Solar car races Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Solar car races - Essay Example It is predicted solar energy would improve in the near future because of its competition with electricity and other energy applications. There are various ways of to use solar energy for example, the use of photovoltaic systems to convert light directly into electricity. The solar water heating system converts sunlight to heat water and the solar thermal system that concentrate solar radiation into small space to produce high temperatures (Mangu et al., 2010, p.6). The solar power has numerous advantages over other traditional energy sources because they are cost effective owing to the cheapness of the panels used in trapping sunlight. The state and the local government incentives are making it affordable and pure since it does not pollute the environment by increasing the carbon footprint (Kotler 2011, p.132). The solar energy can be trapped anywhere at any time since the panels take minimal space to install making them suitable for urban and locations. The solar energy is maintenance free than other forms of energy requiring constant maintenance like wind turbines. Solar energy is easily used in remote areas where it is expensive to increase the electricity power grid. It is conveniently used to power most of the electronic devices by inserting a small miniature panel to absorb sunlight transformed to electrical impulses to power the devices. Other sources of energy like oil reserves can be depleted but the solar energy is infinity and can l ast forever. The solar car gets its electricity by converting sunlight into electrical energy through photovoltaic cells. The photovoltaic cells are passed into the battery for storage for future use, or directly transmitted to motor to run the vehicle. The micro-controller chip embedded on the vehicle, which is also responsible for controlling the motion of the car smoothly when the pedal is pressed, performs the process. A solar car functions in various ways, such as capturing sunlight and