Solar vs. Battery Operated Car
By: Allegra Made In: California The Problem
One major problem in the world is pollution caused by automobile emissions. It affects everyone on Earth now and will affect future generations. This problem needs to be solved quickly. It is important because if action is not taken soon the damage will be irreversible. Research
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency motor vehicle emissions can cause cancer to animals and humans. It can also cause neurological, cardiovascular, respiratory, and reproductive problems. How can we power cars that is cost effective and green? Will that way be as good as using a non green method? Can we apply this technology to vehicles on other planets? The Experiment: build a solar and battery operated prototype ● Alligator Clips
● Plastic Bottle
● Bag
● Skewers
● Wheeles
Materials ● 2 Motors
● Battery casing
● Batteries
● Straws
● Solar Cell
● Aluminum Foil 1. Build the car The Steps 2. Test it with solar panels and with a battery 3. See which one runs faster Procedure
1. Body Take the bottle and cut out a rectangle. This is where the alligator clips will go.
2. Axils Glue 2 straws to the bottom of the bottle. These will serve as axle casing. Then put a skewer through the straw and glue wheels on both sides.
3. Sail Glue 2 skewers together to make a T. Then glue the plastic bag to it. This will be the sail. Then glue this to the inside bottom of the car inside the rectangle that is cut out. Procedure 4. Solar Panel Glue the mini solar cell to a skewer or some other stand. Then connect 2 alligator clips to either side. I suggest putting aluminum foil on either side of the solar cell to reflect the light. Then glue the stand with the aluminum foil on the back of the car.
5. Motor/Propeller A Connect 1 of the alligator clips to one of the motors. Then glue the motor to the stand. Then depending on what type of motor, either glue a piece of plastic or popsicle sticks to it or stab a cork on the motor and glue the popsicle sticks or plastic to the cork. Procedure
6. Motor/Propeller B Then connect another alligator clip from the first motor and pull it through the bottle. Open the cap on the bottle if not done so already. Pull the motor through the bottle neck opening. Then do the same thing with the other motor by gluing popsicle sticks or plastic to it.
7. Wiring Take another alligator clip and connect it from the front motor going to the back motor. Then take another alligator clip and connect it from the second motor to the solar panel. Procedure
8. Batteries Put a battery casing inside the car. When changing it to being run with batteries, simply connect the alligator clips which were connected to the solar panels and connect it with both sides of the battery casing
9. Observation Watch how fast the car goes and observe the difference between solar powered and battery powered. Variables
Constant Variables
● I will try the car out in the exact same place ● The car’s body is exactly the same
Changing Variables
● Solar powered vs battery powered
Measuring Variables
● I will measure distance ● I will measure time ● This way I can calculate speed Hypothesis I expect that if I test the solar powered version of the car when the sun is very bright then the car will go faster than its battery powered version Watch It !!!!
Battery Powered Car Video Solar Powered Car Video
The experiment Feet
Seconds
Feet per second Conclusion ● I have been trying to answer if solar or battery power is superior. ● It turns out using solar is more eco friendly, is a sustainable option that won’t die out like a battery, and it turns out to work even better. This is definitely its major strength. ● Many cars use battery today. However, for the reasons stated above, the future is with solar. ● If I tried it on different terrain or at a different time of the day the results could change. ● One problem with this experiment is that you can always have a better quality motor and better batteries and better solar panels. The only way to know for sure is to use the best of each but that would be very expensive. ● This has definitely been an interesting experiment. It was very fun to build this car without having any instructions and making up the instructions as I went along. This car’s design was my own original idea. It did not come from a kit and I put together all of the materials. Cost
My experiment compares solar panels and batteries which are about the same cost. This prototype only cost about 10 dollars. Building a real car would cost between $33,000-133,000, according to MTV Vehicles. Many households use solar to power their electricity. The extensive panels on a roof cost approximately $25,000, about $200 per panel, which pay for themselves in five years, according to Consumer Affairs . Using this data, we can connect this to cars. Over time, the cost to install solar on a vehicle would pay for itself due to not needing gas or powering up a battery. Therefore, solar is more cost effective than battery and certainly much more cost effective than fuel. How this helps the world
My project helps the world because it is a sustainable method which can be used as a way to power cars here on Earth. This will help with the problem of pollution. This model could also be used to power rovers on Mars where we can’t afford to have a battery die on us. This model is a simple version; of course, many modifications and technological advancements would have to be made. Next Steps
The next steps would be to design the solar car and make it larger and larger and test how far and fast it could go. An additional next step would be to create a remote control system to be able to change the direction. Sources https://www.epa.gov https://news.energysage.com/best-solar-panels-complete-ranking/ https://us.sunpower.com/how-much-do-solar-panels-cost-0 https://marspedia.org/Cost_of_energy_on_Mars#:~:text=self%20extension%20mechan isms.-,Solar%20panel%20cost%20on%20Mars,largest%20part%20of%20the%20cost. https://www.mtvehicles.com/post/how-much-does-it-actually-cost-manufacturers-to- make-a- car#:~:text=For%20every%20car%2C%20the%20auto,make%20%24%202%2C200% 20as%20gross%20margin. https://www.consumeraffairs.com/solar-energy/how-much-do-solar-panels-cost.html Thank you for watching and for your consideration.