Continue reading here... http://www.phnompenhpost.com/post-weeke ... solar-shopAustralian solar energy company, Star8 International, yesterday opened its first showroom in Cambodia, near the Phnom Penh International Airport.
The company factory, located 15 minutes away from the new showroom, has been manufacturing a range of solar powered products – from tuk-tuks to buses and solar tiling – since it first opened 18 months ago.
According to Jacob Maimon, chief executive of Star8, the company has invested between $8 million and $9 million in Cambodia and produces about 200 to 300 vehicles a month.
“My goal is to sell 1,000 vehicles per month, and eventually I want to take over the whole [motor] industry, where in the next five years there will only be solar on the road,” he said.
Maimon said that Star8 products appealed to the environmentally conscious consumers, and Cambodia provided an ideal market for his company to launch from.
“The reason we decided to do [business] in Cambodia is because the roads are very tough, the sun is very good, and if our cars and vehicles can run here, they can run anywhere in the world,” Maimon said.
One-stop solar shop
One-stop solar shop
I'm not a negative person, I encourage people all the time...it's usually to f**k off! But, whatever.
Are there many of their solar tuk tuks on the road yet?
"That was probably Londo...He is always shitty." - Marvin
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The basic solar Tuk Tuk they sell for $2300 looks like great value. From memory, it had 2 x 150 amp/hr battery banks and 500 watts of solar panels. I have yet to see any on the road yet though, apart from the one that was taken from the showroom while i was there, presumably to give the batteries a shallow cycle. It had decent acceleration.
The $2300 model is on the right of the picture.
The $2300 model is on the right of the picture.
Are solar cells that efficient and powerful already to power a vehicle, or are there 2 systems that cohabit ?
Don't know much about the technology, but yeah, I thought some kind of hybrid vehicle would be first into the market.
I really like the idea of solar powered tuk tuks for cities like Bangers, Jakarta, PP etc, but what chance one government taking the environmental lead and decreeing that all tuk tuks must convert?
I really like the idea of solar powered tuk tuks for cities like Bangers, Jakarta, PP etc, but what chance one government taking the environmental lead and decreeing that all tuk tuks must convert?
"That was probably Londo...He is always shitty." - Marvin
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No the technology that is allowed is not there yet.
i'm the one who has to die when it's time for me to die, so let me live my life the way i want to
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There are 2 battery banks. One gets charged by the solar panel, while the other powers the tuk tuk. It is a 24 volt system so the 2 x Volt batteries are in series. The panel according to my calculations will output a maximum of 12.8 amps. That is 500 watts divided by 39 volts. There has to be a voltage potential difference i.e. a 12 volt battery needs around 19.5 volts from the panel to charge and about 12 hours to fully charge a single battery bank. No idea how much power the motor uses- it is described as 650cc on their site for some reason. The solar panel output will less (maybe as much as 25% depending on the sun and panel condition) than the theoretical output. Those figures are from my experience of having a 12 volt system on a boat.logos wrote:Are solar cells that efficient and powerful already to power a vehicle, or are there 2 systems that cohabit ?
The power generated would be way insufficient to power the tuk tuk all day, but as tuk tuks spend most of their day sitting around.....Star8 quotes a range of 120km.
The batteries which are wet cell, will need to be checked for electrolyte level daily. The driver will possibly need to charge from the mains.
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No there is not 2 battery banks there are 2-12v batteries which are needed to make one 24v battery bank and there is no way to run on one battery and charge the other.
No way are you going to get anything close to 650cc worth of power try like 50cc.
Your calculations are full typical amateurish miscalculations with information from salesmen. In the real world applications are much different you would need do have those panels on a tracking system to get anything near its output ratings just having static curved panels pointing up won't do it. Also those look like the type of panel with the one large crystal instead of individual smaller panels so if they are much pickier about have the whole surface evenly in the sun or the voltage drops way down with shadows etc.
See if they will let you rent or try one out for a week, which of coarse they won't, even if you tell them you are thinking of buy 10 of them. The distance they can travel will be short before power fades and the time to charge siting in full sun to a full 13.8v charge for lead acid batteries will be 3+ days.
There is a reason the solar vehicles used in the long distance events are all carbon fiber with light weight laptop batteries and about 6 times the panel area with the best, not even on the market panels. It's because they wouldn't work with out it and they carry one person without groceries.
No way are you going to get anything close to 650cc worth of power try like 50cc.
Your calculations are full typical amateurish miscalculations with information from salesmen. In the real world applications are much different you would need do have those panels on a tracking system to get anything near its output ratings just having static curved panels pointing up won't do it. Also those look like the type of panel with the one large crystal instead of individual smaller panels so if they are much pickier about have the whole surface evenly in the sun or the voltage drops way down with shadows etc.
See if they will let you rent or try one out for a week, which of coarse they won't, even if you tell them you are thinking of buy 10 of them. The distance they can travel will be short before power fades and the time to charge siting in full sun to a full 13.8v charge for lead acid batteries will be 3+ days.
There is a reason the solar vehicles used in the long distance events are all carbon fiber with light weight laptop batteries and about 6 times the panel area with the best, not even on the market panels. It's because they wouldn't work with out it and they carry one person without groceries.
i'm the one who has to die when it's time for me to die, so let me live my life the way i want to
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Lead acid batteries are not good for solar applications they will not recover from a deep discharge and run them too far down just once even if brand new then they are junk and 150 amp/hr battery is laughable that's like the size you would want for a electric bicycle.
i'm the one who has to die when it's time for me to die, so let me live my life the way i want to
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I knew I get pulled up on my figures.
I've seen them at the showroom. The system is 24 volt. It has 2 battery banks. Therefore 4 batteries. Yeah, I wouldn't take the batteries past 50%.
But please correct me on my calculations and information
I've seen them at the showroom. The system is 24 volt. It has 2 battery banks. Therefore 4 batteries. Yeah, I wouldn't take the batteries past 50%.
But please correct me on my calculations and information
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Thought I read it had 2 batteries not banks anyway there is 1.5 volts usable with those batteries 13.5 to 12v.sorrynothingpersonal wrote:I knew I get pulled up on my figures.
I've seen them at the showroom. The system is 24 volt. It has 2 battery banks. Therefore 4 batteries. Yeah, I wouldn't take the batteries past 50%.
But please correct me on my calculations and information
Get on a site that is not by someone in the business of selling you something people that are using the systems. Because like so may others you won't listen but as a general rule calculate you batteries then multiply it times 4 then figure the panel size for that and then multiply that times 4.
I lived off the grid for 45+ years 15years of that was as a full time liveaboard on my sailboat my system used 6 times the battery storage just for music, tv, laptop, cellphone and lights with 1000 watts of solar panels, 20 amp windmill and 150 amp alternator on the diesel auxilary just for that.
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I had 4 x 6 volt 105 amp/hr golf cart batteries on mine set up for 12v,120 watts of solar and an AIR 400w wind generator. A 12 volt 2 stroke generator that put 30 or 15 amps was used when the battery was 12.2 volt or so. I ran a 40 litre fridge and a 450 inverter that powered a big stereo and a laptop in later years. I eventually got a 1000w 4 stroke quiet honda and a 50 amp battery charger, a busted panel or two, ditched the wind gen, and used various smaller batteries for better sailing performance that never worked as well as the 4 golf cart ones. My boat was pretty small and i didn't have a diesel.
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I wish they were feasible I'd be first in line.
i'm the one who has to die when it's time for me to die, so let me live my life the way i want to
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