The Photon, built by the ASES student chapter at the University of Florida, is a recumbent style tricycle powered via pedaling and an electric assist system charged by a solar array. The goal of the Photon project was to construct a solar powered zero emission vehicle to demonstrate that solar energy has an important role in the transportation sector.A solar array is mounted directly onto the Photon versus having a stationary solar charging station. This feature separates the Photon from most other solar charged electric vehicles. The Photon is highly efficient and can travel approximately 8-10 miles per day at 20 mph on solar energy alone with the current setup, which is enough to meet the needs of many commuters.The Photon has gained positive response at university events and community wide demonstrations. Many have been intrigued with its ability to give independence and flexibility to the user, save time in traffic and parking by being legally operable in bike lanes and on sidewalks, as well as being environmentally-friendly, and cost effective. It has also been effective in exposing design problems in regard to powering a light electric vehicle with an integratedsolar array, such as sizing the battery system, charging newer battery chemistries with solar, appropriately sizing the solar system, and how to store and deploy the solar array. The paper will describe the design process and performance testing in greater detail. It will also provide a computer simulation to theoretically determine maximum power needs and overall energy consumption for given trip characteristics for other light electric vehicles.
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