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Technical Paper

The Impact of Vehicle-Integrated Photovoltaics on Heavy-Duty Electric Vehicle Battery Cost and Lifespan

2016-04-05
2016-01-1289
Heavy-duty electric powertrains provide a potential solution to the high emissions and low fuel economy of trucks, buses, and other heavy-duty vehicles. However, the high-capacity batteries needed to power these vehicles are both cost and weight prohibitive. One possible method of supplementing battery power is to mount flexible solar panel modules to the roof of these vehicles, thereby allowing for a smaller battery (reducing battery cost and weight) or extended vehicle range. Electric buses identified as the type of vehicle that would derive the most benefit from roof-mounted solar panels due to their low operating speed (including frequent idling) and large available surface area. In this paper, the performance of an electric bus with combined battery and photovoltaic power sources is simulated on the Orange County Bus Cycle for average weather in Davis, CA.
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