Solar Powered Cars

Automobiles powered with solar energy.

Solar powered cars have huge potential. The future is green and solar powered vehicles are another footstep toward sustainability.

Solar Powered Vehicles

If you think the solar power car is in the distant future you may be surprised to know that it already exists.

In our quest for a cleaner earth, transportation becomes a subject of close scrutiny and solar energy can be the solution to at least part of the issue.

There are a couple of different ways to approach the issue of solar powering a vehicle. There's the option of covering every visible surface with solar panels such as the one pictured below.

Already in use in cross continent races, specially designed solar power cars are equipped with solar cells that power a driver and vehicle over almost 2,500 miles of terrain with no fuel stops. The race takes days and the sleek vehicles are propelled with only the power of the sun.

Capable of traveling consistently at speeds exceeding 65 miles per hour these vehicles have proved that the solar power car is a viable alternative.

Not the best option as a family car at the moment but the potential is staggering.

solar power car

Prototypes of solar powered passenger cars are already in existence and with the recent success of thin film photovoltaic technology, mainstream solar powered automobiles are almost certain to make an appearance in the coming years.

But there's more... the solar car already exists in the guise of the electric car. It's all about where the energy comes from.

The electric car as a solar powered car

Note

Most people who buy an electric vehicle do so with a desire to reduce their contribution of harmful emissions into the atmosphere.

Ever aware of the environmental pickle we've created, we're making better choices and are more aware of the impact vehicles make on our atmosphere.

Plug an electric vehicle into a source of solar power and voila' you have a solar powered vehicle that adresses all of your carbon concerns.

Any electric car can be a solar power car if the electricity used to power it is derived from the sun.

Add a few photovoltaic panels to your garage roof or increase the size of your existing array to produce a little more energy than your house needs. The power that they produce can be used to re-energize your car batteries when the car is parked.

So when you're thinking solar powered cars, don't rule out the electric car fed exclusively on a diet of solar energy.