i really need some great ideas for the body. preferbly the lightest but sturdyist materials u can think of the solar panel cant be modded and if u have ideas for wheels than tht would be great alright thanx
peace
I’d use wheels from racing bicycles, they are light and low friction. Crank up the air pressure to 100 psi.
Body should be magnesium, as small and simple as possible.
Difficult part is the solar array, batteries, motor and electronics. Books have been written about each of these topics. Get the most efficient and largest solar array you can fit. If you can, make the angle adjustable so you can keep it at the best angle to the sun.
batteries, motor and electronics are too complicated to go into here…. sorry. But they are all super critical, and will need a ton of work.
.
Put some serious effort into the project. Or at least into your question.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_car
http://www.xof1.com/educationmini.html
Hehe, if you want to build your own solar panel that looks like what you see on buildings, etc, you will probably need to be a multi-millionaire. Here is a quote from the first link in my sources list:
“The high-efficiency solar cells you can buy at Radio Shack and other stores are made from highly processed silicon, and require huge factories, high temperatures, vacuum equipment, and lots of money.”
But fortunately for you, there is a cheap way to make a solar panel yourself (see first link). I love the scitoys website, but I am not quite familiar with this particular experiment. It looks like a science fair project in itself! It also doesn’t appear to put out nearly enough power to run even a small solar car.
What I would recommend is buying a compact solar panel from Radio Shack or some other electronics store that you may know of.
Type in “solar” in to the Radio Shack search box. The first item on the list may be useful to you (the solar panel & battery combo). I am just guessing, though, since I don’t know any of your requirements (voltage output, power output, size, etc). Also, buyer beware. This particular product has a pretty bad customer review… but then again, I find that people are more inclined to leave a bad review than a good one.
Good luck…
-Ubi