Solar Car

Until recently, the concept of a solar powered car has been in the domain of fantasy. For sure, highly streamlined single seat solar racers have been built by universities showing the potential for solar powered propulsion, but none of these vehicles have been practical cars that could be used for daily travel.

That is all about to change. Two different manufacturers have recently announced solar cars with production scheduled for the coming months, whilst a third have been openly demonstrating a concept solar car based on an already available electric car.

US electric vehicle specialist Sun Motor and French specialist car manufacturer Venturi have both announced production ready solar cars, whilst Indian electric car manufacturer Reva (best known for their 'G-Wiz electric city car) have been conducting trials of their solar car and are widely expected to have a solar car available for sale to the public very soon.

All three car makers expect to have a solar car on sale to the general public very shortly - in the case of Sun Motor and Venturi, customer cars will be available before the end of 2009.

All three cars are road legal electric cars with solar panels mounted on the roof. They are all compact cars, designed for city and urban driving with frequent stops and low speed driving.

The solar panels on the Venturi and Reva cars are designed to provide a top up charge rather than provide the sole power source: in a sunny climate, purely on solar power, they can provide a range of around 5 miles (8 km) a day on solar power, which can be extended to around 50 miles (80 km) by plugging the car into a standard domestic electrical socket.

Sun Motor has gone further with a significantly larger solar panel on the roof of the car. Sun Motor claim a range of up to 15 miles (24km) a day purely on sun power. Like the Reva and Venturi, the range can be extended by plugging the car into a standard power socket at the end of each day.

Whilst performance and range may be limited, there are many drivers who live in a sunny climate and only use their cars for short journeys a two or three times each week. For these people, they could now consider driving on sunlight with a full solar powered car.

In colder climates solar power still has its uses as a range extender: by trickle charging the batteries during the daytime, the batteries maintain their optimum temperature thereby ensuring a good range even in cold conditions.

Of course, solar cars are not going to be suitable for everyone, but that should not mean they should be discounted as irrelevant. The first exciting steps towards practical solar road cars have been made.

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

My name is Michael Boxwell. I am an electric car user and have been involved in the electric vehicle industry for the past six years.

I am also the author of the Solar Electricity Handbook, currently one of the best selling books on solar power available.

If you have an interest in solar power and want to learn more about it, my solar book teaches you about the technology and guides you through the seven critical design steps that you need to go through in order to ensure a successful solar power system.

The Solar Electricity Handbook is available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble and all good bookstores. You can read a preview of the book on Amazon or on www.SolarElectricityHandbook.com.