Feeling uncomfortable with air pollution caused by motorized vehicles made I Putu Dedi Wihartama Griadhi want to make alternative vehicles that are more environmentally friendly. It occurred to him to utilize renewable energy which is not only more environmentally friendly but also more cost-effective.
It was this idea that prompted the man from Sanggalangit Village to build a solar-powered electric car. Dedi began to design the prototype of the car, starting from the iron frame, rear wheels, front wheels, controllers, and propulsion in the form of a dynamo powered by batteries and solar panels. His capital, Dedi spent 30 million on the driving mechanism and 5 million on other materials.
"I use simple materials for the prototype or the first experiment, so that I don't spend a lot of money and just realize my dream of using solar energy," said Dedi to
The features of a solar-powered car, Dedi are designed like a conventional car, namely turn signals, headlights, taillights, and audio devices. However, Dedi added a feature in the form of an electric jack so that he can utilize energy from solar panels.
"We provide jacks or external cables and inverters to change the voltage, if for example the energy is not used up during the day, it can be used for electricity at home," he said.
To store the energy produced by solar panels, Dedi uses VRLA batteries, a type of deep cycle battery with a power of 20 amperes and 60 volts that can be recharged many times. The lifespan of these batteries if used and cared for properly can be more than 5 years.
The solar-powered car, said Dedi, could be an alternative vehicle that is more efficient, environmentally friendly, but strong enough to answer the needs of the community. Besides being able to be used all day long as long as there is sunlight, the car can also be used for some time at night.
"While walking, you can charge him, as long as there is light on this car, it can continue to run at a speed of 40 km per hour. Meanwhile, without sunlight, you can walk as far as 15 km back and forth," he explained.
In addition, Dedi claims the car is also tough enough to carry out daily work for the community, its payload capacity is around 500 to 750-kilo grams.
"So to transport garbage in the villages, it is quite enough," added Dedi.
The plan is that after this car passes the trial period and is commercialized to the public, Dedi will provide the necessary spare parts as a form of after-sales service to its buyers.
Not an electrician, not a car engineer. The man with a bachelor's degree in Economics was solely self-taught as a hobby. A lot of knowledge is learned such as learning micro controllers, making CNC, and programming ICs such as Atmega and Arduino.
Not only using solar panels for cars, but Dedi also applies solar panels to meet the electricity needs of his home. The power is enough to turn on 2 AC units, lighting, water pump, washing machine, and refrigerator. Dedi uses 2 Lifepo4 batteries to store electricity in his house. Per unit, the price can reach 20 million rupiahs.
"Everything can be covered using solar panel power, so without PLN electricity we can use it 24 hours with solar panels," explained Dedi.
Daddy's biggest motivation for utilizing solar power is because, in Bali, Indonesia a tropical country, the supply of sunlight is very abundant. So, it is useless if it is not used properly.
For this reason, he is not tired of making breakthroughs in renewable energy as a solution for using energy that is cheaper and environmentally friendly. In addition, he also has a passion for sharing knowledge and experiences.