When the world is obsessed about finding renewable sources of energy, solar power has become an important feature of daily life. The technology was released before it was tested, which gave it a poor reputation for reliability, but it has now acquired a promising position.

We re now considering the possibility of using solar powered vehicles. As the non renewable sources of energy are rapidly being consumed by motorists, the planet will be not able to supply the fuel after few years. This has generated the idea of running a solar car as a replacement.

Although there is nothing new about this technology. Since the invention of solar panels, scientists are trying to find out ways of harnessing the technology for the car. Their main motive is to run a car with no emissions, without consumption of fossil fuel. This will be the biggest development in the engineering industry after the invention of Wright brothers. But is it possible?

Manufacturers have taken steps to develop. Toyota marketing the most popular hybrid vehicle Prius is considering installing the solar panels in the new versions of Prius. But these panels will only be used to power the electrical and air conditioning systems in car. This is just an advancement in the general concept, as solar powered cars do exist. It is possible to power a vehicle with the force of sun, but the problem comes when we talk about practicalities.

The question that comes in our mind is if a solar powered vehicle is made, will it be able to replace the standard combustion engine? Toyota has implemented the concept of solar panels in air conditioning and electric systems, but may be after failing to power the entire vehicle with solar power.

The main problem in designing a solar powered vehicle is its size. A lot of solar power is required, which is far more than what we think is necessary in actual car. Necessary power can be generated for a small space that could power the electric engine, but only for short distances and in sunny climate.