Development of Range Extended - Solar Power Assisted Electric Vehicle

Economy and Emissions are the main concerns for success of any commercial vehicle in the present day automotive market. Electric vehicles are attracting more attention due to their advantages in these two points of view as compared to Conventional fuel based vehicles. However, an important drawback for electric vehicles to be noticed is its range per a single charge. In this paper, an attempt has been made to overcome this drawback by upgrading an electric vehicle. The existing electric vehicle is converted into solar power assisted electric vehicle and the range of the vehicle has been increased further by adding auxiliary power unit (IC engine + alternator). A control unit has been developed for energy management. This paper also discusses the performance characteristics of solar panels and IC engine. Results show that the range of converted electric vehicle has been increased by 1.8 times when compared with existing one. In addition, further range can be extended by using auxiliary power unit. An economical improvement and emission reductions have been observed with the upgraded electric vehicle.