Solar power car?
Question:
Answer:
---
You can indeed drive a solar car. You need an electric car, and a solar panel to charge it. Here's how to find an electric vehicle conversion for as little as $5000:
*
http://squidoo.com/cheap-electric-car...
*
Conversions are normal cars that have been converted to electricity. This is the kind of electric car I drive. They can be found inexpensively, they do freeway speeds, and look like normal cars. You never see these for sale because our culture does not seem to value this technology - so cars like this are built by small entrepreneurs, and sold by word of mouth, or on the internet.
*
You can also save money on solar panels by buying used ones. I would look for something at least 200 watts, so plan on spending about $1000. Here's a page about used solar panels:
*
http://www.otherpower.com/otherpower_sol...
*
Don't try to mount this on your car - it's too big. Put it on your garage instead, and charge when you're parked.
*
You probably won't be able to get all your driving electricity from the sun, but don't worry. Grid electricity is still lots cheaper than gas. It costs me only a penny or two per mile in electricity cost to drive around. With a solar panel, you might be able to drive for almost ZERO. It's pretty hard to beat that!
---
If you are talking about the solar cars they race across the country the colleges build them. They are custom and far to expense for the average person to build their own.
solar powered cars are impracticle. Solar panels first off are not completely efficient. I would say maybe 20% of the sun's energy is converted to electricity. Also the sun has to be out consistentley and with high intensity. If you were to add batteries for a recharge system it would add to the weight and make it more inefficient. So solar cars are not comming to a store anytime sone.
They are very impractical, very slow, incredibly uncomfortable, and all are custom-built. They are not yet practical for he every-day consumer.
More Questions & Answers...