By: Eric Holtmeier and Michael Gaytham

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Solar panels under intense light

Solar panels assembled

RC car with solar panels

Side view of car with solar panels

Power needed to run car .2 amps to keep the motor running .4 amps at the peek  6 volts to run motor

Solar panel power  15 small panels:  4 milliamps  5.7 volts  Big panel  24 milliamps  5.41 volts

Battery  One battery  1.5 volts  2 amps

Solar vs. Battery power  Solar needs direct sunlight to run at peek performance, while battery will run no mater the weather  Solar in the long run will most likely be cheaper than battery power, but you would need a hefty solar panel to run something that battery could run easily  Solar also doesn’t give out a lot of amps like batteries.

Solar vs. Battery power  The weight of the solar panel would have to factored into the weight of the car and the amount of output it would need to have to allow the car to run, while batteries are relatively light compared to solar panels and can have a higher output per size than a solar panel

Solar vs. Battery power  The amount of output of a solar panel can also vary with the quality of the solar panel, for example a 1 foot by 1 foot solar panel could have the same current and voltage as a 6 inch by 6 inch panel, while batteries are uniform in their output