Building A Solar Car
BUILDING A SOLAR CAR
Solar
cars seem like they’re future, complex, super-expensive technology, right? How
much of our global warming crisis could be solved if we all drove solar cars?
No buying gas! This technology could be closer than you think. Would you
imagine that 3 college kids could build a solar car in a garage with only a
small amount of money? AND that car could drive from NY to LA on ONLY SUN
power?
We
wanted to show you all how to use sunshine as 100% of the fuel to operate a
car. There are only 6 different key components to do that:
1) The sun. The sun is made of mostly hydrogen.
This hydrogen is undergoing what is called nuclear fusion. This happens when
two hydrogen atoms collide and ‘fuse’ a larger atom. It’s a chemical reaction which emits a lot
of energy. This fusion reaction is the reason for life on Earth. It warms our
planet, feeds our plants, and powers our solar panels.
2) The solar array. Similar to how plants use the sun for
photosynthesis, our solar panels are able to harness the sun’s energy. However, instead of using the sun’s light to grow, the array converts the energy to create
electricity. Our solar panels are only able to harness about 1/5 of the sun’s energy, but that is still enough to power NY2LA. Some
solar cars like the University of Michigan Solar Team’s Astrum have custom (expensive) solar arrays which can
potentially collect even more of the sun’s energy. NY2LA on the other hand
simply uses inexpensive prefabricated solar panels (we’re on a tight budget,
right?!). As a result, our panels are much heavier than a custom array, and it
makes the car a little less aerodynamic, but the residential solar panels are
cheaper and more durable than the custom arrays.
3) The charge controller
(the brain behind the solar panels).
This controller sends
electricity to either the motor controller or to the battery. When NY2LA is
parked, the motor controller won’t request any electricity from the
charge controller. As a result, the controller sends the energy to the
batteries to charge. When NY2LA is driving, the charge controller will send
electricity to the motor controller. This is ideal, because sending electricity
from the charge controller straight to the motor controller is more energy
efficient than sending it to the battery and then to the motor controller.
Fun
fact, if it is a sunny day NY2LA’s solar panels will generate more
energy than it needs to drive down the road. This means that NY2LA can drive on
the power of the sun exclusively while still charging the battery pack! Just
like filling your car with gas at the same time as it’s driving down the road!
4) The batteries. NY2LA uses lithium-ion batteries like
the batteries used on production Electric Vehicles (EV) you see on the road
today. NY2LA uses its battery pack to drive when the sun isn’t shining (at
night or on a cloudy day). In fact, when we leave New York City this summer, to
avoid traffic, we’ll leave at night and as a result we’ll be running under
battery power. The biggest difference between NY2LA’s battery and the batteries seen on EVs today is the
size. The best-selling EV in America is the Tesla Model Y which offers battery
packs which range from 60-81kWh. The battery pack on NY2LA holds about 5kWh.
Part of the reason why NY2LA can have such a small battery pack is because of
the solar panels and efficiency.
Fun
fact, the Tesla Model Y gets about 111MPGe, while NY2LA gets about 650MPGe
depending on the conditions!
5) Motor controller (the
brain behind the motor). The
battery and the charge controller both send electricity to the motor
controller. The motor controller takes accelerator and brake input from the
driver and decides how much electricity is sent to the motor. At times, the
motor and motor controller send electricity back to the battery pack. This is
called regenerative braking. When the driver presses the brakes, the motor
controller on NY2LA essentially puts the motor in reverse. The motor is still
spinning forward, but the motor applies a force in the opposite direction.
Because of some complicated physics regarding the magnets in the motor, the
motor becomes a generator. It operates in the same way as a generator for a
house would work. The only difference is that instead of a gas motor spinning
the generator, it is the car’s own momentum. This is a key reason
why NY2LA and other EVs are so much more efficient than gas- or diesel-powered
cars.
A not-so-fun fact, the motor controller on
our previous car, Pink Skies, burned up during our 2021 Cannonball Run; forcing
us to quit in Indiana.
6) The motor.
The motor is made up of two main parts, the rotor and the stator. The stator is
made up of iron and copper wires. When electricity is sent through these wires
it creates a magnetic field. The motor controller can control this magnetic
field in a way that moves the rotor. The rotor is the part of the motor that
moves, and it is made up of a series of magnets that spin around the stator.
The motor on NY2LA is a little different than the motors on traditional EVs.
NY2LA’s motor is a ‘hub motor’. This means that the motor is part of
the wheel hub. This eliminates the need for a transmission which improves
efficiency.
Fun
fact, depending on driving conditions NY2LA can run on one, two, or three
motors. This allows NY2LA to save energy in flat, slow sections of the trip
while providing the power to drive through the fast hilly sections!
Our journey. We hope that you will follow along this July to see these components in action on our journey from The Red Ball Garage in Manhattan, NYC to The Portofino Bay Hotel in Los Angeles, CA. If 3 friends can build this technology in our garage on a beer (not champagne) budget, as a nation, we absolutely have the ability to make solar cars a big part of our transportation future.
-
Kyle, Will and Danny
This is really fun to watch. We will be following your trip across the country with baited breath! You bring together smarts with persistence with fun!
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