Solar Power Cars

Solar power cars have been in the developmental stage for many years. The question of who was first to construct a solar power car is controversial. Some claim the first such vehicle was built in the U.S. in 1955 while others cite a 1979 British-built car as the first on record. The evidence is unclear.

There is clear evidence that North Americans Greg Johanson and Joel Davidson set the first Guinness World Record for a 100 percent solar power car in the summer of 1984. Since then, Johanson and Davidson have made many improvements on their original concept of a solar power car. Others have created different solar power cars.

Australia has sponsored an annual solar power car race since 1987. Covering a distance of 3,000 kilometers, more than 300 race teams have driven their solar power cars from Darwin to Adelaide. Teams, from major universities and corporate enterprises globally, have reached top speeds of just over 60 miles per hour in this race to promote research into solar power vehicles. (Highway speed limits have been cited as a hindrance to attaining higher speeds.)

Yet solar power cars still offer little more than potential. A mass-produced solar power car has yet to hit the market.

Several challenges lie between the current solar power car and the solar power car of dreams.

1. Solar Panels for Cars

Solar panels for cars remain one of the major challenges. Solar panels for cars are photovoltaic cells. They turn sunlight directly into electricity, and then store the electrical energy in batteries. The number of solar panels that can be attached is limited since photovoltaic cells tend to be large. To be practical, a solar power car must be near the size of a conventional vehicle. The challenge will be to construct smaller, more powerful solar panels for cars.

2. Engines for Solar Power Cars

A second challenge is the engine used in a solar power car. Current solar power cars usually operate on an engine that has between two and five horsepower. Compare that to small hybrid cars with a horsepower of 75+, or to conventional-fuel cars boasting engines with more than 200 horsepower. The solar power car has stiff competition and will find the market slow until increased horsepower is possible.

3. Batteries for Solar Power Cars

A third challenge is the battery in solar power cars. Batteries in solar cars are “gas tanks” that collect, store, and dole out solar power from the solar panels. Once energy is collected from solar panels for cars, it is stored in the battery, and then used, as needed, to power an electric motor that propels the car. The weight of current batteries, added to the weight of the solar power car, is too great for the power collected. Lighter, more efficient batteries and cars will be needed.

You may never drive a solar power car in your lifetime. The technology may not get that far that fast. What you may do is drive an electric car that is powered by batteries you charge with solar panels on your garage roof.