Is it possible or not?

Thread Starter

K Venkat Bhargav

Joined Jun 30, 2015
1
I am a novice in electronics. I am pursuing my graduation in Electronics and communication engineering. I have to make a project after 2 years, for that I have to give an idea about the project and needed material right now. Me and my mate have decided to make a solar bike which runs on solar power.

Is it possible run a moped on entirely solar power or we need to have a stand by?
if possible then,
Is it possible to install a Andriod phone into the bike?
 

Evanguy

Joined Dec 21, 2014
85
I would assume not unless you only took it out on very sunny days, or had battery bank onboard to use durning clouds.Also yes you can mount an andriod on the moped
 

tcmtech

Joined Nov 4, 2013
2,867
Well there is about three magnitudes of order in the power consumption between one and the other so.........

What size of solar cell do you think is practical to mount on a bicycle or moped? o_O
 

#12

Joined Nov 30, 2010
18,224
One problem I suspect is the size of the solar panels. Imagine trying to pedal a sailboat because the solar panels will look like a big, flat, horizontal sail.
And...TCM said pretty much the same thing.
 

Papabravo

Joined Feb 24, 2006
21,159
There has been quite a bit of work on human powered vehicles. There is a bicycle version with aerodynamic fairings and such. You could mount the solar panels to those.
 

SLK001

Joined Nov 29, 2011
1,549
I'm not going to answser your question, but I will guide you to answer it yourself.

1) What is the minimum power required to run your moped of choice (W/hr)?
2) What is the average solar incidence in your region of the planet (W/hr)?
3) What is the best conversion efficiency of solar cells that you can buy (%)?

With these three tidbits of information, you will easily be able to determine if this project is worth doing.
 
^^ or slight down hill to counter act the rolling resistance
I would say that a moped, given its weight in comparison to a high-tech carbon fiber or aluminum bicycle, would be an absolute no-go. You need a very light-weight bicycle with high-pressure road tires just to consider the idea, in my opinion.
 

alfacliff

Joined Dec 13, 2013
2,458
e bike technology has progerssed to the point that people are getting caught with batteries and motors in race bikes now, it might be possable, also look into the newer flexable photo voltaic cells.
 

Johann

Joined Nov 27, 2006
190
I'm not going to answser your question, but I will guide you to answer it yourself.

1) What is the minimum power required to run your moped of choice (W/hr)?
2) What is the average solar incidence in your region of the planet (W/hr)?
3) What is the best conversion efficiency of solar cells that you can buy (%)?

With these three tidbits of information, you will easily be able to determine if this project is worth doing.
Good starting point! With the low efficiency of existing pv panels, the collector area will need to be QUITE BIG, i.e. the bike will have to be VERY long or VERY wide! Hopefully the future will bring us more efficient solar panels.
 

SLK001

Joined Nov 29, 2011
1,549
Good starting point! With the low efficiency of existing pv panels, the collector area will need to be QUITE BIG, i.e. the bike will have to be VERY long or VERY wide! Hopefully the future will bring us more efficient solar panels.
Even with 100% conversion efficiency, the bike will have to be VERY long or VERY wide (just not as bad as before).
 

Roderick Young

Joined Feb 22, 2015
408
A solar charged moped or bicycle is a practical vehicle, as the design is basically a battery charger. Size of the panel is no longer critical, and neither is efficiency. Range is based on the battery size.

If you want a vehicle that runs without batteries, that's a challenging design, and only a few have tackled it. Everything becomes a tradeoff at that point. Top speed is limited by the power the panel delivers, and you can't arbitrarily increase the panel size without thinking about weight, wind resistance, and maneuverability. One tip: if you're attempting this, make your panel similar in width to the bicycle, not much wider. If the panel is long, so be it. If the vehicle is too wide, you'll find it impossible to roll on the sidewalk, difficult on a bike path, and on an open road, cars and trucks will become annoyed that you are blocking the roadway.

My ongoing project is at pididu.com if you are interested.
 
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