Off-Grid, Low-Cost, Electrical Sun-Car System for Developing Countries

Fully electric cars are now available. This technology offers exciting opportunities, especially to citizens of developing countries in equatorial regions having high concentrations of solar energy. The major motivation behind adoption of electric vehicles is reduced CO2 output. However, most electric vehicle batteries are charged by electrical grids powered by coal and oil, which themselves produce significant amounts of CO2. Charging electric vehicles with solar energy can dramatically reduce CO2 generation. The authors have demonstrated a low-cost electric vehicle charging station using 4 solar panels of 255 watts each, batteries, a charge controller, and an inverter. For 3 months, a SMART Electric Drive automobile was successfully charged using only solar energy. The proposed "Sun-Car System" presents a low-cost opportunity for poorer populations such as those found on Indian reservations in the southwestern United States and tribal Africa. Community-owned electric vehicles could be charged solely with solar power. The demonstrated off-grid solar charging system is relatively low-cost, and would not require an electrical grid or an expensive gasoline/diesel delivery infrastructure.