Hybrid Element in the plans? Fuel Cell Trailers?
11-12-2007, 05:27 AM
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Hybrid Element in the plans? Fuel Cell Trailers?
I was out and about this weekend and I saw a Honda Element towing an identically painted trailer. It was the Galapolos Green, and looked really neat.
I started doing some research and discovered this was a Little Guy. http://www.golittleguy.com/cms I did some looking around the site and saw the very same person in their photo gallery. Pretty cool, I think...
What I'd like to know is if there are plans on a Hybrid Element and secondly if those trailers could be wired to collect power for the vehicle by use of solar panels...
If anyone knows, please respond...I am looking for something like that and am thinking that I will get something done in 12 months or less...
I started doing some research and discovered this was a Little Guy. http://www.golittleguy.com/cms I did some looking around the site and saw the very same person in their photo gallery. Pretty cool, I think...
What I'd like to know is if there are plans on a Hybrid Element and secondly if those trailers could be wired to collect power for the vehicle by use of solar panels...
If anyone knows, please respond...I am looking for something like that and am thinking that I will get something done in 12 months or less...
11-13-2007, 04:19 PM
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Re: Hybrid Element in the plans? Fuel Cell Trailers? (GoingGreen)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by GoingGreen »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">What I'd like to know is if there are plans on a Hybrid Element and secondly if those trailers could be wired to collect power for the vehicle by use of solar panels...</TD></TR></TABLE>
I think you should forget about trying to use solar panels to make electricity for a hybrid-electric vehicle. They wouldn't produce enough power to make it worthwhile. Maybe they could make a noticeable increase in fuel economy if you were driving at noon through the Arizona desert, but even that's doubtful.
I've seen solar-powered cars before; the problem is, they're not really cars. They're really more like bicycles with electric motors, with a huge fiberglass shell on top coated with solar panels, and they only work when they're used in sunny deserts, and they only go 15 mph. The amount of power needed by something as heavy and powerful as an Element (or any car, for that matter) is huge compared to the amount of power gained from solar panels, especially when you're only talking about putting them on the roof of this tiny trailer.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but solar technology really isn't at the point where it can be used on cars yet. They do work well on houses (particularly those in sunny areas), but that's because houses have big roofs and you can put huge panels on them, much larger than the roof of a car or trailer. You also don't use that much energy in a house over the course of a day, compared to the amount of energy used by a large car/truck engine.
I think you should forget about trying to use solar panels to make electricity for a hybrid-electric vehicle. They wouldn't produce enough power to make it worthwhile. Maybe they could make a noticeable increase in fuel economy if you were driving at noon through the Arizona desert, but even that's doubtful.
I've seen solar-powered cars before; the problem is, they're not really cars. They're really more like bicycles with electric motors, with a huge fiberglass shell on top coated with solar panels, and they only work when they're used in sunny deserts, and they only go 15 mph. The amount of power needed by something as heavy and powerful as an Element (or any car, for that matter) is huge compared to the amount of power gained from solar panels, especially when you're only talking about putting them on the roof of this tiny trailer.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but solar technology really isn't at the point where it can be used on cars yet. They do work well on houses (particularly those in sunny areas), but that's because houses have big roofs and you can put huge panels on them, much larger than the roof of a car or trailer. You also don't use that much energy in a house over the course of a day, compared to the amount of energy used by a large car/truck engine.
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