We are planning on having an open day early spring to show people just what is possible , please let us know if this is of interest to any of our supporters , Regards Ryan
Ryan Collingwood Great idea Ryan. What are the real numbers? What is the range of the boat without recharging? What is its maximum speed? What are the obvious limitations of being fully electric?
Love the boat and the whole concept on running on the power of the sun, I must come and see you guys and see what you can do for me. Keep up the good work
Great work. It's good to see, that there is more in naval interieur design than brownish wood-like surfaces and brass decoration overload. Could you think about a 49' version, so one could travel on the river Rhine and other continental waterways without the need of special licenses?
This is the way many boats and ships are going or have gone. But many like to think that old diesel is just so wonderful. Yes they are just so pretty and inefficient. This is the way it will all go: small diesel gen-set powering the all electric drive, batteries are charged by the gen-set and solar and/or wind. Remember trains are diesel/electric, cruise ships also.
That boat looks amazing! Inside and outside. Congratulations! And it's also one of the few examples with not just ridiculously low solar panel surface area / peak power. It doesn't seem to match very well with such a heavy displacement boat, though. But then again, you're probably not moving around a lot with that thing, so why not? On a more general note, not specifically regarding houseboats: What I don't understand is that there are really only very few examples light-displacement boats/yachts with serious solar power. It's a little sad that no company is yet really showing what's possible with solar-electric propulsion as competition to offshore sailing vessels. When I think e.g. of Silent-Yachts as another live-aboard example, they are also incredibly heavy (and rely on hybrid with diesel generators for serious passages, so the "trans-ocean" advertising isn't 100% honest). Most other solar boats are just little ferries or daytrip boats for tourists, but nothing for real independent solar-electric boating with 24/7 range. I'm curious what we're gonna see in the years to come! Solar panels and batteries get cheaper and there a many companies providing electric engines for boats. Now it's only a matter or "when", not "if"...
Well the boat looks amazing - and its quite cool its sun powered -but imho there was a lot of empty space still on roof for more panels - why it wasnt used ? - I would think more panels would provide faster charging - in this case the more panels the better ?
That is True , the more the better . when we built her we left cables to easily expand the array later . But turned out that 6kw of solar is more than ample for our use . yes if wanted to cross the channel more panels would be useful . For now its nice to have some outside space .
What is the hull made of? Can it cross the oceans? Is there a cannon option for dealing with pirates? I there an option to have two narrow ones joined together to make a catamaran?
Cannon no - but with all that battery power i bet Laser would be just okay :D As for crossing oceans - while cool i would think it would be to dangerous - these thingies are not meant for such voyages - they are more meant for canals and possibly rivers (so inland travel) - perhaps you could take it through canalfrom UK to France or along the coast line but to take it through open Ocean it would be to dangerous - and i dont think it would have enough battery power to make that "short trip" - the distance is just too high and power capacity is too low. it would probably take weeks if not more (most certianly more) Sun power is cool but kinda limited. i wonder what distance it could make on full battery bank - im curious but i dont think that would be a large number sadly. PS i could be wrong ofc so no worries i take that into account. cheers o/
Would you please send me more info about where i can construct a big boat with solar energy like this, really I need it my African country , thanks solar much
I absolutely like the Sunflower solar electric houseboat concept and technology, but I dislike the "ultra modern", "minimalist", "futuristic" interior...
Beautiful boat, but I've got to say the hanging lights in the living room are a terrible choice. They will hit the walls whenever the boat goes over a wave.
Aha! I looked on the website and found: "Underfloor heating A multifuel eco stove with a back boiler feeds a network of underfloor pipes warming the floor in winter and providing hot water to a storage cylinder for domestic use." at thamessolarelectric.co.uk/index.php?p=1_3
Beautiful boat. Would have been useful to know total kW of solar panels, size of battery in kWh, and electric motor power (kW). The 96 kW stated for the solar panels is not accurate. No way 20 panels have 96 kW output.
no , there is not 96kw of solar . you are correct. but there is 96kwh worth of battery . you see ,lets say each panel is 250w , that's a total of 5kw. which means say for arguments sake 5 hours of full potential sun light to be had . then , that would equate to 25kwh of solar energy into the battery bank . plus if the sun dont shine it can be charged from the mains .
I wonder if no sun what the range is guessing if in Canal would be further than up river but down river would be better. I do not know if canals have currents from tides over there but almost all in US do or all the ones I have been on and that includes all in GIWW and in Atlantic Intercoastal was well but have not run all of it. I would not even think of running that in South Florida not enough HP. I don't even know what it is but a 100 Hp or 50 per engine would be absolute tops and I would bet is is probably closer to half that. I would guess a day range with sun of about 40 miles but that is likely about all it would make running full speed which is probably about 4 knots. No sun maybe 20 miles would have to know how much energy the engines use in a hour and still can't guess without knowing actual stored energy in battery bank. Nice live abroad and since most diesel ones only have 50 to 70 HP it should be close to competition. Only downfall in England not a lot of sun.
Please have the courtesy as a critique, to state the correct method the writer might employ. Even better would be to explain the reasoning. I am sure many could benefit from the knowledge you might impart.
I am not the person you were replying too, but here are the things I know: A kilowatt is a measure of constant energy output, like horsepower. It's basically a way of measuring energy (in Joules) per second, which is why you can't measure stored energy with it (because it's per second). I think the writer meant to say kilowatt- _hours_ , which is the number of hours the full battery could constantly output 1 kilowatt for, before it runs out of energy. With this interpretation, it means that the battery can output 96 kilowatts for 1 hour, or 48 kilowatts for 2 hours, or 1 kilowatt for 96 hours, or any point in between.
Mark, thank you for those who may not have known. I am in the business but wanted to give the Philly Cheese Take a chance to man up and put things right. Just dropping a 'sharp shooter' comment is at best, very disappointing behavior, especially in a technical application that is pointed toward the general public that seeks innovation, candor and explanation. My hat is off to you and I pray that in the future, PCT is more of a contributor than currently displayed.
Philly Cheese Take is simply pointing out the error of the statement made in the video, that's wholly acceptable to any normal human being, because if it were left unchecked/unchallenged it would undoubtedly lead to some folk being either permanently misinformed or perhaps even confusion to some degree! - surely you can see the benefit of such a comment? Your own retort/quip comes across as somewhat arrogant, to insist that he ought to afford some full explanation along with pointing out the error! - or were you simply attempting to brag about your own knowledge and prowess in the field of electrical jargon?
You stated, "the benefit of such a comment" (A kilowatt is not a measure of stored energy). Philly Cheese Take left it to others to clarify his comment for the the readership. That is clearly not a benefit. The actual benefit was that someone responded with a clear explanation. I am quite proud to be an active and supporting member of the totally electric powered solar boat community for nearly 30 years. The best that can happen for the true benefit of all, is that meaningful discussion of positive events such as the introduction of the Sun Flower solar barge, be presented in an informative manner, with posts that help others understand the technology, not just question a few words of a presentation without adding value to the intent of the article. The Sun Flower article was quite informative as was the explanation by Mark Anonym ......A kilowatt is a measure of constant energy output, like horsepower. It's basically a way of measuring energy (in Joules) per second, which is why you can't measure stored energy with it (because it's per second). I think the writer meant to say kilowatt- hours , which is the number of hours the full battery could constantly output 1 kilowatt for, before it runs out of energy. With this interpretation, it means that the battery can output 96 kilowatts for 1 hour, or 48 kilowatts for 2 hours, or 1 kilowatt for 96 hours, or any point in between.
For me the balance between innovation and modernity on one hand and character on the other has gone a touch too far toward the former, where I would prefer the latter. That being said, I am not a boat engineer and do not know what it takes to find a good balance. It looks rather too much like a show-home, but then again when we look at show-homes we usually imagine what we'd do with the space once we moved in, and then there's the real-world scenario of having to cope with the up-keep etc of an older boat accommodating newer technologies - a problem that something like this will not face. Bit like cars and bikes I guess.... We all want 60 looks and 21st centry performance. Still, I would be extremely happy to be lent this for a fortnight, I am sure.
Lee Benstead Solar power is perfectly feasible in the U.K. and in terms of domestic generation now at cost parity with fossil fuels. I do doubt its effectiveness on a boat though, where the angles in relation to the sun will be constantly changing, and the fact that many moorings are overshadowed by trees, building or simply the landscape. I'd love a solar boat, but think a small diesel backup generator would be worthwhile- it could run at peak efficiency for shorter periods than a boat propulsion engine and has the benefit of waste heat for water and space heating - especially useful in winter when solar is low performing while heat requirements are high.
How disgusting is that so cold and heartless and characterless the bedroom looks like a Morgue, and the living room is also awful, what’s with the cold Morden look it’s plane nasty, how can you get cosy in a room like that, is as above t cosy as an old steel tanker, if this is the new look I’m not into it one bit and I’m a 30 year old man, a boat should be warm and cosy simple !
Awww, he seems to have decorated/furnished his boat very differently from how you would have. I feel your pain brother. How upsetting for you! #cozycrazy
Hey Daniel , thanks for looking , appreciate every one has different taste when it comes to internal fit out . love to see what you have done to compare ? maybe we can improve on our next boat build
We are planning on having an open day early spring to show people just what is possible , please let us know if this is of interest to any of our supporters , Regards Ryan
Ryan Collingwood do you think something similar could be done on a Narrowboat? I absolutely love the boat and the ideas
Ryan Collingwood
Great idea Ryan.
What are the real numbers?
What is the range of the boat without recharging?
What is its maximum speed?
What are the obvious limitations of being fully electric?
Love the boat and the whole concept on running on the power of the sun, I must come and see you guys and see what you can do for me.
Keep up the good work
I've been thinking about one of those type of boats for awhile ,great job ,beautiful boat 👍🏼
Lovely boat, awesome looking build. Electric envy! 👍🏻
Using timing belts rather than V belts could improve efficiency by 5%. Great to see solar on these boats.
Great work. It's good to see, that there is more in naval interieur design than brownish wood-like surfaces and brass decoration overload.
Could you think about a 49' version, so one could travel on the river Rhine and other continental waterways without the need of special licenses?
Nice job, from a fellow electric boat owner (mine's a sailboat). I like the interior design too!
Absolutely amazing video
Fabulous! Now we need a narrow boat version. 👍😎
That would be cool! we are busy building one . "Solar 5 "
@@thamessolarelectric3662 Great news! Maybe wire them up to the engine ( alternator?) as well so they can charge while cruising. Can’t wait! 👍
She's lovely!
This is my idea of living the dream 🙌🏻
no noisy diesel engine either 👏🏻
I'd be worried to leave it unguarded with all them high end panels lying about..
wow, my dream boat!
What a wonderful way to life!!!
This is the way many boats and ships are going or have gone. But many like to think that old diesel is just so wonderful. Yes they are just so pretty and inefficient.
This is the way it will all go: small diesel gen-set powering the all electric drive, batteries are charged by the gen-set and solar and/or wind. Remember trains are diesel/electric, cruise ships also.
nah, long stroke steam engine to drive the jenny. driftwood is free
Best wishes from Aleppy👍
This is the only boat I’ve seen that doesn’t look like a boat on the inside.
Gorgeous boat!
Would love to buy the drive system and solar panels to convert my boat to electric
That boat looks amazing! Inside and outside. Congratulations! And it's also one of the few examples with not just ridiculously low solar panel surface area / peak power. It doesn't seem to match very well with such a heavy displacement boat, though. But then again, you're probably not moving around a lot with that thing, so why not?
On a more general note, not specifically regarding houseboats: What I don't understand is that there are really only very few examples light-displacement boats/yachts with serious solar power. It's a little sad that no company is yet really showing what's possible with solar-electric propulsion as competition to offshore sailing vessels. When I think e.g. of Silent-Yachts as another live-aboard example, they are also incredibly heavy (and rely on hybrid with diesel generators for serious passages, so the "trans-ocean" advertising isn't 100% honest). Most other solar boats are just little ferries or daytrip boats for tourists, but nothing for real independent solar-electric boating with 24/7 range. I'm curious what we're gonna see in the years to come! Solar panels and batteries get cheaper and there a many companies providing electric engines for boats. Now it's only a matter or "when", not "if"...
Beauty.
Dobry sposób na życie. Gratuluję ...
Love it !
Nice boat
Twin Lynch motors - Cedric will be pleased : )
Met Cedric yesterday as it happens, at the EBA AGM: he is on good form as always!
Lovely.
Hey! More videos pls :)
i need one i would like to bld. one here in the U.S. to do the loop
How much does one of these cost?
Well the boat looks amazing - and its quite cool its sun powered -but imho there was a lot of empty space still on roof for more panels - why it wasnt used ? - I would think more panels would provide faster charging - in this case the more panels the better ?
That is True , the more the better . when we built her we left cables to easily expand the array later . But turned out that 6kw of solar is more than ample for our use . yes if wanted to cross the channel more panels would be useful . For now its nice to have some outside space .
I absolutely love this boat, how much to build something similar and how long would it take?
Hi Nayan, Do visit our website thamesolarelectric.co.uk for more info. Glad you like it!
@@thamessolarelectric3662 thamessolarelectric.co.uk
This is what you call “the business” P.S when do we get a self piloting one?
Thanks , we are working on making it remote controlled
What is the hull made of?
Can it cross the oceans?
Is there a cannon option for dealing with pirates?
I there an option to have two narrow ones joined together to make a catamaran?
Cannon no - but with all that battery power i bet Laser would be just okay :D
As for crossing oceans - while cool i would think it would be to dangerous - these thingies are not meant for such voyages - they are more meant for canals and possibly rivers (so inland travel) - perhaps you could take it through canalfrom UK to France or along the coast line but to take it through open Ocean it would be to dangerous - and i dont think it would have enough battery power to make that "short trip" - the distance is just too high and power capacity is too low. it would probably take weeks if not more (most certianly more) Sun power is cool but kinda limited. i wonder what distance it could make on full battery bank - im curious but i dont think that would be a large number sadly.
PS i could be wrong ofc so no worries i take that into account. cheers o/
Row Row Row your boat
gently down the stream.
WOW
Would you please send me more info about where i can construct a big boat with solar energy like this, really I need it my African country , thanks solar much
You can build boats anywhere , please see our website for more info
I absolutely like the Sunflower solar electric houseboat concept and technology, but I dislike the "ultra modern", "minimalist", "futuristic" interior...
I think the idea is to go hand in hand with the technology, personally I like it, but everyone is different I suppose!
Not this one I'm afraid but we build to client requests. See www.thamessolarelectric.co.uk for more info on what's possible. Thanks :)
A triumph
Beautiful boat, but I've got to say the hanging lights in the living room are a terrible choice. They will hit the walls whenever the boat goes over a wave.
I am quite sure that hanging lights are not mandatory...
@@clarkclarke Of course. But they still put them in this example, which was a poor choice.
Certainly different.
How do you heat the bedroom s
Heat
Actually, I think this is a good question. What would be a effective way to heat entire boat?
Aha! I looked on the website and found: "Underfloor heating
A multifuel eco stove with a back boiler feeds a network of underfloor pipes warming the floor in winter and providing hot water to a storage cylinder for domestic use." at thamessolarelectric.co.uk/index.php?p=1_3
@@Budnbuf Good because Solar is not very efficient at heating.
Beautiful boat. Would have been useful to know total kW of solar panels, size of battery in kWh, and electric motor power (kW).
The 96 kW stated for the solar panels is not accurate. No way 20 panels have 96 kW output.
no , there is not 96kw of solar . you are correct. but there is 96kwh worth of battery . you see ,lets say each panel is 250w , that's a total of 5kw. which means say for arguments sake 5 hours of full potential sun light to be had . then , that would equate to 25kwh of solar energy into the battery bank . plus if the sun dont shine it can be charged from the mains .
Am assuming it can also be charged from a normal electric point. In a marina for example.
96 kWh is not unreasonable battery storage: my Hynudai Kona has 64 kWh batteries, and weighs a lot less that Sunflower.
@@Kiltoonie i think your hyundi weighs much more in the water ;)
I wonder if no sun what the range is guessing if in Canal would be further than up river but down river would be better. I do not know if canals have currents from tides over there but almost all in US do or all the ones I have been on and that includes all in GIWW and in Atlantic Intercoastal was well but have not run all of it. I would not even think of running that in South Florida not enough HP. I don't even know what it is but a 100 Hp or 50 per engine would be absolute tops and I would bet is is probably closer to half that. I would guess a day range with sun of about 40 miles but that is likely about all it would make running full speed which is probably about 4 knots. No sun maybe 20 miles would have to know how much energy the engines use in a hour and still can't guess without knowing actual stored energy in battery bank. Nice live abroad and since most diesel ones only have 50 to 70 HP it should be close to competition. Only downfall in England not a lot of sun.
It doesn't matter: most cruising is done in Summer months, but those batteries can be recharged up from any power point, in the depths of winter.
How much?
May I direct you to our website www.thamessolarelectric.co.uk as we do different sizes and different levels of finish
Yes... give it to me..
💙👊😎
"96kw battery bank"
A kilowatt is not a measure of stored energy.
Please have the courtesy as a critique, to state the correct method the writer might employ. Even better would be to explain the reasoning. I am sure many could benefit from the knowledge you might impart.
I am not the person you were replying too, but here are the things I know:
A kilowatt is a measure of constant energy output, like horsepower. It's basically a way of measuring energy (in Joules) per second, which is why you can't measure stored energy with it (because it's per second).
I think the writer meant to say kilowatt- _hours_ , which is the number of hours the full battery could constantly output 1 kilowatt for, before it runs out of energy.
With this interpretation, it means that the battery can output 96 kilowatts for 1 hour, or 48 kilowatts for 2 hours, or 1 kilowatt for 96 hours, or any point in between.
Mark, thank you for those who may not have known. I am in the business but wanted to give the Philly Cheese Take a chance to man up and put things right. Just dropping a 'sharp shooter' comment is at best, very disappointing behavior, especially in a technical application that is pointed toward the general public that seeks innovation, candor and explanation. My hat is off to you and I pray that in the future, PCT is more of a contributor than currently displayed.
Philly Cheese Take is simply pointing out the error of the statement made in the video, that's wholly acceptable to any normal human being, because if it were left unchecked/unchallenged it would undoubtedly lead to some folk being either permanently misinformed or perhaps even confusion to some degree! - surely you can see the benefit of such a comment? Your own retort/quip comes across as somewhat arrogant, to insist that he ought to afford some full explanation along with pointing out the error! - or were you simply attempting to brag about your own knowledge and prowess in the field of electrical jargon?
You stated, "the benefit of such a comment" (A kilowatt is not a measure of stored energy). Philly Cheese Take left it to others to clarify his comment for the the readership. That is clearly not a benefit. The actual benefit was that someone responded with a clear explanation.
I am quite proud to be an active and supporting member of the totally electric powered solar boat community for nearly 30 years. The best that can happen for the true benefit of all, is that meaningful discussion of positive events such as the introduction of the Sun Flower solar barge, be presented in an informative manner, with posts that help others understand the technology, not just question a few words of a presentation without adding value to the intent of the article.
The Sun Flower article was quite informative as was the explanation by Mark Anonym
......A kilowatt is a measure of constant energy output, like horsepower. It's basically a way of measuring energy (in Joules) per second, which is why you can't measure stored energy with it (because it's per second).
I think the writer meant to say kilowatt- hours , which is the number of hours the full battery could constantly output 1 kilowatt for, before it runs out of energy.
With this interpretation, it means that the battery can output 96 kilowatts for 1 hour, or 48 kilowatts for 2 hours, or 1 kilowatt for 96 hours, or any point in between.
Surely part of the appeal is how quiet it is compared to a diesel-engined boat... so why stick music over the footage? Lol.
For me the balance between innovation and modernity on one hand and character on the other has gone a touch too far toward the former, where I would prefer the latter.
That being said, I am not a boat engineer and do not know what it takes to find a good balance.
It looks rather too much like a show-home, but then again when we look at show-homes we usually imagine what we'd do with the space once we moved in, and then there's the real-world scenario of having to cope with the up-keep etc of an older boat accommodating newer technologies - a problem that something like this will not face.
Bit like cars and bikes I guess.... We all want 60 looks and 21st centry performance.
Still, I would be extremely happy to be lent this for a fortnight, I am sure.
It doesn't have much character
Thats a matter of taste: what would you prefer: pine panels and chinz curtains?
Live aboard !! Don't make me laugh
This is a leisure industry now
was
Not the best country for a solar anything really.
Not the best Planet for a diesel anything !
Lee Benstead Solar power is perfectly feasible in the U.K. and in terms of domestic generation now at cost parity with fossil fuels. I do doubt its effectiveness on a boat though, where the angles in relation to the sun will be constantly changing, and the fact that many moorings are overshadowed by trees, building or simply the landscape. I'd love a solar boat, but think a small diesel backup generator would be worthwhile- it could run at peak efficiency for shorter periods than a boat propulsion engine and has the benefit of waste heat for water and space heating - especially useful in winter when solar is low performing while heat requirements are high.
I don’t like the inside design it...looks to sterile. Kinda like the inside of a hospital...no personality.
How disgusting is that so cold and heartless and characterless the bedroom looks like a Morgue, and the living room is also awful, what’s with the cold Morden look it’s plane nasty, how can you get cosy in a room like that, is as above t cosy as an old steel tanker, if this is the new look I’m not into it one bit and I’m a 30 year old man, a boat should be warm and cosy simple !
Awww, he seems to have decorated/furnished his boat very differently from how you would have. I feel your pain brother. How upsetting for you! #cozycrazy
Hey Daniel , thanks for looking , appreciate every one has different taste when it comes to internal fit out . love to see what you have done to compare ? maybe we can improve on our next boat build
everyone to his own
ok you can hang your dream catcher and furry throws. i would keep it as is and strip my bike over winter in there