“After all we don’t want to kill off the planet, so we must make efforts to cut down out emissions.” Like most of us, Peter Perkins too felt the same empathy for our planet. But unlike most of us, he set on a project to demonstrate his commitment and also something that would be challengingly render some pleasure and satisfaction. In a bid to motivate as well as enlighten others with the exceptional benefits of renewable energies like sun and wind, he decided to build a solar and wind powered van. Dedicating more then five hardworking years, his electric powered van uses onboard wind and solar generation to charge its batteries. Roll over for a video to understand how simple it is to construct a electric vehicle!
Starting with a basic Bedford Rascal van, Peter managed to do research and install various components required to turn it from an internal combustion engine powered, noisy, smelly, gas guzzler, into a silent, clean, electrically driven head turner. Electricity is stored in a large capacity set of Li-Ion batteries which are designed for repeated cycling, that is charging and discharging. These batteries are charged from a variety of sources at every opportunity. Solar power currently provides about 10% of the daily energy (based on his 26 mile daily commuting requirement) and as the 200w “Solara” solar panels are fixed to the vehicle, they charge the batteries at varying levels during all the hours of daylight. The batteries are also fed by an onboard mains powered Zivan NG3 3kw charger with a small charging socket behind the old petrol filler cap! The addition of a small “Air-X” wind turbine which produces up to 400w could render the vehicle independent of any mains power. An off board home made 50A 6KW charger can also be used for quick charging! Peter did find a London client for his solar creation and if you are keen for more information on this kinda eco-friendly DIY vehicle then read here. Via
