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Travel for free with the power of the sun!
How to build a Solar Powered Trike
The purpose of this project is to build a vehicle that:
-Provides free, 'green' transportation for short distances (<10 miles), thus it must never
plug into a wall socket, or emit any pollutants.
-Charges while at work
-Is cheap, simple, and low maintenance.
-Draws attention to the practical application of green energies, and promotes Fossil Fuel alternatives.
-Reduces excess automobile wear and pollution from cold driving / short, in town trips.
-This is a is a project for Dr. Reza Toosi's 'Energy and the Environment, a global perspective' class at California State University, Long Beach. We look at the sources, technologies, and impacts of energy on our environment.
Link to other class projects, some of Dr. Toosi's ENG-302i lectures, and other interesting videos.
http://www.csulb.edu/~rtoossi/engr302i
Short video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIiJp4aKDHM
How to build a Solar Powered Trike
The purpose of this project is to build a vehicle that:
-Provides free, 'green' transportation for short distances (<10 miles), thus it must never
plug into a wall socket, or emit any pollutants.
-Charges while at work
-Is cheap, simple, and low maintenance.
-Draws attention to the practical application of green energies, and promotes Fossil Fuel alternatives.
-Reduces excess automobile wear and pollution from cold driving / short, in town trips.
-This is a is a project for Dr. Reza Toosi's 'Energy and the Environment, a global perspective' class at California State University, Long Beach. We look at the sources, technologies, and impacts of energy on our environment.
Link to other class projects, some of Dr. Toosi's ENG-302i lectures, and other interesting videos.
http://www.csulb.edu/~rtoossi/engr302i
Short video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIiJp4aKDHM
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Signing UpStep 1Acquire a vehicle
Find a lightweight vehicle with low rolling resistance. A two, three or four wheeler will do, depending on how much work you want to do, but the concept is the same. Four wheeled vehicles may be regulated under different laws. Of course the best vehicle is one that you already have, if you happen to have a three or four wheeled pedal powered vehicle. In the interest of simplicity, a three wheeler was chosen for my project. This Schwinn Meridian Trike was $250 new, readily available locally, and the basket provides a convenient location for batteries and solar panels with minimal fabrication.
The first thing to be done was completely disassemble the trike and paint it a bright 'fern' green. This step may not be necessary, but I felt that it was in my case since this is a school project that is supposed to grab your attention, and let you know that it is a true green vehicle. It is a vehicle that does not use gas, and does not plug in to a wall socket, which would defeat the purpose since electricity from the grid likely comes from a non-renewable energy source. It runs on pure solar energy.
Before painting the frame, I used this stage as an opportunity to reinforce the frame where the Batteries were going to mount. Lead acid Batteries are heavy, but they are relatively cheap.
One tube was welded in to distribute the load over 4 points on the axle carrier instead of two.
It also ties the rear sub-frame together, which makes the tube the load bearer rather than the weld beads, which may eventually fatigue and fail.
High pressure (65psi) tubes were equipped and the Trike was meticulously assembled in order to minimize rolling resistance.
While the welder was out a battery mount was fabricated, and bolts welded to the basket to be used as battery mount studs making removal easier. 12 volt LED's were put in the reflectors and wired as brake lights through the brake levers that cut the motor when you brake. They are wired through only one of the three 12 volt batteries.
The first thing to be done was completely disassemble the trike and paint it a bright 'fern' green. This step may not be necessary, but I felt that it was in my case since this is a school project that is supposed to grab your attention, and let you know that it is a true green vehicle. It is a vehicle that does not use gas, and does not plug in to a wall socket, which would defeat the purpose since electricity from the grid likely comes from a non-renewable energy source. It runs on pure solar energy.
Before painting the frame, I used this stage as an opportunity to reinforce the frame where the Batteries were going to mount. Lead acid Batteries are heavy, but they are relatively cheap.
One tube was welded in to distribute the load over 4 points on the axle carrier instead of two.
It also ties the rear sub-frame together, which makes the tube the load bearer rather than the weld beads, which may eventually fatigue and fail.
High pressure (65psi) tubes were equipped and the Trike was meticulously assembled in order to minimize rolling resistance.
While the welder was out a battery mount was fabricated, and bolts welded to the basket to be used as battery mount studs making removal easier. 12 volt LED's were put in the reflectors and wired as brake lights through the brake levers that cut the motor when you brake. They are wired through only one of the three 12 volt batteries.
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Being a couch potato is not my idea of having a life and this trike would make my life worth living. Thank You dpearce1 for posting this I'ble.
Where are you getting your information about what people with the diseases I mentioned are capable of? Are you inventing it? I am on Trazadone and Morphine and it doesn't manage my pain....if I push too hard, I end up setting myself back weeks or months or going into a full relapse, so pedaling is not always possible .
My history is one of being an Olympic caliber athlete with a range of skills from building computers to being a certified arborist. There's little I cannot do, given the tools and time and I can assure you, I make things better than you can buy (if you have the money to buy off the shelf).
You can't fit all disabled people into the same box, so just decide if it's practical for yourself and let others decide for themselves.
I will only say I turned the back tire into a generator and waterproofed the whole thing and had those parts protected in case of a crash.
I wonder why people think so narrowly on any given subject....if you built it as a recumbent, you could even have a arm pedal option for those who are disabled and not able to use their legs.
In Colorado, all things are "optimally pointed" at the sun nearly year round !anyway, why not make the most of it?!?
But seriously, I think it is worth doing this kind of thing as a kind of proof of principle. No, it's not ideal, but it's a step forward.
My response based on my own experience is this: I had no idea roads are so tilted!! I found myself pretty uncomfortable riding this on roads because I always felt like I was tipping over. My engineer friend told me there is a reason for this - virtually all roads are high in the middle to make sure rain runs off.
I really didn't like the tilt of the trike on roads, so I've rebuilt as a bicycle. Also, I found the solar panels cumbersome to ride with, so I built a little station with the panels at home. But, in the end, the principle is the same.
lp
In santa cruz, there's a guy riding around on a scooter, with a similar set-up- but mostly for holding surfboards, and nothing related to solar. I think that it could easily be adapted to do just exactly what you are describing.
As an alternative I might look at the old 80cc 0.01Hp "Chicken Power" two cycle motor from the 1970-80's.
What really bugs me is the power wheel uses 36V (rather than 12V) and you must use multiple 12V panels and batteries (adding excessive weight).
Does anyone make lower voltage wheel motors or higher voltage solar panels?
I picked up a pretty cool trike Ive been contemplating powering (everyone says it needs a motor!) This may be the ticket but Id like a little more speed. Here's a pic of my grocery getter
Reminds me of my 1st unit built in 2001 and was destroyed in 2005 during a flood that hit my place.
I use 2 units of 400 watts hub motors with flexibility of turning any on at a time.
Cheers,
timothywooi@gmail.com
The one I have is the stretched version, it's a great ride if you have back problems. My only complaint is that with the 3spd version the gearing is either to low or to high
If I wanted to add solar panels to your trike I would attach the upper end of the panel to the top of your seat and slanting back over the rear wheel, with supports attached to the rear axel.
One problem with your trike: NO CARGO CAPACITY!
The Panels are made by a brand called Q-cell, I got them off Ebay, but in general, you should not have to pay more than 3 or 4 dollars per watt.
As for panel / battery voltage / amperage, the requirement of your panels is determined by your battery voltage. If you have a 36v battery, (or 3 - 12v batteries in series), you need a solar panel (or panels) that will be able to charge these batteries using the nominal voltage rating of the panels. For example:
A 12 volt battery charges at around 13.8V, with 12v being the nominal voltage. Now with 3 of these in series, gives you 36 volts nominal and around
42.4 volts needed to charge the battery/batteries. This means you need a solar panel or solar panels that will give you at least 42.4v nominal. A little higher voltage output from the panels is desired since the nominal rating is given for high noon on a sunny day, and you don't want your batteries charging from only 12:00pm to 12:01pm. So a panel with a little higher voltage
will be fine, since it will give the needed output voltage to charge the batteries throughout the day rather than only during a short time when the solar output is greatest. It is the solar charge converters job to regulate this varying voltage coming from the panels, so even if your panels are making up to 100v it will still charge your batteries at the proper charging voltage.
Check out the forum, if you search around on there you can find answers to any questions you might have regarding the electric motor kit / battery setups.
Thanks- David
golden motor forum
Cheers,.
timothywooi@gmail.com
Ideally you could setup a solar charging station at camp, and have two sets of batteries. Make them easily come out and connect to the bike and the charging station. Then you'd have more range at night :) Don't forget to include enough power to light it up!
Now I want one.