The whole electric vehicle world is directly & indirectly dependent on performance, life, safety & cost of high voltage battery which is used in vehicle primarily as energy storage system. The efficient thermal management of batteries is crucial for the performance and longevity of small commercial vehicles (SCVs). This paper explores innovative strategies aimed at enhancing energy optimization, range improvement, charging time optimization & cost reduction through the integration of insulation and thermoelectric cooling systems. As the demand for electric vehicles (EVs) continues to rise, particularly in commercial applications, effective battery thermal management systems (BTMS) have become increasingly important. Maintaining optimal operating temperatures is essential to ensure battery performance, safety, and lifespan.
The use of advanced insulating materials is a foundational element in maintaining stable battery temperatures. By minimizing heat loss and protecting against external temperature variations, insulation enhances thermal stability, thereby improving overall battery performance and reduces thermal load of cooling system implies reduction in compressor, pump and fan duty cycle which results in overall energy optimization. In this work polyethylene terephthalate material is used as insulating material having thermal conductivity is around 0.026 W/m-K.
The integration of thermoelectric cooling systems (TECs) offer precise temperature control by utilizing the thermoelectric effect to transfer heat away from battery cells using thermal storage system. This Thermoelectric cooling systems (TECs) with Thermal energy storage system is cost effective solution for SCV segment. In proposed technology, the refrigerant system is replaced with TEC coolers & PCM based thermal energy storage (TES) tank. During charging mode, the TEC cooler will get power from external grid supply & stores thermal energy in TES tank. During drive mode, battery temperature will be maintained by using thermal energy from TES tank, Results no power consumption from HV battery. During low ambient temperature condition battery heating performed by reversing the current polarity of same TEC module.
In conclusion, with integration these two strategy for Non-AC SCV EV’s results measurable improvement in range as well as reduction in overall system cost by 20-30% with achieving same battery thermal management requirements target.