Solar vehicle
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225466268
2008-07-13T21:04:09Z
Steven J. Anderson
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rv per [[WP:EL]]
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{{seealso|Photovoltaics in transport}}
A '''solar vehicle''' is an [[electric vehicle]] powered by [[solar power|solar energy]] obtained from solar panels on the surface of the vehicle. [[Photovoltaics|Photovoltaic]] (PV) cells convert the Sun's energy directly into [[electrical energy]]. Solar vehicles are not practical day-to-day transportation devices at present, but are primarily demonstration vehicles and engineering exercises, often sponsored by government agencies.
== Solar cars ==
Solar cars combine technology typically used in the [[aerospace]], [[bicycle]], [[alternative energy]] and [[automotive]] industries. The design of a solar vehicle is usually severely limited by the energy input into the car (batteries and power from the sun). Virtually all solar cars ever built have been for the purpose of [[Solar car racing|solar car races]] (with notable exceptions).
Like many [[Auto racing|race car]]s, the driver's cockpit usually only contains room for one person, although a few cars do contain room for a second passenger. They contain some of the features available to drivers of traditional vehicles such as [[brakes]], accelerator, turn signals, rear view mirrors (or camera), ventilation, and sometimes [[cruise control]]. A radio for communication with their support crews is almost always included.
Solar cars are often fitted with gauges as seen in conventional cars. Aside from keeping the car on the road, the driver's main priority is to keep an eye on these gauges to spot possible problems. Cars without gauges available for the driver will almost always feature wireless telemetry. Wireless telemetry allows the driver's team to monitor the car's energy consumption, solar energy capture and other parameters and free the driver to concentrate on just driving.
=== Production ===
[[Tesla Motors]] is offering a modestly sized and priced solar panel from [[SolarCity]]. It can be installed on the [[car roof]] in an out of the way location, because of its small size, or set up as a [[carport]] and will generate about 50 miles per day of renewable electricity. <ref>[http://www.autobloggreen.com/2006/07/26/exclusive-q-and-a-with-elon-musk-on-the-tesla-roadster-and-the-fut/ Exclusive Q & A with Elon Musk on the Tesla Roadster and the future of EVs - AutoblogGreen<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
===Electrical and mechanical systems===
The electrical system is the most important part of the car's systems as it controls all of the power that comes into and leaves the system. The [[battery pack]] plays the same role in a solar car that a petrol tank plays in a normal car in storing power for future use. Solar cars use a range of batteries including [[lead-acid batteries]], nickel-metal hydride batteries ([[NiMH]]), Nickel-Cadmium batteries ([[NiCd]]), [[Lithium ion battery|Lithium ion batteries]] and [[Lithium polymer batteries]].
Many solar race cars have complex data acquisition systems that monitor the whole electrical system while even the most basic cars have systems that provide information on battery voltage and current to the driver.
The mechanical systems of a solar car are designed to keep friction and weight to a minimum while maintaining strength. Designers normally use titanium and composites to ensure a good strength-to-weight ratio.
Solar cars usually have three wheels, but some have four. Three wheelers usually have two front wheels and one rear wheel: the front wheels steer and the rear wheel follows. Four wheel vehicles are set up like normal cars or similarly to three wheeled vehicles with the two rear wheels close together.
===Solar array===
The solar array consists of hundreds of photovoltaic [[solar cells]] converting sunlight into electricity. Cars can use a variety of solar cell technologies; most often polycrystalline silicon, monocrystalline silicon, or gallium arsenide.
The power produced by the solar array depends on the weather conditions, the position of the sun and the capacity of the array. At noon on a bright day, a good array can produce over 2 kilowatts (2.6 hp).
Some cars have employed free standing or integrated [[sails]] to harness wind energy.<ref name="Wind">The Leading Edge, Tamai, Goro, Robert Bently, Inc., 1999, p. 137</ref>
===Races===
[[Image:IMG 0095.jpg|thumb|Solar cars from [[University of Michigan Solar Car Team|University of Michigan]] and [[University of Minnesota Solar Vehicle Project|University of Minnesota]] heading west toward the finish line in the 2005 North American Solar Challenge.]]
{{main|Solar car racing}}
The two most notable solar car races are the [[World Solar Challenge]] and the [[North American Solar Challenge]], overland road rally-style competitions contested by a variety of university and corporate teams.
The [[World Solar Challenge]] features a field of competitors from around the world who race to cross the [[Australian continent]], over a distance of 3000 km. The increasingly high speeds of the 2005 race participants has led to the rules being changed for future solar cars starting in the 2007 race.
The [[North American Solar Challenge]], previously known as the 'American Solar Challenge' and 'Sunrayce USA', features mostly collegiate teams racing in timed intervals in the United States and Canada. The next North American Solar Challenge will run from June 13-22, 2008, from Dallas, Texas to Calgary, Alberta.<ref>[http://americansolarchallenge.org/ Official NASC Website]</ref>
There are other distance races, such as [[Suzuka Circuit|Suzuka]], [[Phaethon]], and the [[2006 World Solar Rally in Taiwan|World Solar Rally]]. Suzuka is a yearly track race in [[Japan]] and Phaethon was part of the Cultural Olympiad in [[Greece]] right before the [[2004 Olympics]].
==Solar bicycles and motorcycles==
A solar bicycle or tricycle has the advantage of very low weight and can use the riders foot power to supplement the power generted by the solar panel roof. In this way, a comparatively simple and inexpensive vehicle can be driven without the use of any fossil fuels. <ref>www.solartricycle.com</ref>
Solar photovoltaics assisted electric powered India's first Quadrcycle developed since 1996, in Gujarat state's SURAT city.<ref>http://www.geocities.com/itvd2004/index.html</ref>
The first solar "cars" were actually tricycles or quadricycles built with bicycle technology. These were called solarmobiles at the first solar race, the [[Tour de Sol]] in Switzerland in 1985 with about 60 participants, 30 using exclusively solar power and 30 solar-human-powered hybrids. A few true solar bicycles were built, either with a large solar roof, a small rear panel, or a trailer with a solar panel. Later more practical solar bicycles were built with foldable panels to be set up only during parking. Even later the panels were left at home, feeding into the electric mains, and the bicycles charged from the mains. Today highly developed [[motorized bicycle|electric bicycles]] are available and these use so little power that it costs little to buy the equivalent amount of solar electricity. The "solar" has evolved from actual hardware to an indirect accounting system. The same system also works for electric motorcycles, which were also first developed for the [[Tour de Sol]]. This is rapidly becoming an era of solar production.
==Practical applications==
The [http://www.venturi.fr/electric-vehicules-astrolab-concept.html Venturi Astrolab] in 2006 was hailed as the world's first commercial electro-solar hybrid car due to be released in January 2008.<ref>[http://www.gadgetell.com/2006/10/the-first-commercial-solar-electric-hybrid-car/ The first commercial solar-electric hybrid car]</ref>
In May 2007 a partnership of Canadian companies lead by Hymotion altered a [[Toyota Prius]] to use solar cells to generate up to 240 watts of electrical power in full sunshine. This is reported as permitting up to 15 km extra range on a sunny summer day<ref>[http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/May2007/16/c9889.html Hymotion modified Prius using solar power]</ref> while using only the electric motors.
[[Image:solartaxi.jpg|thumb|Louis Palmer standing in the Solartaxi.]]
One practical application for solar powered vehicles is possibly golf carts, some of which are used relatively little but spend most of their time parked in the sun.
An inventor from Michigan, USA has built a street legal, licensed, insured, solar charged electric scooter. It has a top speed controlled at a bit over 30 mph, and uses fold-out solar panels to charge the batteries while parked.<ref name=scooter>[http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/PV/pvscooter.htm PVScooter<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
A Swiss project, '''Solartaxi''', seeks to build a road-worthy solar car with a trailer, carrying a 6 m² sized solar array. The Solartaxi has Zebra batteries, which permit a range of 400 km without recharging. The car can also run for 200 km without the trailer. Its maximum speed is 90 km/h. The car weighs 500 kg and the trailer weighs 200 kg. According to the team leader, the car in mass production could be produced for 6000 Euro. Solartaxi toured the World in December 2007 to encourage people in pursuing alternatives to [[fossil fuel]].
===Limitations and challenges===
[[Battery electric vehicle]]s fitted with solar cells would extend their range and allow recharging while parked anywhere in the sun. However, with present and near-term engineering considerations, it seems that the more likely place for solar cells will generally be on the roofs of buildings, where they are always exposed to the sky and weight is largely irrelevant, rather than on vehicle roofs, where size is limited. Energy from rooftop panels can be stored in batteries for future use.
==See also==
* [[List of solar car teams]]
* [[Electric boat]]
* [[Frisian Solar Challenge]]
* [[Low cost solar cell]]
* [[Plug-in hybrid]]
* [[Race the Sun]]
* [[Solar airplane]]
* [[South African Solar Challenge]]
* [[SINAG]]
==References==
<references/>
==External links==
{{commonscat|Solar cars}}
<!-- DO NOT LIST YOUR TEAM'S WEBSITE HERE, put it on [[List of solar car teams]] -->
* [http://videos.howstuffworks.com/2007-naias-solar-car-video.htm Howstuffworks.com: How solar cars work]
* [http://www.worleyparsons.com/aes WorleyParsons AES SolarCar Battery Pack Designers]
* [http://www.eere.energy.gov/solar_decathlon/ Solar Decathlon Web site].
** [http://www.energy.gov/news/5026.htm DOE announced that the third Solar Decathlon competition will be held from 2007-October 12th through the 20th] in [[Washington, D.C]].
* [http://inventors.about.com/od/sstartinventions/a/Solar_Cars.htm Solar cars in inventors.about.com]
* [http://www.formulasun.org/education/seles9.html/ American Solar Challenge on solar cars article]
* [http://www.wsc.org.au/history.htm/ World Solar Challenge website]
* [http://www.americansolarchallenge.org/event/asc2005/index.html/ North American Solar Challenge 2005]
* [http://www.planetark.com/envpicstory.cfm/newsid/46309 Philippine President Arroyo Looks at the First Philippine Solar-Powered Car].
* [http://www.speedace.info/solar_cars.htm International Solar Car A - Z]
* [http://www.venturi.fr/index.php?article221 Venturi electro-solar hybrid]
* [http://www.cruisecarinc.com/solar-energy.htm A practical solar vehicle.]
* [http://www.sunvee.com/ The SunVee neighborhood vehicle.]
* [http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/04/solar_car_video.php The Built-from-Scratch Solar Car Video.]
* [http://www.winstonsolar.org/challenge/ The Dell-Winston Solar Challange]
* [http://www.solarchallenge.org.za South African Solar Challenge]
* [http://web.ew.usna.edu/~bruninga/APRS-SPHEV.html Solar Plug-In-Hybrid-Electric Vehicle]
* [http://www.calstatela.edu/academic/ecst/solareagle/ Team Solar Eagle Videos]
* [http://www.solartaxi.com The Solartaxi homepage]
* [http://www.netanlatim.com: How solar cars work] (Turkish-language)
* [http://www.emrecim.net: solar cars race] (Turkish-language)
* [http://www.futurecars.com/reviews/astrolab.html Venturi Astrolab Review]
=== News ===
* [http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/06/uncle-sam-rolls.html Uncle Sam Rolls In a 100-MPG Solar Plug-In Hybrid].
[[Category:Solar powered vehicles]]
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