this post was submitted on 04 Jan 2024
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Risa
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Come on'n get your jamaharon on! There are no real rules—just don't break the weather control network.
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I worked on solar racing cars as a student. The main race crosses outback Australia. One of the questions we often got: Does it have A/C?
No, no it doesn't. A/C uses about as much power as all of the solar cells on the car deliver. We can either move, or power an A/C-unit.
Isn't the outback pretty hot? Think I would channel that power to the A/C and the radio and just include legholes.
Yabba dabba dooo!
That sounds like a hell of an awesome project
It is!
We run the A/C until the car is cool, then we move. The rest of the crew is with me on this.
So what do you do? Ice vest?
Jup. They do that. After an edition of the challenge where someone fainted and crashed due to the heat, they also added regulations for airflow. It might be hot outside-air, but that is still way better than inside-over air.
Sometimes, but they only work for so long. Mostly just bring plenty water and power through. Every stint is about 4 hours of driving, and then drivers change.
Hope you don't need a fire suit!
What about an evaporative cooler?
Either too heavy (these vehicles are below 200kg) or it doesnt work long enough. Or you're now hot and humid, which is worse than hot and dry
Wow 200kg is super light. No room for water weight in one of those, makes sense!