Tap Into The Sun's Energy With Solar Power Car Kits

While they might sound like they'd feature prominently in a science fiction novel, solar power car kits are the science of now. Ranging in size from novel, but educational, toy designs to full-model, street legal vehicles, these kits are valuable for more than the energy they save. They also serve to inform the populace about this often untapped, cleaner source of power.

Solar energy car kits are designed to operate much like any other solar energy system. Rather than provide power for a remote location or to offset the energy use of a hot water heater, however, these machines actually provide the juice to drive a vehicle. On the small end of the scale, solar toy car kits are designed to use the sun's energy to power batteries that enable the designs to function. The full-size car model kits, however, often operate using a combination of photovoltaic solar power and electricity. Either energy source can be used to charge the batteries.

Full-size solar energy car kits do have some limitations. At present, these machines, although street legal, don't typically enable long distance trips before recharging is a must. They also are only designed to operate at low speeds.

Despite some draw backs with human-sized solar power cars, both models offer some valuable insight into this technology. The lessons that can be learned by these models include:

• Insight into the viability of solar energy - Although solar cars have a long way to go, the reality is the two designs show the viability of using this power source to replace fossil fuels.
• The cost savings of going solar - As many people find themselves paying more and more at the pump, the "free" source of power provided by the sun is gaining attention.
• The reduced environmental impacts - Solar energy is a cleaner, renewable source of power. The operation of both types of solar driven cars helps illustrate this point.

A Solar power car kit might not be an example of perfection, but it does serve a very viable purpose. It clearly demonstrates that the sun's power can be used to move man and machine. We recommend this article on beginners solar kits.