High Power and High Efficiency Alternators for Passenger Cars

Automobiles continue to become more comfortable and functional with compact size, thanks to the addition of numerous electrical devices. The continuous increase in electrical loads particularly in passenger cars demands the power requirement of alternators to be increased. With significant increase in traffic density in all cities resulting in reduction of average speed of vehicles, it becomes necessary that alternators deliver sufficient output at low speeds also to ensure charge balance of battery. It may be noted that electrical power demand for passenger cars has already reached a level of 1.5 kW now in India and it is expected to further increase in future. When the electrical power demand increases to such high levels, improvement in efficiency of alternator is necessary to reduce fuel consumption. This paper discusses a few techniques used in alternators to improve the efficiency and output of alternators.