Stella Vita

[abnorm]

Students build a fully solar powered camper

Stella Vita: The fully solar-powered campervan that just toured Europe | CNN Travel

 

[gsfish]

Would have been nice to know more of the technical side. I don't remember seeing solar capacity described in square meters of surface area rather than watts before.

Nicely done project.

Guy

 

[Sofisintown]

Lots of things you can do with sponsors.
Like travel 1860 miles in 5 months and make a lot of noise about it.

The car can charge for up to 130 miles in one day, (I find that hard to believe since they used power for everything else too)  but they averaged to move 12 miles per day. I can walk faster than that.
Allow me to be a bit suspicious when CNN promotes "energy awareness and inspiration:dodgy:
I'm not holding my breath, as I don't see too many sponsors forthcoming...

 

[gsfish]

I agree^

Actually it states 130 'kilometers' of charging per (perfect?) day or 81 miles. Barely over one hour of driving at their claimed top speed.

By my calculation (check my math) it would take around 7 days (with perfect weather) to drive 1,000 miles starting with 100% charge, using all available energy every day for driving and ending on 0%. I see safety issues for when there is an emergency. Not a concern for this example with a support crew and trailer.

But this is a prototype of an idea more than of an example of what a viable production vehicle should be.

A future 'real world' tour when they have refined the design would be interesting. Details on drive train would be a plus too.

Guy

 

[DudeInAVan]

Yeah, prototypes like this make for great stories, and are a vital part of pushing the needle forward with new tech, but in this case at least, it shows that we're still nowhere near the point of making this sort of thing mainstream or remotely practical. Physics can be brutal like that.

 

[wayne49]

Solar radiation levels at ground level are measured in watts/m², not in watts. The people who build the solar racers, and this "camper", are physical sciences types, not marketing types.

The marketing dept be simplifying it by saying 100 Watts.

Unlike a 100 W bulb which puts out a constant 100W. "Your results may vary."

Your solar wattage depends on varying solar activity, where the sun meets the panel.

A Renogy RNG-100D-SS (Space Saver 100W) panel measures 42.2 L X 19.6 W which is 0.53 m².

Point five three being less impressive than one hundred, they go with one hundred.

 

[gsfish]

Looks like apples and oranges to me. Solar radiation vs Ohm's Law. The electrical power developed from the square meter of surface area is determined by the technology involved in the panel. Panels made today using decades old methods would produce less electrical power than a modern panel even when they are both the same size and exposed to the same amount of radiation.

Guy

 

[JDelete]

Just a thought—things are a lot closer in Europe so traveling 80 miles in a day is probably all one needs. The entire country of Germany, for example, is about the same size as the state of Minnesota.

 

[Calaverasgrande]

Every single one of my relatives has sent me this story.
Since I did our last family zoom call from the van, and mentioned solar it seems its all they can talk about.

What is kind of funny to me is that this looks just like my 8th grade science project.
I made a solar car out of balsa wood, and a few radio shack PV panels.
Stole the shape of mine from R Buckminster Fuller's Dymaxion car.
It only worked in direct noon sunlight to inch forward.
After the science fair I worked on hooking up a battery and switch so it could charge then run.
Much peppier off the starting line. But it would take hours of charging from that 80's PV panel to run for 10 minutes or so.

 

[wayne49]

Universities have been building solar vehicles for some time, they had competitions. May still have them, I haven't been following.

The vehicles would look like pumpkin seeds, small hydroplanes in the early sixties that were homebuilt of plywood and powered by a five hp motor and flew across the lake. Or flying saucers on bicycle wheels.

The design maximizes the surface area for solar panels.
Not built for speed, built for minimal drag and maximal solar area.

Western Europe resembles New England, several states in a small area.

 

[Matlock]

Having spent some time reading about EV's and who's making what throughout the world of major vehicle manufacturers it appears that almost everyone is a player in this market. One announced that they will stop making gas models after 2030, go figure.

My great nieces and nephews do not want to learn how to drive, nor do they want a drivers licence or to ever own a car, they want uber and lyft for transportation. If they end up in a small-town somewhere in the world maybe they will change their minds as it might be tough finding that transportation. Otherwise they are happy with having everything delivered. 

So, powered by roof mounted solar will take some massive amounts of money to develope a solar system using something other than the usual silicon wafer. The chemistry guru's have prototypes already in r&d so who knows what and when but it is just around the corner and nothing we do or say is gonna stop the progress.

Personally I'm holding out for a back to the future- hoverboard.

 

[B and C]

You can have the hoverboard. I want the DeLorean time machine!

Edit to add: And it runs on banana peels or other waste (but save the beer).