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Solar Powered CarsThe world's first solar-powered car was designed by William G. Cobb and appeared in 1955 in Chicago – back then it was almost unimaginable for everyday use. Nowadays people can even charge their plug-in electric vehicles through solar panels installed on the roofs of their homes or through those on the roofs of their cars. Cars running on energy from the sun are truly the future as it’s almost the only way of protecting the environment without giving up the convenience of one’s personal automobile. A solar powered car runs on solar energy obtained from solar panels installed on the roof of the vehicle; to convert the energy received from the sun rays into electricity photovoltaic cells are used. Even though a lot of research is done in this area solar powered cars are mainly used for demonstration purposes and in car racing as they are not very practical yet. In
solar powered cars different types of batteries can be used –
for instance, lead-acid batteries, nickel-cadmium batteries, lithium-ion
batteries, lithium polymer batteries and nickel-metal hybrid batteries.
In a solar car the strength-weight ratio is crucial, therefore titanium
and composites are often used for design. Some solar cars have three
wheels while others have four. In the three-wheelers there are two front
wheels that steer and the back wheel that follows. The design of a solar-powered car largely depends on the energy input that has been planned for it – that is, the size of the batteries and the amount of radiation received from the sun. The inside of such a car is slightly different from conventional appearance – the vehicle has a number of gauges that a driver needs to pay attention to in order to monitor the car’s energy consumption, or the amount if solar energy captured. Solar array that captures the energy of the sun and transforms it into electricity contains hundreds of photovoltaic solar cells – some big arrays are capable of producing about 2 kilowatts of energy. The array can be also adjusted in a variety of ways – it can be horizontal, vertical, integrated (all the surface is covered in solar cells); solar trailers and remote arrays at stationary locations are also an option. Geometry of the solar array largely depends on the aerodynamic resistance, vehicle mass, power output and certain practical considerations. Currently thinner and flexible arrays are being developed to provide for a better covering of the surface of vehicles. Some skeptics believe golf carts is as far as it is ever going to get – since these vehicles spend most of the time parked in the sun and are used for relatively short periods of time. However, more and more successful projects of this kind appear – such as a solar scooter that can develop the speed of 30 miles per hour and has fold-out solar panels to charge, or Solartaxi – a Swiss project - a solar car with a trailer carrying a solar array with the surface of 6 square meters, that due to its unique batteries can go 400 km without the need of recharging. The maximum speed this car develops is 90 kilometers per hour, while if produced in big numbers its price could be as low as 16,000 Euro. Another
most recent development is the Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle with
solar panels for more efficient work – Toyota’s Prius, which
is due to appear in 2010, will have the option of mounting solar panels
on the roof therefore giving the owner the opportunity of enjoying an
eco-friendly means of transportation by using the sun as one of the
energy sources to power the car. Article
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