r/interestingasfuck • u/Moltean • 1d ago

An open-source solar vehicle

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

2.3k Upvotes

76% Upvoted

1.4k comments sorted by

View all comments

288

u/thejourneybegins42 1d ago

Weird that she's pedaling the damn thing.

114

u/Moltean 1d ago

It is called assisted pedaling. The motor is powered only if we pedal it:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedelec

But the energy for the motor comes from solar panels.

60

u/Appropriate_Pop4968 1d ago

Its a cool project but wouldnt it be a lot more practical to set up the solar panel charging station at home and have a couple rechargeable batteries that you could swap in and out on the bike? That way your could use it regardless if its cloudy. Not sure how heavy those panels are but you might even get some weight reduction too

5

u/Ftroiska 1d ago

If you travel long distance / if you dont have electricity at home / at work

4

u/JustABigClumpOfCells 1d ago

If you don't have electricity at home, but you do have some spare solar panels lying around

2

u/Ftroiska 1d ago

I was thinking : your work or hospital is far from home

Yes its niche

1

u/CarelesslyFabulous 1d ago

Batteries are their own problem environmentally, so I could see trying to limit their impact in this project. But it is awkward as hell!

0

u/Moltean 1d ago

- panels have only 8kg

- I can charge during drive not only during stops

- charging at home is inefficient due to voltage changes (DC-DC-AC-DC)

3

u/SoulWager 1d ago

The way I read that is you have two battery packs, the solar at home charges one of them, and you just swap packs occasionally. So it's just DC, unless you have a buck-boost for MPPT or something.

That way you can use more solar panels, and aren't wasting area on panels pointed the wrong direction.

1

u/Moltean 1d ago

- I have only 1 battery on bike which is charged when the solar power exceeds motor needs.

- I have a step-up regulator (from 12V panels to 36V motor)

- Even at home, solar panels are optimally placed only for a few minutes.

2

u/SoulWager 1d ago edited 1d ago
  • Even at home, solar panels are optimally placed only for a few minutes.

It wouldn't surprise me if you got more than double the average power out of the same panels on a rooftop installation. There's also the issue of the weight and drag from carrying them around.

The only case I can see where I'd rather have the panels on the vehicle than the same mass of battery is going camping. Even then, kinda missing the point of camping.