Solar human hybrid vehicles are not new. Recently, a group of 8th grade students at Novato Charter School in California displayed the Solar Human Hybrid Project (SOHH) at the Maker Faire. This vehicle is a solar and a human powered cycle, designed in such a manner to accommodate four passengers, a dog and provides enough space to carry your personal goods. The quadracycle contains a 24 V motor, which is equipped with a 20 Ah silicone gel cell batteries, charged with the help of solar energy, which passes to the photovoltaic panels. It can achieve speeds of 18 mph.
Usability
No doubt, solar human hybrid vehicles are green. However, in terms of usability, I doubt these machines can deliver. Here are a few reasons:
• Speed: Solar human-powered vehicles always come with certain drawbacks such as low speed. If a person has to travel long distances, the user might struggle for power, in both human and solar cases.
• Cost: The cost of adding solar power to the vehicle is very high. Therefore, ordinary people cannot afford it. For example, the cost of 4cycle ZEM (Zero Emissions Machine) is $8,000.
• Weather dependent: Consistent bad weather may leave the machine sans the solar tag.
• Safety: Solar human hybrid vehicles like SOHH do not ensure high level of safety to the drivers. The possibility of imbalance cannot be neglected in this case.
These human powered hybrid vehicles seem to have some fun value indeed, with green toppings, however, but may not help the green movement overall in any way.