Analysis of the power balance of a solar catamaran
¹Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies, Faculty of Engineering,
Motor Vehicle Institute, J. Cakstes blvd 5, LV3001 Jelgava, Latvia
²Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies, Faculty of Economics and
Social Development, Institute of Business and Management Science, Svetes street 18, LV3001 Jelgava, Latvia
*Correspondence: dainis.berjoza@llu.lv; inara.jurgena@llu.lv
Abstract:
Significant changes are expected in the percentage distribution of vehicles in the world over the next decade. It is planned to gradually replace conventional internal combustion vehicles with electric drive ones, thereby reducing environment impacts and the production of gases contributing to the greenhouse effect. It is necessary to foster similar trends regarding watercraft, replacing the internal combustion engines with electric motors. An experiment used a solar-powered catamaran equipped with a standard electric motor Minn Kota Endura 34, a 450 W monocrystalline solar cell and a 40 Ah lithium iron 12 V battery. A pyranometer was used to measure solar energy. The experiment used a data logger GL 220 that measured the energy flow to the battery and the electric motor. The experiment was conducted in Jelgava on 5 July 2022, with the maximum altitude of the sun reaching 56.7°. The experiment identified that at an average solar intensity of 500 W m-2 on a sunny day, the solar catamaran could be moved by means of solar energy without discharging the batteries at all power settings.
Key words:
charging, motor power, solar catamaran, solar intensity, solar panel power