Lawrence Rhodes wrote:
It is clear that it is possible to build a practical solar
vehicle.
Possible, yes. Practical? That's the hard one.
Practical means different things to different people. A solar-powered EV
is not going to be a normal car; it will have to be exceedingly light
and efficient; more like an enclosed bicycle (velocycle). This is how
all the solar cars have been built so far.
Now, this sort of vehicle won't appeal to everyone. But it *will* appeal
to some people. There are thousands of people that commute every day on
bicycles or small scooters. An enclosed solar-powered velocycle could be
a welcome step up for these people.
Ben Goren via EV wrote:
It's just that the panels stay on the house's rooftop, where they can
produce at their optimum output constantly, and can be made much
cheaper (and bigger and heavier and more powerful) and can power more
than just the car.
That's the way to build a car of conventional size and weight. Put the
solar panels on the roof at home. Put batteries in the car, to make it
conventional EV. Use the solar power to recharge the batteries when at home.
Putting the panels on the car is a neat gimmick, and I'm sure there
are obscure use cases where it makes sense.
Well, it would certainly work for a certain minority of situations. For
one thing, you may not *have* a home that you can put solar panels on.
It's shaded, or is an apartment with no roof area, or you're renting and
the landlord won't allow it. My home for example, has too much shade.
Another possibility is that you want to keep it cheap. Building a very
small car scales down the size of everything -- motor, batteries, and
solar panels. For example, a friend of mine had a 3-wheel recumbent
trike that was his main source of daily transportation. He added a
motor, battery, and a 2' x 4' solar panel to turn it into a solar vehicle.
Another possibility: We have a Toyota Prius. It has so many computers
that its 12v battery will run dead if it sits for more than a couple
weeks. So I added a 12v solar panel just to keep the 12v battery
charged. If we go on vacation, this panel keeps the 12v battery charged.
--
We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology,
in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology.
-- Carl Sagan
--
Lee Hart, 814 8th Ave N, Sartell MN 56377, [email protected]
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