Club Car offers solar charging panels for select vehicles

Club Car‘s 48-volt electric Precedent golf cars, Carryall utility vehicles and Villager LSVs can now capture, store and use solar power with the addition of its new 100-watt solar drive-charging panel assembly.

“…Club Car is offering this new accessory to help our consumer, golf and commercial customers decrease grid charging and increase range on these vehicles,” says Randall Crook, Club Car’s interim aftermarket marketing manager.

As a yearly average, the system generates 29 percent of the total energy required to drive eight miles per day in West Palm Beach, Fla. That reduces the energy needed to recharge the battery by 29 percent. Results may vary depending on area and usage.

By continually transferring energy to the batteries, the panels limit how deep into the battery reserve a vehicle must go during a typical use.

These high-quality panels are based on technology developed for the U.S. Marine Corps, which uses it to run communications equipment in the Middle East.

The panels are made of a lightweight, impact-resistant, photo-voltaic material with a Teflon-like coating that protects the cells. The panels are manufactured in the United States.

The panels are 40 inches by 26 inches and fit snuggly on the canopies or cabs of Precedent golf cars, Carryall utility vehicles and Villager LSVs. They weigh less than six pounds and are .20 inches thick.

“The Club Car panels are designed with advanced power-harvesting technology that optimizes solar power during various weather conditions and rapidly converts it into electricity to recharge the batteries and power vehicles,” Crook says. “The system also features an intelligent microprocessor that allows a higher rate of charge and reduces charge time, without overheating.”

The panels come complete with a controller, connector to the vehicle’s power supply, all necessary hardware and installation instructions. They can be user- or dealer-installed in about 20 minutes.

In addition to the standard 100-watt panel for the vehicles mentioned, Club Car can configure solar panels for other types of vehicles through its custom solutions department.