Chinese-made solar-powered car gets 150 kilometers on a 30-hour charge
By Donald Melanson 
posted October 17th 2008 2:19PM
posted October 17th 2008 2:19PM
It may not attract the same sort of glances as a Tesla, or a Volt, for that matter, but this solar-powered car built by China's Zhejiang 001 Group is pretty impressive in its own right, both for its price (just $5,560), and it's efficiency. That latter bit is a result of some rather un-integrated solar panels, which absorb 95% of the solar energy they take in and convert it to electricity at between 14 and 17% efficiency, which is actually pretty impressive as far as solar panels go. According to the company, that should let you travel about 150 kilometers on a 30-hour charge, though you'll only be able to go five kilometers on a one-hour charge. No word on a release outside of China, as you might have guessed, but the company has apparently already produced ten of 'em for sale inside the country, with more presumably on the way.
[Via The Oil Drum]
[Via The Oil Drum]
Make a variant of the Chevy Volt without the diesel generator, but with solar panels on the roof, hood, and trunk (as opposed to just bolted on).
That'd be neat.
Anything to put free clean energy in the hands of the people and at the same time taking away mass amounts of profits from oil pigs...
I'll be happy when every other gas station goes out of business or starts to give out free car washes out of desperation.
No Chevy Volt is planned to have a diesel generator.
Actually, Happy_Penguin, there are plans for a diesel engine in the European version of the Volt.
And I'd definitely get that rather than this car, especially considering the awful safety record of Chinese cars to date http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mbe5ILICT4M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5SRyG6UR2A
The only thing I found on it is this and while it will use some Volt tech it is not a Volt.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/blogs/automotive_news/4222176.html?series=32
Do you have any other information on a diesel Volt?
No diesel info, but Bob Lutz did himself say that there would be an option on the Volt for a photovoltaic roof, which would let you trickle-charge the battery, or run the air conditioner on a low setting to keep the cabin cooler on hot days.
1. This Typical Chinese Crap is no surprisingly a knockoff of "old" Daewoo Matiz [Design]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daewoo_Matiz
2. All Chinese cars are "deathtraps" [Quality/Safety]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZ3oyo-irJ4 (Asian Car Comparison Guide: Japanese vs. Korean vs. Chinese)
Truth Hurts.
HOLY SHIT!
The cabin intrusion on those Chinese cars is beyond unacceptable. And they put air bags in those cars? What the hell is that for??
So much for Chinese auto engineering. There is NO way I would get into one of those deathtraps. No fucking way!
The European variant, made by Opel , will be based on the Volt chassis and drive train - only the body and name will be different, although this has yet to be confirmed. It may well just release as is in Europe, except that the diesel will still be an option as one would be hard pressed to sell a petrol powered vehicle over there.
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/09/10/meet-the-euro-volt-opel-flextreme-concept-has-ultra-low-emissio/
"Hey, Chad, are you coming with us to happy hour?"
"Yeah, I'll be there at about Sunday O'clock. I've got a 30 hour fillup to look forward to tonight."
"You sure, Chad?"
"Yep! I'll be there, rain or shine! ... oh wait... just shine."
Where do you live? Where I'm from the sun only rises in the morning!
I live in the North Pole, George. The arctic where we have 6 months of daylight.
Damn. That must be some bar if you're driving 150 kilometers (93.2 miles) to get to it.
You know. I thought it would be virtually impossible to screw this Chinese car up. But you never cease to amaze, Rock.
I'd sell my Crossfire and put down 5,500 for one of these.
Of course, I'd have to be able to charge it off the wall power, too.
I call B.S. on this one.
IF you angle the panel to the sun.
IF you have an absolutely clear day.
Then, you'll get that conversion efficiency.
Let's call it 15.5%, the mean of the stated efficiency.
Can't tell for sure from the photo, but let's be generous and call it an 8 by 10 foot solar panel.
That's 80 square feet X 100 watts per sq. ft. (really clear "Air Mass 1" solar input) X 0.155 (efficiency fraction) = 124 watts output.
IF you have 8 hours of Air Mass 1 sunlight (very rare, actually), you'll get 8 X 124 Watts X 0.001 Watts/Kilowatt = 0.99 KwH (Kilo Watt Hours).
0.99 KwH per day is simply NOT ENOUGH to drive a car 40km (150 / 30 hours X 8 hours).
No way, Jose.
Do you people have any sense, or do you just reprint whatever bullshit press releases come over the wires?
might want to check your math.
80 square feet X 100 watts per sq. ft. X 0.155 = 1240 watts
So your math is a bit off. Those look like 3 standard 2x1 meter panels ~= 65 sq ft.
65*100*0.155 = 1007.5 W
(8*1007.5)/1000 = 8.06 kWh
It doesn't seem that off that you could get that much travel with sitting for 4+ days of charging. They don't list the kwh of the battery, or the max kw of motor output.
The Think EV has a 17kw motor, and 200km range. I don't remember exactly, but I believe it's between 25 and 30 kWh. If you can get get a more conservative 5kWh per 8 hour day out of 3 panels, 30 hours is about 18kWh. A very light (not US crash worthy) car could do 150km on 18kWh if the top speed isn't very high (say 80km/h)
"Do you people have any sense, or do you just reprint whatever bullshit press releases come over the wires?"
As someone once, said, "You can have something done three ways: fast, cheap, or good. Pick two."
Engadget is a blog, and blogs are notorious for having inaccurate information. They don't have standards to uphold, like traditional news sources have. But they have the news here early, they have it for free, and most of the time they make it damn entertaining.
You don't want "bullshit press releases?" Go buy a Wall Street Journal. Maybe, just maybe, they'll pick up this story in three to six months.
so as long as you you start with a full charge and drive slower than 15km/hr (9.3mph) you can technically drive non-stop in the sun, and then an additional 150km (93mi) when the sun goes down.
So Serge,
You're saying that you can drive this car at 9.3 mph on the power of one average lightbulb?
Show me the car that can do this.
This isn't that car.
j.pickens,
first of all, i was wrong. engadget changed the post from 15km on 1hr charge to 5km. so now you gotta drive it at 3.1mph.
second of all, you really hate this thing huh? you replied negatively to almost half the comments here.
Some day were all going to ride one of these.
China is looking good these days i am thinking of moving there ,seems a good choice for a tech minded to resettle in east asian
well im american.. whats 150 km????? like 3 miles?
~93 miles.
learn to google. :)
google for "150 km in miles"
150 kilometers = 93.2056788 miles
....Your American? Sorry....
that was sarcasm
actually, more like just being an arrogant american and enjoying it
booyak!
"....Your American? Sorry...."
I'm sorry your 3rd grade teacher failed you so miserably.
"....Your American? Sorry...."
He really means My American.
The reason we can't have something like this in this country is because an SUV would run over and kill everyone in an accident. We have to have all kinds of safety features to make a small car safe on our roads.
No, the reason we can't have something like this in this country is because it doesn't exist.
Saying it exists doesn't make it so.
If I lived somewhere sunny (i.e. not Scotland), I'd totally get one of these.
Even if the figures they quote are a bit unrealistic, as long as you don't need to do many miles per day, and don't have an inferiority complex, this is a great form of transport.
I mean, $5,560? What a bargain!
LOL -
do you really think china will try to save the world by producing a vehicle that is zero-emissions?
They produce these junkers because they don't want to pay for GAS. I bet you a new (american) car that this piece of bulldung has parts made of illegally banned materials that would do more harm to the planet than good for your wallet. There's no such thing as helping the environment in china nor are their any design achievements. It's either copying other people's designs or making something like a strap on solar panel that would eject itself when in a 20mph crash killing other innocent bystanders.
If you really want to design something that is ecologically friendly and SAFE for everyone else on the road, don't buy this junker and instead, spend some years in R&D actually DESIGNING something your own THEN after thorough testing, SELL IT. Don't sell this because you know the chinaman next door who is so cheap will certainly buy this junker, only to wreak havoc upon the safety among other automobile drivers!
USA! USA! USA!
Mindless xenophobia FTW!
Do you really think they're going to just stop here and say "Voila! The perfect car!". Of course not. This is an early version and essentially a proof of concept. The concept that an emissions free car CAN be built for a reasonable price. The POINT is that China is investing heavily into developing this type of car. The point is also that the U.S. is not. It is extremely naive and foolish for the U.S. to just dismiss this as a flawed idea. By the time a Chinese company develops a nice looking solar powered car that charges quickly and goes very far on a charge for under $20,000, we will already be too late and forever be playing catch up. Japanese cars were dismissed back in the 60's and 70's too. Now look where the American car companies are compared to the Japanese companies.
LOL
where are you from ?
Before laughing at China and the Chinamen, ask yourself, what has your OWN country ever achieved ? Sorry, not trying to offend you but if your country is one of those good for nothing countries then I am sorry, you're actually insulting your country more than insulting China.
"Chinamen"??
Good god this place never ceases to amaze me... *rolleyes*
Your US (Detroit) car? Parts made in China.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dimg2n2Azwg
Watch that and tell me you want to own a Chinese-made car again.
Air freshener?
Fluffy Dice, more like.
I like the idea/price of course that means no airbags and made of cheap (snapable) plastic and a negative star rating in any crash tests.
Adding this to a new diesel motor, would mean that even when it was time to fill up cheaper/cleaner/more fuel efficient.
From the size of it, I would say that it would be pretty easy to use modern solar cells, layered on instead of that block in the same amount of space just for looks.
Even though %90 do drive within that 40m per day it is that "wherever/whenever I want to go" feeling that a car does give you is why SOME fuel engine is needed for now.
so you charge the thing for 30 hours to drive for 1.5? that doesn't sound very feasible for most people. that charge would cause most of us to miss at least one day of work every week to use this car.
at this price, i buy 3 of each. That'd do it
I'm not sure why you'd miss a day of work unless your commute is like 100 miles a day, in which case it would be better for you to save money and move closer to work.
My commute is about 10 miles each way, so I'd be able to recharge that + more while parked at work for the 8-9 hours.
It would be much easier to have a home charging station (and could be higher capacity) and have this plug into its battery supply on a nightly basis.