Engineers Invent Extended Range Solar-Powered Electric Vehicle

A U.S. patent application has been filed by Florida Atlantic University for an invention which optimizes the capture of solar energy using an array of automatically adjusting high-efficiency photovoltaic (PV) cells that can significantly extend the range of an electric vehicle.

Inventors, Roger Messenger, FAU professor of electrical engineering, and Max Saelzer, FAU graduate student, used a golf cart as a potential application for their invention. The PV array mounted on the cart automatically adjusts to the angle of the sunlight for the enhanced capture of solar energy to charge the onboard batteries. When the batteries are charged and the cart is not being driven, any additional energy can be used to supply power to external electrical devices such as electric lawn and gardening tools or a power grid. The PV array can also be used in a natural disaster, such as hurricanes, by supplying energy to an emergency load.

The optimized methods used in this invention result in up to five times as much energy captured from the sun when compared to previous designs. When applied to a golf cart, this can extend the range of the cart by one or two rounds of golf per day depending on weather conditions and location. With the increasing cost of fuel and electricity, this invention will reduce the amount of energy needed from the utility company, thus creating a cost saving, environmentally sensitive vehicle with the unique ability to act as a portable power generator.