Designing a Solar Powered Golf Cart for Sweet Briar College Sustainability

Abstract

Sweet Briar College boasts a sustainability program that maintains the on-campus greenhouse, among other activities. The program requested a solar powered golf cart to aid in the transport of people and produce around campus. Currently, a pickup truck is used to transport produce from the greenhouse to the dining hall. The sustainability program wanted a more environmentally friendly option. The goal of the project is to modify a golf cart to run primarily on solar power. The cart will be used to transport produce from the campus greenhouse to the dining hall as well as to give campus tours. Without any modifications, the golf cart was able to navigate all the areas on campus that it would be required to in order to transport produce and give tours. Based on the runtime and charging time of the unmodified golf cart, both the solar powered runtime and charging time were determined to be between two and three hours. The panel was mounted on the existing roof of the cart and the charge controller was placed below the back seat. Several designs for produce transportation were considered before settling on a removable storage system that fits onto the back seat of the golf cart. This was determined to meet sustain ability, cost, and capacity needs. A system was designed and installed on the rear of the cart. The next steps of the project are to test the system to ensure it can remain structurally sound with the additional weight, the charging rate, and the maximum runtime of the golf cart. By the project timeline the golf cart should be functional, running on solar power, and carrying produce by May.