scholarly journals Environmental Impacts of Integrated Photovoltaic Modules in Light Utility Electric Vehicles

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (19) ◽  
pp. 5120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olga Kanz ◽  
Angèle Reinders ◽  
Johanna May ◽  
Kaining Ding

This paper presents a life cycle assessment (LCA) of photovoltaic (PV) solar modules which have been integrated into electric vehicle applications, also called vehicle integrated photovoltaics (VIPV). The LCA was executed by means of GaBi LCA software with Ecoinvent v2.2 as a background database, with a focus on the global warming potential (GWP). A light utility electric vehicle (LUV) named StreetScooter Work L, with a PV array of 930 Wp, was analyzed for the location of Cologne, Germany. An operation time of 8 years and an average shadowing factor of 30% were assumed. The functional unit of this LCA is 1 kWh of generated PV electricity on-board, for which an emission factor of 0.357 kg CO2-eq/kWh was calculated, whereas the average grid emissions would be 0.435 kg CO2-eq/kWh. Hence, charging by PV power hence causes lower emissions than charging an EV by the grid. The study further shows how changes in the shadowing factor, operation time, and other aspects affect vehicle’s emissions. The ecological benefit of charging by PV modules as compared to grid charging is negated when the shadowing factor exceeds 40% and hence exceeds emissions of 0.435 kg CO2-eq/kWh. However, if the operation time of a vehicle with integrated PV is prolonged to 12 years, emissions of the functional unit go down to 0.221 kg CO2-eq/kWh. It is relevant to point out that the outcomes of the LCA study strongly depend on the location of use of the vehicle, the annual irradiation, and the carbon footprint of the grid on that location.

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1.8) ◽  
pp. 172 ◽  
Author(s):  
G Sreenivasa Reddy ◽  
T Bramhananda Reddy ◽  
M Vijaya Kumar

The PV array generates smaller amount of the power compared with other electrical power generation components. There are many components that are adversely effected the output of PV array in such components, one is partial shading. Due to this, each module in PV array receives different solar irradiations causes different P-V characteristics of its peak values. This paper presents a pioneering method called as Magic Square configuration has been proposed to enhance the generated power of photovoltaic modules by configuring those are under affect of shade. Thus there is no change of electrical arrangement of PV modules in an array but only the objective location in the total cross tied (TCT) array is rearranged according to the magic square arrangement. Proposed paper gives comparison data with the conventional configuration method and hence the performance is calculated. The proposed technique provides a better solution that how shadow effect on the PV  modules has been reduced and how this shadow is distributed, and not only that also gives an idea  about how the inequality losses due to the partial shading is effectively reduced. The power loss of  various configurations of 3X3 and 4X4 array has been compared. The proposed technique is validated through MATLAB/Simulink environment. 


Coatings ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kensuke Nishioka ◽  
So Pyay Moe ◽  
Yasuyuki Ota

Not all sunlight irradiated on the surface of a photovoltaic (PV) module can reach the cells in the PV module. This loss reduces the conversion efficiency of the PV module. The main factors of this loss are the reflection and soiling on the surface of the PV module. With this, it is effective to have both antireflection and antisoiling effects on the surface of PV modules. In this study, the antireflection and antisoiling effects along with the long-term reliability of the silica-based layer easily coated on PV modules were assessed. A silica-based layer with a controlled thickness and refractive index was coated on the surface of a Cu(In,Ga)Se2 PV array. The array was exposed outdoors to assess its effects and reliability. As a result of the coating, the output of the PV array increased by 3.9%. The environment of the test site was relatively clean and the increase was considered to be a result of the antireflection effect. Moreover, it was observed that the effect of the coating was maintained without deterioration after 3.5 years. The coating was also applied to a silicon PV module and an effect similar to that of the CIGS PV module was observed in the silicon PV module.


Energies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chayut Tubniyom ◽  
Rongrit Chatthaworn ◽  
Amnart Suksri ◽  
Tanakorn Wongwuttanasatian

Configurations of photovoltaic (PV) modules, such as series-parallel (SP), bridge-linked (BL), and total cross-tied (TCT) configurations, always utilize a number of connecting switches. In a simulation, the ideal switch with no loss is used to optimize the reconfiguration method for a solar PV array. However, in practice, the switches are non-ideal, causing losses and resulting in a decrease in the total output power of the PV array. In this work, MATLAB/Simulink (R2016a) was employed to simulate nine PV modules linked in a 3 × 3 array, and they were reconfigured using series-parallel (SP), bridge-linked (BL), and total cross-tied (TCT) configurations for both ideal and non-ideal switch cases. It was not surprising that non-ideal switches deteriorated the output power compared with ideal cases. Then, the minimization of losses (ML) configuration was proposed by minimizing the number of switches to give the highest output power. A 5% higher power output was set as the criterion to reconfigure the PV modules when partial shading occurred. The results showed that if 50% or more of the area was partially shaded, reconfiguration was unnecessary. On the other hand, when the shaded area was less than 50%, reconfiguration gave a significant increase in power. Finally, the ML method had different configurations for various shading patterns, and provided better results than those of the TCT method.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Umanand L

This article presents a frank and open opinion on the challenges that will be faced in moving towards an electric mass transport ecosystem. World over there is considerable research activity on electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles. There seems to be a global effort to move from an ICE driven ecosystem to electric vehicle ecosystem. There is no simple means to make this transition. This road is filled with hurdles and challenges. This paper poses and discusses these challenges and possible solutions for enabling EVs.


Electricity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-109
Author(s):  
Julian Wruk ◽  
Kevin Cibis ◽  
Matthias Resch ◽  
Hanne Sæle ◽  
Markus Zdrallek

This article outlines methods to facilitate the assessment of the impact of electric vehicle charging on distribution networks at planning stage and applies them to a case study. As network planning is becoming a more complex task, an approach to automated network planning that yields the optimal reinforcement strategy is outlined. Different reinforcement measures are weighted against each other in terms of technical feasibility and costs by applying a genetic algorithm. Traditional reinforcements as well as novel solutions including voltage regulation are considered. To account for electric vehicle charging, a method to determine the uptake in equivalent load is presented. For this, measured data of households and statistical data of electric vehicles are combined in a stochastic analysis to determine the simultaneity factors of household load including electric vehicle charging. The developed methods are applied to an exemplary case study with Norwegian low-voltage networks. Different penetration rates of electric vehicles on a development path until 2040 are considered.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (13) ◽  
pp. 3736
Author(s):  
Jae-Oh Han ◽  
Won-Hyeong Jeong ◽  
Jong-Seok Lee ◽  
Se-Hoon Oh

As environmental regulations have been strengthened worldwide since the Paris Climate Agreement, the automobile industry is shifting its production paradigm to focus on eco-friendly vehicles such as electric vehicles and hydrogen-battery vehicles. Governments are banning fossil fuel vehicles by law and expanding the introduction of green vehicles. The energy efficiency of electric vehicles that use a limited power source called batteries depends on the driving environment. Applying a two-speed transmission to an electric vehicle can optimize average speed and performance efficiency at low speeds, and achieve maximum speed with minimal torque at high speeds. In this study, a two-speed transmission for an electric vehicle has been developed, to be used in a compact electric vehicle. This utilizes a planetary gear of a total of three pairs, made of a single module which was intended to enable two-speed. The ring gear was removed, and the carrier was used in common. When shifting, the energy used for the speed change is small, due to the use of the simple method of fixing the sun gear of each stage. Each gear was designed by calculating bending strength and surface durability, using JGMA standards, to secure stability. The safety factor of the gears used in the transmission is as follows: all gears have been verified for safety with a bending strength of 1.2 or higher and a surface pressure strength of 1.1 or higher. The design validity of the transmission was verified by calculating the gear meshing ratio and the reference efficiency of the gear. The transmission to be developed through the research results of this paper has a simple and compact structure optimized for electric vehicles, and has reduced shift shock. In addition, energy can be used more efficiently, which will help improve fuel economy and increase drive range.


Author(s):  
Christian Dorsch ◽  
Xiao Wang ◽  
Ferit Küçükay

AbstractThe calibration of conventional, hybrid and electric drivetrains is an important process during the development phase of any vehicle. Therefore, to optimize the comfort and dynamic behavior (known as driveability), many test drives are performed by experienced drivers during different driving maneuvers, e.g., launch, re-launch or gear shift. However, the process can be kept more consistent and independent of human-based deviations by using objective ratings. This study first introduces an objective rating system developed for the launch behavior of conventional vehicles with automatic transmission, dual-clutch transmission, and alternative drivetrains. Then, the launch behavior, namely comfort and dynamic quality, is compared between two conventional vehicles, a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle and a battery electric vehicle. Results show the benefits of pure electric drivetrains due to the lack of launch and shifting elements, as well as the usage of a highly dynamic electric motor. While the plug-in hybrid achieves a 10% higher overall rating compared to the baseline conventional vehicle, the pure electric vehicle even achieves a 21% higher overall rating. The results also highlight the optimization potential of battery electric vehicles regarding their comfort and dynamic characteristics. The transitions and the gradient of the acceleration build-up have a major influence on the launch quality.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 6163
Author(s):  
Yongyi Huang ◽  
Atsushi Yona ◽  
Hiroshi Takahashi ◽  
Ashraf Mohamed Hemeida ◽  
Paras Mandal ◽  
...  

Electric vehicle charging station have become an urgent need in many communities around the world, due to the increase of using electric vehicles over conventional vehicles. In addition, establishment of charging stations, and the grid impact of household photovoltaic power generation would reduce the feed-in tariff. These two factors are considered to propose setting up charging stations at convenience stores, which would enable the electric energy to be shared between locations. Charging stations could collect excess photovoltaic energy from homes and market it to electric vehicles. This article examines vehicle travel time, basic household energy demand, and the electricity consumption status of Okinawa city as a whole to model the operation of an electric vehicle charging station for a year. The entire program is optimized using MATLAB mixed integer linear programming (MILP) toolbox. The findings demonstrate that a profit could be achieved under the principle of ensuring the charging station’s stable service. Household photovoltaic power generation and electric vehicles are highly dependent on energy sharing between regions. The convenience store charging station service strategy suggested gives a solution to the future issues.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 107
Author(s):  
Tao Chen ◽  
Peng Fu ◽  
Xiaojiao Chen ◽  
Sheng Dou ◽  
Liansheng Huang ◽  
...  

This paper presents a systematic structure and a control strategy for the electric vehicle charging station. The system uses a three-phase three-level neutral point clamped (NPC) rectifier to drive multiple three-phase three-level NPC converters to provide electric energy for electric vehicles. This topology can realize the single-phase AC mode, three-phase AC mode, and DC mode by adding some switches to meet different charging requirements. In the case of multiple electric vehicles charging simultaneously, a system optimization control algorithm is adopted to minimize DC-bus current fluctuation by analyzing and reconstructing the DC-bus current in various charging modes. This algorithm uses the genetic algorithm (ga) as the core of computing and reduces the number of change parameter variables within a limited range. The DC-bus current fluctuation is still minimal. The charging station system structure and the proposed system-level optimization control algorithm can improve the DC-side current stability through model calculation and simulation verification.


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