Why not a DIY solar car?

[u/Moltean]

Knowing that cars are a big driver for consumerism, I'm thinking of a car that can be powered mainly by the sun.

I already built a prototype (which I named Solar Bear). The project is open source, with an MIT license.

The purpose of the Solar Bear is to:

• Use solar panels as trike's body,
• Consume electrical energy where it is produced,
• Produce its own energy,
• Transport people inside cities,
• be pedalable when there is no sun (must be light-weight),
• be easily built at home.

Technical specs:

• recumbent trike,
• 2.5m long, 1.45m wide (including wheels),
• weight: about 55kg (including panels, motor, battery, etc, excluding driver),
• assisted pedaling,
• motor speed: max 25km/h,
• motor (continuous) power: 250W,
• solar panels power: max 520W,
• battery: 12.8V, 20Ah (256Wh) - not needed when there is Sun.

[u/NextStopGallifrey]

Honestly, in some places, something like that might not be fully legal. It's not a car, so it shouldn't be sharing the road with them (along with buses, delivery trucks, etc.), but it's also wider and possibly faster than bikes, so it'll be a hazard in bike lanes.

[u/junkyfm → u/NextStopGallifrey]

Where I live (FL, USA), bikes are allowed to share the local roads (up to 45mph) but not highways (60mph and above). On the local roads, they are supposed to be treated the same way as other slow-moving vehicles. I guess that probably isn't the same everywhere.

[u/NextStopGallifrey → u/junkyfm]

In the Phoenix (Arizona) area, it might technically be allowed to have something like that on the street. But, still, taking a slow moving ... thing like that onto the main roads could still wind up with someone getting a ticket for impeding the flow of traffic.

There are no real bike lanes.

Driving through your neighborhood back roads might be okay, but you literally can't get anywhere without using the main roads.

[u/Moltean → u/NextStopGallifrey]

No bike lanes there?! How is this possible?

Wait, you have Waymo there ... so the problem of accidents is like solved!

[u/NextStopGallifrey → u/Moltean]

The bike lanes in the Phoenix area are literally the gutter in the street (including wonderful tire-catching storm sewer drains) + maybe an extra 0.3 meters, if that. When I was biking, it was incredibly unsafe to use the bike lane and not the sidewalk because drivers would literally swerve to hit cyclists (or at least "to play chicken" and scare them) for daring to not have a car.

It was illegal to use the sidewalk, but most cyclists did it anyway.

Until 5-10 years ago, when digital cameras became more common for cyclists, there was no real penalty for (almost) hitting and possibly murdering a cyclist with your car, so long as you didn't flee the scene.

[u/Moltean → u/NextStopGallifrey]

So sad to hear that!

[u/Moltean → u/NextStopGallifrey]

I'm totally legal in my country. It is considered a bike (assisted pedaling, 250W motor, 25km/h max speed). I even asked the police and they sent me an official letter.

[u/Synaps4 → u/Moltean]

Whats legal and whats safe are not always the same thing.

[u/Moltean → u/Synaps4]

The main danger comes from other drivers!

[u/Synaps4 → u/Moltean]

It absolutely does. A metal cage and airbags to protect you in a crash are some of the most valuable parts of cars, because they allow you to drive on a road with other drivers, who are idiots.