Can any car become an electrictric/solar powered car by conversion?

Question

Some day I hope to do my bit for the plane by installing solar panels on my house and getting an electric car.

I hear that conversion car kits are already available. What parts of the standard car are replaced? How much do they cost? What about insurance?

NO JOKES PLEASE, only sincere replies.

Answer 1

You couldn't put solar panels on your car. You could make solar energy at home to charge your batteries, but a car designed for gas engines couldn't be driven by the extremely weak photo voltaic solar cells you see on tv. They are only 13% efficient at converting the sun's radiation to electricity and could barely power a bike.

Answer 2

As mentioned previously converting your car to electric is not all that good of an idea.  You would be better off getting a vehicle designed to run that way.   If you happen to have a Diesel Car/truck you could convert it to run off of cooking grease that is used at any local fast food place.  Unfortuately gasoline engines don't really work for that process.  And yes, modifing your vehicle by too much would ruin your insurance.  Where as buying a commercial vehicle built for high milage or alternate fuels are insurable.

As for installing Solar panels on your house you may want to check out some other options instead.  Most people do not realize that the current solar technology is really only useful for places that are very remote and do not have access to an electrical Grid.  Photovoltatic solar panel - the type that convert sunlight directly into electricity are very inefficient and expensive to produce.  The sad thing is that many people do not realize the creation process of a solar cell actually takes more electricity to produce the cell than the solar cell will ever be able to produce during it's life-time.  Installing solar cells on your house will save you money in the long the run, but it really does not help the enviroment.

If you are using Solar Collectors...  that is a different story.  Solar collectors are used to collect heat from the sun and used to warm water that runs through pipes in your home, or can be used in systems that generate steam to turn a turbine that will create electricity for you.  That method is energy efficient, more costly to install but better for the enviroment overall.

Other options to consider would be to install a ground-source heat pump for your home.  This is a huge energy saver that many people haven't even heard of.  Heat pumps are great because they simply transfer existing heat from one place to another to heat or cool your home.  Ground-source pumps work much more efficient than air pumps because the ground has a constant temp when you go deep enough.  You can cut your energy bill by up to 70% using this sort of system.  Which will save you money and reduces the amount of energy required to heat your home.

A small wind turbine is another option you could look into but that would depend on how much space you have and how tall the surround buildings and trees are.

Answer 3

The motor is replaced.  Batteries and electronic controls are added.  The batteries take up a lot of space, because the car was not designed for them

The process is very expensive, and the result not all that great as a car, for anything except carrying a few people short distances.  You would do much better to buy a modern car that gets high gas mileage.  Good for the planet, good for you.  Someday you'll be able to buy a cheap and functional electric car, but we're not there yet.

Answer 4

Just about any! There is a wealth of information available and it would behoove you to ask about specifics in a knowledgeable community. I'm going to put a shameless plug in for the community I am a member of in the source, because you will find all your answers there.

Answer 5

I have lots of info that I think you will find quite helpful and enlightening:

http://360.yahoo.com/blorm_multaeeneea_l...

http://ecowellness.multiply.com/

Let us all strive for a greener/brighter future by helping to create a solid foundation for future generations to build upon, so we can hand them a beautiful world, filled with never ending awe and wonders!!

Where peoples differences and uniqueness are accepted, where we all live as one, helping one another so that we can all play our own mysteriously beautiful melodies in the never ending, awe inspiring, song of life :-)

Answer 6

bob is correct as fa as converting a gasoline vehical to electric.  However, you can pruchase a hybrid vehicle, or high efficiency gasoline vehical.  There are a few electric vehicles around - you have to look hard for them and they are expensive.

If you are considering a conversion from gasoline to electric, watch for scams.  Make sure you check the company(ies) thoroughly.  Do google and/or yahoo searches on the companies.  Look for reports from companies that are not assiciated with the conversion company.  You may have to dig deep for this information.  Many scams setup a long chain of legitimate looking companies that usually are just a numbered company with just a mailbox office (no physical office, just the mailbox)

Hopes this helps

good Luck.

Answer 7

With solar cells to run a car u would need to pull a trailer the size of a 18 wheeler. The solar cells are very expensive. I installed a set of heavy batteries and solar cells just for a small microwave repeater . They cost at that time $15,000 and 3 months later there was a wind storm that blew them all over the jungle. Working for a oil co we replaced them with steel welded mounts and I think they are still there.