For the last couple of years, the electric car DC batteries have been put to different design tests to check out the optimum efficiency. The prototypes were built to test the designs which were offered for sale after making certain designs adjustments. It is fair to say this is an exciting time for electric vehicle (EV) enthusiasts.

Today the world has greatly improved battery storage technology which has aroused great interest in the practicality of pure electric cars. Before, no one gave a lot of interest to EV when gasoline prices were relative low and batteries were not up to the mark.

Now, the situation is very much different. With the rising gas prices and battery becoming smaller, lighter and able to last longer, the humble electric car is getting much attention these days and is gaining popularity.

When EV was introduced to the mass market, there were problems with earlier models because they were powered by Direct Current (DC) energy source. The older batteries which supplied the power were very heavy in weight and have proved ineffective due to battery life.

The biggest issue was that these cars required highly powerful electric motor to move the vehicle because the weight of the batteries was very high. Such a drawback limited the range and increased demand for more batteries. More battery means more weight to the car. Can you see how this is a perpetual negative cycle?

The main goal of EV manufacturers was to reduce the weight of the batteries and have it last longer before needing a recharge. Engineers were desperately trying to find an alternative to DC batteries. Luckily, they have made novel designs improvements on electric cars making it less demanding on the batteries.

One system which engineers used was to put a small generator that uses gasoline to charge the batteries. This method proved very effective as this system kept band of batteries enough charge to run the cars on electric motor thus extending its mileage.

Other system which was being explored simultaneously was to have Photovoltaic (PV) solar panels to charge the batteries as the EV is being driven during day time. The additional charge from the PV panels will definitely keep the batteries juiced up when it is on the road.

This system worked very well on sunny days but ineffective during night time. Although not perfect, the range of electric trial cars got broadened.

Due to the technology improvements in the recent years, the public interest on pure electric cars has increased tremendously. As battery designs have become smaller and lighter, the life span of a charged battery is also improving. With the constant improvement in battery technology, it is only a matter of time before the practically of EV out strip a car using an internal combustion engine.

The only problem now is the cost of such batteries which makes electric cars more expensive. With the advancement in the technology and mass production, prices are expected to come down. There is a hope such cars will be available in the market in next couple of years.

As a matter of fact, you can already purchase road ready pure electric cars from BMW, Chevrolet, Nissan and Ford. Understandably, EVs are not as good as their fossil fuel burning brothers. But give it some time, technology will make it better.

Have you ever spotted an electric car on the street, it is quite impossible to identify such cars as these cars quite resemble gasoline powered cars? If you are an automobile enthusiast, you can probably spot easily an electric vehicle (EV) among many cars, the other way is to spot an electric powered car is the excellent level of silence that these cars have.

The beauty lies in the silence of the motor of electric powered cars which does not produce any deadly emissions. The technology of the gasoline powered and electric powered cars is totally different and all the difference lies in the hoods of these cars.

If you want to know the working of EV, you need to explore the hood by opening it. The gasoline powered car engine contains many boxes and pipes which looks like a complicated plumbing work but with pure electric cars, the features are totally different and looks like a complicated electrical work.

The car which is electric powered uses its motor to power the wheels which will be totally different than gasoline powered cars. The electric motor directly uses electricity and starts rotating, which means the power is instant and this power can be used from the get go.

The main problem with EV is when it climbs a steep hill. This energy system is not adequate to propel the car upward on hilly surfaces. This is one of the challenge EV manufacturers are working very hard to resolve.

Initially, the electric car motor were powered by normal car batteries which did not have long usage life, but now this issue has been resolved to great extent by using modern lithium-ion batteries that will allow you to drive your eco-friendly vehicle for a longer duration without having to be recharged.

The working principle in the electric vehicle is an AC charger which charges the battery unit. After starting the vehicle, the power is directly passed on from the battery bank to the electric motor. There is a meter which is known as voltmeter instead of gasoline meter normally found in gasoline run cars. The voltmeter shows the level of remaining battery charge which is an indication to get the batteries recharged.

Pure electric cars do not have clutches therefore you have limited control on the power output from the motor. Instead of an accelerator, it has a potentiometer that allows increasing or decreasing the torque generated by the electric motor.

If you are planning to use air conditioner in your car, there is an additional battery source used for onboard heater. The power windows and other accessories are also powered by this secondary electric power source.

As compared to an automobile powered by an internal combustion engine, increasing the speed on an EV will give you a lower mileage because more current is needed to power the motor. Understandably, the present pure electric cars in the market have many flaws. But with the passage of time and improvement in technology, these cars will become more efficient and most importantly become cheaper to buy. Pure electric vehicles are the best alternatives to gasoline which has contributed to the destruction of our environment.

Though the concept for a solar powered car is there, a practical car powered by solar cells is yet to be manufactured. To produce a car that works on solar power, the technology to harness and store solar energy has to develop further.

The Photovoltaic (PV) solar cells which we use today can produce energy but the problem is its storage. The weight of the car is another problem. As the weight of the car increases, more energy will be needed to move it.

If solar cells are going to be installed on a car, the car needs to be extremely large since the PV panels occupy lot of space. A large car will naturally have more weight. Then there are the deep cycle batteries which add more weight to the car.

A pure electric car will have a series of batteries stored inside the vehicle. The entire battery storage system setup can be quite heavy. When we include the weight of the passengers and the driver, the car becomes quite heavy and it will be difficult to install so many solar cells to produce energy sufficient enough to move a heavy car.

So what does this means? Well, it means that a solar powered vehicle will remain just a dream as long as the technology to produce and store the energy generated by the PV cells doesn’t develop further.

Technology Development Needed

Increasing the energy production capacity of individual solar cells and decreasing the size of power storage batteries are some of the developments that should take place in order to a solar powered car to become a reality.

It is estimated that if each Photovoltaic cell doubles its energy production and that the weight of batteries could be reduced by half, a solar powered vehicle will hit out roads in only a couple of years.

Developments in nanosolar technology have given hope to solar powered car enthusiasts. Unlike the traditional solar cells, nanosolar technology uses a spray of solar cells and the spray can be applied all over the body of the car. The spray contains very tiny solar cells which are capable of converting solar energy into electrical energy.

These nano solar cells are infrared sensitive and so can utilize infrared rays from the sun to produce energy even when the sun is covered by clouds. These dot-like solar cells can be installed on the car by mixing them with the car paint.

Irrespective of the weather conditions, the nano solar cells will go on producing power to charge the batteries on the car. Though nanosolar technology can produce more energy, but the problem of weight still remains unsolved. The heavy batteries have to be there to store the power produced by the nanosolar cells.

Efforts are on to increase the solar power output by spraying these solar cells on to windows of vehicles and homes. American scientists are investigating into the possibility of producing solar power on a large scale by installing a large number of PV panels and storing the power for use in electric vehicles throughout the country.

This is a feasible project as the technology to produce and store solar energy already exists. What does not exist is awareness among people and government that solar energy is a viable source of clean and renewable energy that can be put to different uses.