i need to make a solar powered car for class any suggestions?

Question

very tight budget as cheap as i gets
big enough for a person to sit in
just give me the basics

Answer 1

Really that would be easy enough. You are just wanting to drive it down the parking lot and back right? But it will still cost some money. If I go a little deeper then basics sorry.

Powered by solar only can be done but you are talking in the $10,000 to $20,000 range. And the car would stop running when a cloud blocked the sun or you went under a tree. You have to have a battery some where.

Try this for an idea.

This is a drive once and charge for a couple of days solar power car idea.

Get a small 24 watt solar panel, could be a little smaller.

Get a Car or Marine or the best would be a Deep cycle battery. In the 75 Ah to 130 Ah rating. A good large car battery would work for short time with out hurting it too bad. So borrow one.

Find someone who has a 1/2 inch drive, battery powered hand drill that uses 12 volts to 18 volts DC, and borrow it.

Mount a school lunch room plastic chair on a wood frame

Mount 3 lawnmower wheels on the wood frame remember two of them have to move so you can turn.

Mount the half inch drill motor on the frame at the back to attach a rear wheel to.

Put a half inch bolt through the 4th wheel and pull the bolt and nut tight to lock the bolt in the wheel.

Put the bolt in the drill chuck and get someone strong to lock it tight.

Now mount the battery on the back of the go-cart and using clips of some kind hook it to the electrodes on the drill motor. Put a switch heavy enough to handle the current the motor will pull so you can turn it on and off.

Attach the solar panel on the back of the cart so you can park it in the sun and recharge the battery.

Remember that if you leave the solar panel hooked up too long with out using a charge controller you will over charge the battery.
You could have a wheel fall off or even burn up the drill motor if you drive it too long with the weight of a person on it.

This is a drive it one time idea. And as cheap as I can think of to do. I bet it might even get up to 5 or maybe 10 miles per hour.

Never the less it would be powered by solar because the panel charges the battery that powers the motor that moves the car.

You could use a drill that uses 120 volts but you would then need an inverter of pretty good size. About 2000 watts to start that large of a motor. It would run on less but motors are hard to start.

Welp that is my wild idea that just might work so Good luck.

You or anyone else gets hurt you can't blame me. You do this it is at your own risk. If someone will sue me then don't do it.

Answer 2

you're kidding me, right?

For instance, a powerful enough solar cell would be 1000 for a square meter.

Also, you'd need a light plastic cockpit, which can cost upward of 500$

You'll need an electrical motor-light. You'll also need an entire braking system (300$) ans suspension (200$), tires, gears and everything else.

So, anyways, if you want to know more, look up the american solar car challenge.

Answer 3

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