If sun & wind produce power, why don't we have cars with solar panels & wind turbines for day & night driving?

Answer 1

Believe it or not, we essentially do have them! I'll explain...

While it's not very practical to generate solar and wind energy on the vehicle itself, it is practical to generate power at a fixed location. These systems exist and they are affordable. Anyone can put a solar photovoltaic panel on the roof of their house and generate their own electricity. The panels cost $5/Watt, and after the federal/state rebates they're only $3/Watt. Did you know that a new wind turbine with an average capacity of 2 MW of peak power is installed somewhere on earth every hour around-the-clock, that's a growth rate of something like 15 GW of new capacity every year! Wind energy is a very hot industry, because it is VERY practical!

Electrical energy may be generated at your home, business, or local grid, which ever makes the most sense, and it can easily be used to charge a battery pack, such as the one in your car. Also finding an electrical "outlet" to connect to the electric grid is even easier than finding a gas station.

To answer your question, an excellent solution is to start with a Toyota Prius hybrid, and optionally make a minor upgrade by adding a extra battery and a battery charger. Voila, you now have a "plug-in hybrid", which is even BETTER than an electric car.

Don't believe anyone who says it can't be done. It has already happened. You don't have to wait another 5 years for this. There are already a lot of Prius hybrids out on the road. Seeing is believing.

Answer 2

Check your specifications. to get a motor to drive a vehicle u would about 500 watts. set up your system at 50 volts ,and that means u would require 10 amps. question 1. how many solar cells is required to give u that amps and what would it be on a cloudy day, u may need to double the original 10 amps.. question 2 how much would the cells cost. The other night on tv they tried to do a drag electric car. all kinds of problems and the more power from the acid batteries (they are very heavy) the more power to push it.and etc. it just grew and the problems were more . connectors breaking and contacts burning up just no end. they spent $250,000 and it will possible still be around for u to solve.

Answer 3

Horrendous efficiency is the reason why not. Your top of the line solar cell has about 12% efficiency. Over a surface area of a meter squared you can expect 120 watts of energy generated. At noon, no clouds. 745 watts is 1 horse power, and let me tell you, your gas lawnmower has 3 hp.
Same thing goes for wind energy, it's not worthwhile. Even purely electric batteries doesn't generate enough energy to go very fast for very far.
It turns out that only gasoline and petroleum are worthwhile because the energy it takes to distribute the fuel is lower, that is, only petroleum can give you a net energy. Moving a large tanker full of vegetable oil across town costs more vegetable oil than you are moving.
I'm all for alternative energy, but lets be realistic.

Answer 4

wind turbines on a car is kind of an interesting idea. you could leave it out on a stormy night or at you work's parking lot to generate power, then fold it down and drive. it's probably one of those ideas though that cost more to make than you will ever get back in power savings

Answer 5

lol Okay I'll just go spend tens of thousands of dollars on solar panels and a smart car. Advocating the advancement of technology to replace a dying non-renewable resource is not called being a hypocrite, it is called having foresight. Your entire premise can be defined as unreasonable, as can be the environmental and social agendas of the far right. MAKING WORDS IN CAPS DOESN'T MAKE THEM RIGHT YOU JUST LOOK IGNORANT...which, in this case, is appropriate.

Answer 6

the sun and wind alone are not enough to power most the cars we drive, even witht he most efficient soalr panels (which, by the way, contain a terribly harmful and toxic chemical) and wind turbines

Answer 7

solar power cells do not make enough electricity to(at least in a vehicle)cheaply they've done it but its impractible and expensive and not as reliable,wind turbines need wind to use and it does't always blow,thats why wind farms(windmills) are only in places known that have a lot of wind to generate them

Answer 8

Build Home Solar Power : http://SolarPower.duebq.com/?CqY

Answer 9

its not reasonable...solar power cars barely work, with a tiny shell of a frame. you cant have a normal car, with normal driving...plus the wind power just plain wouldnt work

Answer 10

We have the technology for it so it is possible. See, the problem is that we live in a world of capitalist plutocrats who think that money and oil is the most important thing in the world. So, yes we should have them but we don't thanks to people like George Bush.