Build Your Own Solar-Powered Car – Solar Energy Kits
With gas prices climbing ever higher and all the negative impacts of burning fossil fuels (pollution, rising greenhouse gas levels), it’s tempting to consider building a solar car that will score you from here to there petroleum- and carbon dioxide-free.
While you might not have seen any on your neighborhood streets yet, solar cars have been around in various shapes and styles for the past couple of decades. Solar-car designers annually race 3,000 kilometers across Australia in the World Solar Challenge and the North American Solar Challenge to be held this July pits design teams from different universities in a 2,400-mile tour from Dallas, Texas to Calgary, Alberta.
One intrepid solar-vehicle proponent is even making a trip around the world powered only by the sun. On the road since last July, the Swiss Louis Palmer and his international support team recently reached Singapore in the so-called Solartaxi.
If you’ve got the bucks, you could wait to hold a commercial-model solar vehicle. The Venturi Astrolab, tentatively set to hit the market this year, is getting some decent reach publicity … although the reported $117,000 price-tag makes it unlikely to appeal to the budget-conscious.
So what are your options if you’d like your own solar car but don’t have a hundred spacious or so to spare? Consider some of the following resources:
OK, it won’t be huge enough to carry you, but building a model-sized solar car might be a excellent first project to tackle before taking on the real thing. Re-Energy.ca provides an simple-to-follow instruction guide for building your own miniature sun-powered vehicle. You can find all the parts you need in a single kit by checking out one of the solar energy project kits available through SunWind.
Looking for a orderly and efficient intention to skim the golf course, a private property or silent side streets? Cruise Car Inc. sells a Sunray Solar Roof Kit that lets you convert the average golf cart into a solar-powered vehicle. The roof-mounted panels mean your cart’s battery can keep charging non-stop as long as you’re parked in the sun, delivering up to 180 watts and 60 volts of power. Plus, Cruise Car says, your converted golf cart could make you eligible for solar-buy tax credits.
William Shih, an alum of the Northview Solar Racing Team, also provides a comprehensive guide to designing and building a solar-powered car. Along with the usual explanation of parts, and links to suppliers, Shih also offers downloadable schematics and even thoughts for fund-raising, if you’re looking to place together a team-built solar car.
The green Website TreeHugger features a video showing how mechanical designer Art Haines and a team of local high school students designed and built a two-passenger solar-powered car that can reach speeds of up to 25 to 30 mph. A kit for the so-called SUNN car is now available, but it’ll cost you $4,500, minus the solar panels and battery.
The Speedace International Automotive Portal can guide you step-by-step through the solar-powered car-design process. The guide covers everything from chassis manufacture and motor/drive train fundamentals to how to arrange the solar cell panel on the vehicle and how to design a light-weight, aerodynamic body.
Need to find suppliers for all the parts you’ll need to build your gain solar-powered vehicle? Check out the resources at Upright Solar Vehicles, an start source project, or SolarVehicles.org.
Related Posts
Tags: educational solar energy kits, renewable energy kits, residential solar energy kits, Solar Energy Kits, solar panels kits, wind power kits