Solar Cars – from dream to reality

For years, the idea that a car could be powered directly by sunlight has been suggested as a future possibility.  Universities have built solar powered racers – small, ultra-lightweight and cramped vehicles built with bicycle parts, but a practical car has remained a myth.  Until now.

In France, Venturi – a specialist sports car manufacturer – have been developing a brand new three seater city car that can be purely powered by sunlight.  Meanwhile, in India, electric car manufacturer Reva have been demonstrating a solar powered version of their four seat city car.

Venturi say they will have their car in production and available for sale by the end of 2009.

Both cars are electric cars designed for inner city use.  The solar panels fitted on the roof charge the batteries and provide a solar-only charge of up to 5 miles (8 km) a day.  The range can be increased by plugging the car into an electrical mains socket if necessary.

Whilst the solar range may not seem much, there are many drivers who only ever use their cars for short journeys and who only use their cars once or twice a week.  For these people, a solar car now has the potential to provide these people with transport entirely powered by the sun.

For obvious reasons, these solar cars are best suited to sunny climates.  However, even in colder climates, solar powered cars may have a future: the batteries in an electric car benefit from being constantly trickle charged when not in use in order to maintain their internal temperature – so even in winter, solar power has the potential to significantly increase the range of an electric car by maintaining the temperature of the batteries when the car is not in use.

With the ongoing development of electric cars and the advancement of solar panels with better capacities and lower costs, it may not be that long before solar electric cars can become a common sight on our roads.

Michael Boxwell is the author of two books – Solar Electricity Handbook and The Proof of Delivery Buyer’s Guide.

A keen environmentalist, he drives an electric car and runs the Reva electric car owners club.

Michael is married with two young children and lives in the United Kingdom.

How Do You Connect A Solar Panel And Wind Generator In Parallel?

I have an ~18v solar panel and a ~15v wind turbine. Sometimes one generates more voltage than the other. How would I get both of them to charge one ~12v battery? I can’t just connect them in parallel with diodes, because in that case, only the higher voltage source gets used. Is there a special charge controller circuit that will do this?

How Much Does Solar Energy Cost?

How much does solar energy cost” is a difficult question to answer but this article will hopefully give you some good pointers.

The cost of using solar energy is next to nothing after the initial investment of setting up your solar power system for your home. The amount of money that you will pay for the equipment is determined by a number of variables.

Factors that determine the cost of solar energy include your electricity requirements, the amount of sunshine that is available to charge the solar panels, size of the place where the panels will be used and incentives given by the government to people using ‘green’ technology.

And governments and states are recognizing the benefit to society at large to encourage the use of renewable energy sources. Clearly this would also have the effect of reducing the obligation on government to provide power which is an increasingly onerous task because of the depletion in fossil fuel supplies.
Taking into account the above mentioned variables, here is a rough estimate of the cost of solar energy.

Water Heating System: The cost of a solar water heating system is $2,000-$4,000.

Photovoltaic System: The price of a solar panel depends on its wattage. A 1 kW system costs between US $8,000 and $10,000. For an average sized family, 1.5 – 3 kW solar panels are required, which cost between US $13,000 and US $27,000, without rebates.

You can save a lot of money on solar panels with the help of government rebates and tax credits. For example, say you live in California and have purchased a 2.5 kW system for $22,500.

The government rebate on this system will be $7000 (2500 watt x $2.80 per watt rebate = $7,000). Also subtract the tax credit amount of $ 1,163 from the sale price (7.5% of system cost after rebate. $22,500 – $7,000 x 7.5% = $1,163).

It should be kept in mind that the example given above is an estimate and other factors will play a part in determining the final cost price of a solar energy system.

You can reduce these costs enormously though by building your own solar panels which can be built at a fraction of the cost of buying ready made units.

Download your FREE ebook “Solar Power For Energy” at FreeEnergyMagnetMotor.com now and discover how you can reduce your home energy costs and be kinder to the planet with clean, renewable sources of energy such as wind power, solar power etc.

How Much Will You Have To Fork Out For A Small DIY Solar Power System?

If you’re wondering how much you have to cough out to fulfill your aspirations of building a small DIY solar power system, the “rule of thumb” says you should be spending less than $99 for the entire project. The good news for us consumers is that the price of components keep falling as time pass.

The small solar energy generator I’m referring to allows us to run practical 12V equipment around the house, especially the garden. An example of this is the commonly found 10-Watt personal solar energy system. This can power small electronics such as garden sprinklers, automatic gate openers, garage lamps or fishpond aeration & filtration systems.

I recently came across a 10-Watt solar power kit at a DIY store on sale for more than two hundred dollars. I was curious and I picked up the box to see what is in the package. And I thought, “Anyone can put these kind of stuff together in half a day for less than $99!” In fact any beginner hobbyist can easily build a small solar energy project within this budget.

You may be pretty familiar with the major components that hangs together to make a small, personal solar energy power generator. If you are already building DIY solar panels, you will recognize this list:

1. 10-Watt solar panel
2. Charge controller
3. 12V Rechargeable battery
4. Switches and Fuse
5. Diodes
6. Wires

If you hop over to eBay, you can see that on most days, a solar panel costs less than $35, charge controllers costs less than $25 each, and a 12V battery costs less than $20. Switches, fuses, diodes and other small components only cost a few bucks at most. The total cost reflected is less than $90.

You may also want to check out the prices for yourself on eBay by searching their keywords. Check it out and see if I’m telling you the truth.

Your local electronics component store can also be a haven for cheap components. Every now and then, drop by their stores to see if they any solar panels or batteries on sale. My personal experience tells me that retailers often slash prices to move their old inventory so that they can make space for newer or more popular components.

If you are thinking of scaling up your DIY solar power project to supply your household appliances, you will need more components than what’s listed above. For example, you will need an inverter that converts the direct current (DC) into alternating current (AC) to fit your household power specification.

In general, the more you scale up your project, the increase in cost is more than a linear relationship. Therefore make sure you have proper plans before starting anything so you know how much you’ll require to see the project to completion.

John Greenspan is an avid do-it-yourself solar panels hobbyist and has had much experience building his own DIY solar power systems as a hobby. Do you want to build your own solar panels too? Pick up a FREE eBook titled “How To Build Solar Panels” at => http://www.diysolarpanelsworld.com

“best Solar Panel Installation” System © – Amazingly Easy!

Do you also think that you are paying too much to the Power-Company each month? Well, “Best Solar Panel Installation” System seems to be the ultimate answer for that problem. Quite amazingly, this technique makes it possible for almost anyone – novice/professional to get it to work in just a few days. Read the following article to learn more why any of us should use it a.s.a.p.

Introduction

“Best Solar Panel Installation” System is actually isn’t that complicated to be assembled, by following one of these excellent guides that teach you how to assemble Solar-Panels, you can complete the entire project in just about one weekend. The most recommended guides are those that are written for the average user; verify that it is written in simple language and that others already reported that it worked for them. Anyway, here are few key-benefits and & quick advices to help you better understand this topic.

What is in it for us?

Let’s quickly see what is in it for us:

* Extremely easy to be implemented by almost anyone.
* Uses Wind-Power as a backup when having long periods of cloudy days.
* Should you create more energy than needed; the power-company will actually pay you!
* Provides an unlimited energy-source.
* Very quick return on investment (ROI).

Quick tip

Many U.S states will actually pay for your unused energy – don’t miss this excellent opportunity to get an extra income.

Conclusions

Many home-makers already found this outstanding “Best Solar Panel Installation” System as one of the most effective ways to ‘eliminate’ these irritating elect. expenses. It wouldn’t be that hard to find other pluses provided by this exceptional idea, simply because it is innovative. The first action you need to take is to try it as in most cases it will take you no more than a single weekend to have it working.

Learn how “Best Solar Panel Installation” System easily enables you to produce free and unlimited electricity in just few days.


Visit: EasyFreeEnergy.com