 Sophomore Physics II class member Brent Garber (right), Hutchinson, Kan., takes Hesston College Academic Dean Sandra Zerger on a spin around campus on the solar-powered golf cart on Earth Day, Tuesday, April 22. |
April 29, 2008
An Earth Day gathering Tuesday, April 22, hosted by the Hesston College Academic Dean’s office and the College Physics II class, celebrated the class’ semester-long feasibility study and development of a solar-powered golf cart. Sunny, warm spring weather greeted the special occasion.
During the semester, five Physics II students and two faculty members explored the feasibility of a solar-energy powered golf cart. They included sophomores Cody Batchelor, Durango, Colo.; Brent Garber, Hutchinson, Kan.; Andrew Spotts, Wauseon, Ohio; Tyler Wojcik; Durango, Colo.; and freshman Zefanya Yuwono, Kudus, Indonesia, along with physics professor Nelson Kilmer and chemistry professor John Yost.
From early January until late March, the five students conducted research and tests on photo-voltaic (PV) collector performance, battery storage and charging controllers, electric circuit diagrams and cart wiring, measuring electrical loads, and performance expectations, taking into account factors such as cart weight, passenger weight, and terrain. Assembly and testing, which included a trial run of the cart on campus sidewalks, began on a partly-sunny morning Tuesday, March 25, and continued for nearly a month.
Batchelor and Spotts worked primarily on the solar collectors, which sit on the cart’s roof. They said class research indicates a solar golf cart will work. “On a sunny day, the cart will average 3.2 miles total at up to 12 miles an hour,” Batchelor said. “On a cloudy day, the average is 2.5 miles.”
“Instead of plugging the cart into an electrical outlet overnight,” Garber noted, “you park the cart in the sun and it charges during the day.” Professor Kilmer said the solar panels will “collect enough energy in one day to play one round of golf (18 holes, with an estimated distance of 4 miles).”
Spotts cautioned, however, that the cost is higher than the cost of electricity. “If the cost of the solar panels would come down,” he said. “this system would pay for itself, whether one uses it for a golf cart or heating one’s home.”
Wojcik added that the solar panels, which are seven years old, have a nine percent efficiency that needs to improve. Current solar panels are now in the 16 percent efficiency range, which is an improvement. But, he emphasized, “this application for a solar golf cart is practical, since a golf cart is always in the sun.”
In Indonesia, the application is more practical, according to Yuwono. “Solar panels are much more useful, since we receive more sunlight on average than Kansas,” he said. “Since our country is located at the equator, we don’t need to factor in the angle of the sun.
“It’s been fun to see what’s involved in this project,” Spotts said. “And the information is easier to understand, because we’re applying what we’ve learned.”
Batchelor agreed. “It’s a better learning experience because it’s hands-on.”
According to Spotts on Earth Day, the performance of the solar cart is better than expected after a month of tests. “I’m impressed with the results. The solar panels have powered the cart for a month of testing and have topped off the six six-volt batteries. The panels have kept the charge up on the batteries on cloudy days. The panels even collected a little energy on rainy days.”
“This solar golf cart is definitely green,” he said. “We get a lot of power out of it. It’s just not cheaper than electricity yet.”
Cody Batchelor reported that as a result of this semester’s studies, “My family [in Durango, Colo.] plans to install solar panels on our house. We want to help out the environment where we can.
“With a thinner atmosphere in the higher altitudes of Colorado,” Batchelor said, “we expect to get a greater charge from the solar panels, increasing their energy output.
“We’re also interested in alternate fuels,” he said. “My dad and Tyler Wojcik’s dad (both from Durango) are teaming up to convert a car engine so it will run on natural gas.”
 Sophomore Physics II class member Linea Bartel of Iowa City, Iowa, (left) explains the solar golf cart's charging system to Academic Dean Sandra Zerger (right). |
Interested persons took rides around campus on the solar-powered golf cart. Printed on the front of the roof is the following: “Start Here, Go Forever!”, a take-off of Hesston College’s marketing tagline, “Start Here, Go Everywhere.”
“Today’s presentation was a perfect combination of technical knowledge and application,” Academic Dean Sandra Zerger said after the Earth Day celebration. “The students had to communicate what they did and learned. Everything worked together on Earth Day, even the weather.
“Too often, we think of academic classes as theoretical,” Zerger emphasized. “If we don’t see an application of theoretical knowledge, it’s like education in a vacuum.”
“I was impressed with the students,” Zerger said. “I asked them technical questions and they were able to reason through them and come up with answers. It was fun to see and hear their excitement.”
“As energy costs go up,” Professor Kilmer said, “people are starting to think about alternate energy. Photo-voltaic (PV) energy—converting light into energy—is one possibility. The production and use of PV panels in the world has doubled in the last year with lower costs. The panels also operate without producing any emissions into the environment and are guaranteed to last at least 25 years.”
Hesston College Physics Department