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Solar Powered Cars
Posted on Sun Mar 23 2008
The car companies are taking their sweet time to come up with alternative fuel vehicles that are affordable for the general public. We've covered this previously - DIY - Convert Your car to use Hydrogen Today, and now we bring you the story of Art Haines, who has taken it upon himself with his students to build the solar powered car for the average Joe. He's now offering the solar powered car kit that gives everyone a chance to live the dream of driving for free, causing no pollution. The movie below shows the solar Neighborhood Electric Vehicle prototype. You can build your own car that can be driven on roads with a speed limit of less than 35 MPH (in states that have a low speed vehicle law). The car is recharged from the sun or can be plugged in. It has a top speed of 25 MPH and a range of 12 miles. It is street legal: windshield wiper, disc brakes, seat belts, turn signals and lights. It can also be use to get around campgrounds and gated communities. This solar powered car kit will enable you to build your own street legal Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (Low Speed Vehicle). No special tools are required. The manual has exploded view drawings and step by step instructions. Telephone and email support is available during business hours. They are now taking orders for these cars to be delivered in the spring. A small deposit will reserve your kit. The car was built using surplus and new parts, aluminum extrusions, styrofoam, wood and ABS plastic. It is very lightweight, can be 100 percent charged by the sun and suitable for the Maine climate. Mr. Haines states "We have taken trips into town (8 miles round trip) many times, and it has proven to be a practical neighborhood electric vehicle. We are now planning to build a second-generation car with many improvements such as quieter transmission, lighter weight, less wind drag and less rolling resistance. In the spring we will offer plans and kits for purchase." It's a great idea... not an idea for the big city - or at least not the highway. Hopefully I'll see one of these on the roads someday soon. You can find more information on the project at www.sunnev.com Be sure to take a look at our Top Solar Gadgets List and our review of Solar Powered Car Device keeps you Cool CommentsLet us know what you think! |
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[...] Art Haines’ Solar DIY Car Kit http://www.aboutmyplanet.com/environment/solar-diy-car-kit [...]
It is my understanding that we have electric cars that can go around 40 miles on one charge and then revert to gas. Is it possible to charge these electric cars via solar energy at a rate that you could travel farther.
I drive an SUV from and to work, about 3.7 miles each way. I would like to have one solar powered car even if its speed doesn't exceed 35 mph. Please let me know what shall I do to get this s. p. car. Thank you, Lu Sciandra
Wow! You pulled the trigger and actually did it...I've been wanting to do something like this for about 4 years. My kids are still young and I'm involved with alot of sports but the tinkerer in me loves this!
Hi, are there any solar powered cars available soon for sale in New Zealand? No one is moving fast enough to get these going!!!! Our city speed limits are 50kph.... Any thoughts? Kind regards Hazel Lamb
Well..Thanks a lot but what you say wasn't very helpful. I need to know what the air percentage would be in one town if everyone used a solar powered car. Maybe you could help me. You could tell me what a good site would be to find this information. I am a very good scientist and I need to know this before.
Is there a way to convert a small car, like a Ford Festiva, to solar power
momo likey the car
Sounds good, but no basic info. Size, weight rolling resistance or basic equipment needed. Also basic idea of cost it does not have to be exact.
I would be very wary of driving this car on the road; it wouldn't come out well in a collision with a regular car. Tooling around the neighborhood could be a bit safer. Here's hoping that the regular cars get put in some fossil fuel museum and we can drive these solar cars with less danger!
i think this website was very useful thanks, much love, liz verrett
I think it is a neat idea, but would like to see it go 50 miles? Or more... Very Nice Idea..
I am doing research on building a solar powered car that has solar panels at a minimum of on the roof, quite possibly on the hood and trunk that charge a number of batteries lined underneath of the car (like stow and go seating), that also has a propellar on the front to create my own wind power while driving that will also charge the batteries. Anyone have any info that may be of help? Brent
I just drive around town, and my husband drives less then 30 miles one way to work every day, but we have been looking to buy this car for our around town adventures. We cant wait to see next years modles.
I love it. It made me think more of the model T than a Hummer. I wonder if you can purchase this already put together. There are a lot of people who were not mechanically inclined for this kind of thing. Will the next generation go over 35 miles an hour? Where I live, you will get a ticket fast going 10 miles under the posted speed limit.