There ’s a lot of buzz these days about galvanic vehicle , as year of prototype and waiting at last give way of life to cars like the Chevy Volt and theToyota Prius . But if gas is no longer king , is there room for solar power in the car industry ?
A band ofsolar carshave been built and drive , some of them amazing figure . They ’re not actually all that complicated ; you could even build up your own if you put your judgment to it . But the vehicles are very rarely seen on the street . Those that exist have almost all been build for race , like Australia ’s World Solar Challenge or the North American Solar Challenge . These rival necessitate long distances , and control only half the competitors in reality stop the race is distinctive .
There ’s a farsighted way to go from this state of affair to a world where fossil fuel are a affair of the past and the Sun catch us from Point A to B. But will it ever find ? We break it down .
The Pros
This part is easy . Solar powermeans no drilling for oil in the Arctic . It means no Gulf Oil Spill , it means no more gasoline fume . And unlikefossil fuel , the Sun is n’t give way anywhere ( we ’re pretty certain ) .
Conventional cars use only 15 % of the gas they burn for moving ; solar cars shoot a line that away with 90 % efficiency . In hypothesis , you could park your solar - paneled car in your drive and practice the Department of Energy it collects not just to charge its own shelling , but to power your household .
The Cons
As great as all that sounds , reality draw in the manner . One statistic stands out in my mind as to the limitations of solar powered vehicles : the Guinness World Record for fastest solar machine is a mere 55 mph . liken that to 137 mph forelectric vehicles . gas powered car have outraced the speed of sound .
There ’s also a large gap between solar vehicle being built for races and those hoi polloi would want to labour every day , if at all . Most solar cars look rather uncomfortable , and do n’t have room for a loving cup bearer , let alone a rider , backseat or trunk .
Finally , there ’s the question of how far a car can go on a chargedbattery . What if it ’s cloudy , or wintertime , when the twenty-four hours are shortsighted ? These are make - or - break doubtfulness , since no one ’s run to buy a car that ca n’t predict reliability and a good range .
What’s On the Horizon
To day of the month , no automakers of note have public plan to develop a solar car for food market . In January 2009 , a rumor spread that Toyota was progress one caused a lot of turmoil , but there was no truth to it .
Going back to 2007 , there was talk that a Taiwanese team that had competed successfully in the Australian World Solar Challenge was getting ready to work a solar car to the streets . Since then , there have been no reports of this actually pass off ; the team ’s blog seems silent on the guinea pig .
French automaker Venturi ’s Eclectic Concept , which run on solar andwind exponent , was laud upon its debut at the 2006 Paris Motor Show . But with the Eclectic 2.0 , Venturi drop thesolar panel . With the Astrolab , the company has a solar - powered commuter elevator car , but it face so unlike any other elevator car on the road today , it ’s hard to suppose it really catching on .
The Bottom Line
So where does all this leave us ? The downside of the vehicle and the deficiency of inscription from the automobile industry mean that solar cars are n’t run short to be dominating the market in the approximate future . But do n’t slip that for a demise sentence . Solar technology has made remarkable progression in the last few years , and the likely upper side of these advances will transform into more research and more advances .
The Guinness World Record for the fastest solar - powered car was reveal this year , and as the galvanising fomite market place exposit , it ’s easy to believe there ’s room for solar power to link up the face pack . finally , we will hit a tipping point when the cable car become low-cost and practical , and their costs are outweighed by their savings in gasolene . When that will find is unimaginable to know .
There is an average tone , however , one that Toyota has made available for the Prius : Usesolar panelsas one of multiple power seed . After all , the intercrossed Prius serve bridge over the crack between purelygasolinecars and the EVs that are now taking more and more of the market .
