A two-seater light-weight solar powered clean car: preliminary design and economic analysis

Abstract

This paper outlines the design of a prototype solar powered light-weight economically affordable clean car for the daily office commuters of Dhaka city. Calculation in this paper shows that the solar power alone will be sufficient to operate a light-weight car from one end of the capital city Dhaka, to the other, for a journey to and from the office. A preliminary design of the solar car has been performed in this paper by calculating and estimating the required panel size, battery capacity and motor power. A plug-in charging option has been supplemented to the car for extracting electricity from the mains during times of insufficient energy receptions from the sun. Economic analysis performed on the life cycle cost of solar cars, as opposed to traditional fuel-based cars shows that over the long-term, solar cars come out to be much less expensive. Over a period of 20 years, combined cost of solar component replacements and electricity charges amount to a total over BDT 2 lac, which is approximately 1/9th the total cost of operating a fuel-based car in Dhaka, considering the fuel cost, maintenance and annual inflation over the same duration.