Fanshawe College
IN-2: Innovation 2

Solar-Powered Small Utility Vehicle (SUV) Fanshawe College is currently in the commercializing stage of the Solar-powered Small Utility Vehicle (SUV) project. Dr. John Makaran, Chair of Industrial Research and Ke Liu, a faculty member in the School of Applied Science & Technology are leading the project in collaboration with Otterville Custom Golf Carts. The goal of this project is to create a solar energy management system that can be incorporated into existing electrical utility vehicles to increase battery life and operate without frequent charging. The battery functions by extracting the maximum power available from the sun, even in low light conditions. Since 2008, the team at Fanshawe, which has included both faculty and co-op students, has been researching and developing battery charging kits, which can be retro-fitted to existing golf carts. These units are being beta-tested at local golf courses as well as the City of London. Currently data shows a 15%- 20% extension in battery life. All carts being tested at golf courses came back with a full battery after being utilized for the day. Thus far, 10 units have been created for Otterville Custom Golf Carts, one of which was sold to London City Chrysler. While Fanshawe has primarily focused on creating the kits for golf carts, they have wider applications and could potentially function with any electrical utility vehicle.

Increase of battery efficiency and performance of 20%. 2011 and 2012 have shown a 40% improvement in energy utilization (2, 18 hole runs to 5, 18 hole runs) Additional URLs http://www.fanshawec.ca/node/70113 https://reduceimpact.ca/action/why-golf-those-sunny-days-fanshawe-college-has-answer