Electric cars have emerged as an alternative to fossil fuels to make the world a better place. In fact, these cars also get their energy depending on a place, but at least they are shown as a cleaner energy source than fossil fuels.
Having set out with the idea of making an environmentally friendly car with unlimited solar energy, the companies tried to design a car that gets its energy from the solar panel many times. So why can’t we make solar powered cars?
Did you know that the first electric car was made in 1835?
In fact, the history of electric cars is not short at all, an electrically powered car was built by Thomas Davenport in 1835. However, the technology was not yet at a sufficient level at that time and this idea did not receive support. For example, in 1912, the electric car was sold for $ 1,750, while the gasoline car was sold for $ 650.
Gasoline cars were both more powerful at that time and, due to the easier access to gasoline, they managed to bury electric cars in the dusty pages of history for a short time.
In recent years, electric cars have revolutionized the automotive industry.
Cars, which had been powered by fossil fuels for many years, now started to get their new power from electricity. In the automotive world, with designs that seem to come from the future, especially Tesla, people’s preference is now these innovative cars. Along with Tesla, many companies started to invest in electric automotives.
Although electric cars are good, they also have many disadvantages. So, instead of these cars, can cars with solar panels be produced that get their energy directly from the Sun?
At first, it may seem like a very good idea for cars to be 100% eco-friendly, with the energy that the sun offers us free of charge.
But this idea is far from being a successful plan in today’s world. We all know that cars must have high powers. It does not seem possible for us to get this power that cars need from the Sun, due to the not very efficient technology of solar panels.
Solar panels require large areas to produce energy. Since cars have a limited space, the energy produced will be insufficient for the car.
If we develop solar panels, the next problem is that the Sun is not always overhead.
The hours when sunlight is most productive are at noon in each country. We also have to say that only 55% of the Sun’s energy reaches the Earth.
While this is the case, cars powered by solar panels will only be able to produce maximum energy at noon. Therefore, it is thought that it will be difficult to produce the amount of energy needed by the car during the day.
Let’s say we live in a place where the Sun is overhead for 10 hours a day, but what if it’s cloudy? If it rains that day, will we not be able to use our car?
Even if we create a world where the sun never sets, this time we face cost and efficiency problems.
Let’s assume that we have a perfect Earth to use this energy, and that the Sun is scorching this Earth from the heat. In this way, it will be an incredible power for solar panels.
Even if this were true, the costs would cause us problems. According to a study, there is a $10,000 fee per car just to adapt and use solar panels for cars. When we consider the car prices abroad, this stands out as a high cost.
We have a lot of money, even if you say we want to use this technology, the efficiency of the panels may bother you this time. The panels use photovoltaic cells to generate electrical energy. Electricity is produced when sunlight hits the PV cells.
The efficiency of these cells is only 20%. In other words, only 20% of the sun’s rays are available to us.
Despite being such a difficult issue to solve, the Solar-powered Lightyear 0 is now up for pre-order.
Developed by the Dutch, Lightyear 0 can run on solar energy. The vehicle, which can travel 625 kilometers with electricity, can travel a distance of 70 kilometers thanks to the solar panels on it.
The top of the car is covered with solar panels, so the car can fill up to 35 kilometers in open air. In addition, according to the company’s statement; In hot places, for example in Africa, the vehicle can be used for 7 months on a single charge.
Since it is a fairly new technology at the moment, it will be clear how real this data is after the vehicle meets the end user. If you want to buy Lightyear 0 now, you have to pay a fee of 250.000 € (excluding taxes in our country).
Instead of buying a solar powered car, you can buy 2 Model Xs.
Paying €250,000 for the solar powered Lightyear 0 is too high at the moment. On the other hand, the enhanced Plaid version of Tesla’s Model X can be purchased for $130,000.
In other words, it is possible to buy 2 latest model electric cars instead of 1 solar powered car. With solar panel technology getting cheaper, we may see more cars like the Lightyear 0 in the future, but for now, it only attracts a very limited wealthy group.
It does not seem possible to see this type of cars widely in the near future. Continuing to manage with the useless tools of ordinary universities…
Sources: Livelywatt, RoadandTrack
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