Solar Charging Station Research Articles

Energy Management System for Hybrid Renewable Energy-Based Electric Vehicle Charging Station

This paper introduces an energy management algorithm for a hybrid solar and biogas-based electric vehicle charging station (EVCS) that considers techno-economic and environmental factors. The proposed algorithm is designed for a 20-kW EVCS and uses a fuzzy inference system in MATLAB SIMULINK to manage power generation, EV power demand, charging periods, and existing charging rates to optimize real-time charging costs and renewable energy utilization. The results show that the proposed algorithm reduces energy costs by 74.67% compared to existing flat rate tariffs and offers lower charging costs for weekdays and weekends. The integration of hybrid renewables also results in a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, with payback periods for charging station owners being relatively short, making the project profitable.

Solar PV-Based Electric Vehicle Charging Station for Security Bikes: A Techno-Economic and Environmental Analysis

Electric vehicles (EVs) are becoming more attractive for a variety of reasons. One of the major advantages of EVs is that they emit fewer polluted gases. Other factors that must be addressed include an increase in fuel prices and a decline in energy resources such as fossil fuels. These characteristics have a greater impact on Pakistan’s clean and green image. Electric vehicles are becoming an attractive option for reducing global fossil fuel usage, as well as CO2 emissions, from road transportation. The electricity required to charge an EV’s battery is commonly sourced from the power grid. When EVs are charged by the electrical grid, there are significant power constraints in the system. To promote renewable energy consumption and reduce CO2 emissions, specific solar system-based charging stations should be designed. Other benefits of renewable energy generation include increased grid flexibility and reduced grid congestion. Moreover, the State of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan, has a huge potential for solar energy. This article investigates the possibility of designing a solar photovoltaic-based EV charging station for security bikes located in the State of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan. Before installing a PV charging station, the charging station’s feasibility must be studied. The proposed study also analyzes the power reliability, energy cost, and CO2 emissions of a PV-powered charging station. The proposed system’s outcomes are compared to grid-based charging stations. In comparison to other existing approaches, there is a significant reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, including CO2, CO, SO2, and NOX. The proposed study anticipates the economic and environmental benefits of EV charging stations powered by renewable energy resources.

Different Forms of Solar Energy Progress: The Fast-Growing Eco-Friendly Energy Source in Bangladesh for a Sustainable Future

Global fossil fuel reserves are declining due to differential uses, especially for power generation. Everybody can help to do their bit for the environment by using solar energy. Geographically, Bangladesh is a potential zone for harnessing solar energy. In March 2021, the renewable generation capacity in Bangladesh amounted to 722.592 MW, including 67.6% from solar, 31.84% from hydro, and 0.55% from other energy sources, including wind, biogas, and biomass, where 488.662 MW of power originated from over 6 million installed solar power systems. Concurrently, over 42% of rural people still suffer from a lack of electricity, where solar energy can play a vital role. This paper highlights the present status of various forms of solar energy progress in Bangladesh, such as solar parks, solar rooftops, solar irrigation, solar charging stations, solar home systems, solar-powered telecoms, solar street lights, and solar drinking water, which can be viable alternative sources of energy. This review will help decision-makers and investors realize Bangladesh’s up-to-date solar energy scenario and plan better for the development of a sustainable society.

Solar Energy-Powered Battery Electric Vehicle charging stations: Current development and future prospect review

Solar energy offers the potential to support the battery electric vehicles (BEV) charging station, which promotes sustainability and low carbon emission. In view of the emerging needs of solar energy-powered BEV charging stations, this review intends to provide a critical technological viewpoint and perspective on the research gaps, current and future development of solar energy-powered BEV charging stations to fill the gap of the absence of review articles. The current technical limitations of solar energy-powered industrial BEV charging stations include the intermittency of solar energy with the needs of energy storage and the issues of carbon emission and maintenance of solar arrays. This review article also provides a detailed overview of recent implementations on solar energy-powered BEV charging stations, pointing out technological gaps and future prospects to serve as a guideline for academia and industry. The main observations from this review include the hybrid integration of other renewable energy such as wind or biogas can be a feasible solution to mitigate the intermittency of solar energy, battery swapping to mitigate the slow charging speed, utilising virtual inertia device to regulate frequency fluctuation that mitigate electricity blackout due to high penetration of solar or other renewable sources in power grid, and avoiding charging in the periods when the grid electricity has a high content of carbon emissions. The decentralised operations of energy management should be promoted to allow secured energy transactions and optimise charging/discharging operations. The optimal choosing criteria for the solar-enabled BEV are also provided as guidelines for industry or academia.

Planar Piezoelectric Transformer-Based High Step-Down Voltage-Ratio DC–DC Converter

High step-down voltage-ratio converters are widely used in medium-/high-voltage systems, such as solar power equipment and electric charging station as auxiliary power supplies fed from the dc bus. Traditionally, magnetic transformer-based solutions with high turns ratio are implemented for voltage conversion and galvanic isolation. Instead of utilizing electromagnetic coupling, the high-voltage Rosen-type piezoelectric transformer (PT) provides an alternative solution with electro-mechanical coupling, whose equivalent circuit can be represented by a resonant circuit with an ideal transformer. Moreover, the high-voltage Rosen-type PT features natural mechanisms for high-voltage insulation, high-voltage conversion ratio, and a compact planar form factor, which are all beneficiary for a high step-down auxiliary power supply. This article renders a Rosen-type PT-based high step-down voltage-ratio converter with comprehensive analysis and detailed design procedure. To better understand the operating principle, electrical characteristics of the PT are first analyzed. Effects of input and output compensation components of the PT and their tolerance analysis are subsequently discussed to optimize the performance. After that, topologies of both the input inverter and the output regulation stages are selected. The proposed design is finally validated by a planar prototype with 10-mm height, 5 W full output power, 200 V to 1.5 kV input voltage, and 5 V regulated output voltage.

Portable Solar Powered Outdoor Charging Station With The Application Of Servo Motor In Sunlight Tracking System With Light Detection Relay Sensor

The use of renewable sources of power has been greatly encouraged since the turn of the century owing to the limited source of fossil fuels. The richest fuel source in the area of renewable energy is solar energy. This experimental-development study focused on the fabrication and testing of a portable solar powered charging station with servomotor and light sensor and testing its acceptability in terms of functionality, aesthetics, durability and safety. This also focused on the determination of the effectiveness of the solar tracking system in the output voltage and current of the prototype. Moreover, efficiency in charging was also tested. Locally available materials were used in constructing the prototype which as equipped with a solar energy harvesting system and sunlight tracking system using Arduino uno to program the sunlight tracking module. Results of the study indicate that the prototype consisted of a harvesting system and a tracking module which enabled the rotation of the solar panels to the angle where solar energy harvest is maximum throughout the day. The Historic Data Chart of the Climate in the Philippines for the daily sunshine hours was used to determine the exact energy that can be harvested in one sunny day and the factors that will be affecting the On and Off condition of the LDR sensor for the lights. Results also suggest that the prototype is highly acceptable with a rating of very good in all the indicators of functionality, aesthetics, durability and safety. Further, there was a 7.62% and 33.39% increase in the voltage and ampere after installing the sunlight tracking system. Furthermore, it was found that the maximum number of gadgets that can be charged by the solar portable charging station is three laptops with 45 watts poer input in three hours and nine mobile phones with 5 watts power input in two hours or a combined full charge capacity of 575 watt-hours.

IOT Based Solar Charging Station for E-Vehicles

This project is about charging E-vehicle module using the Solar panel, availability of maximum power is viewed by IOT device and the maximum power generated by the solar is being tracked. The project is designed using hardware and software. The whole setup is connected to the Arduino; the battery level is viewed using an LCD. GSM modem is used to get an alert message for any reduction of power occurred in the system. A web page is used to check the availability status of charge can be displayed. The main idea of this paper is to reduce greenhouse gas emission and fossil fuel.

Design of Solar and Battery Hybrid Electric Vehicle Charging Station

Microgrids have emerged as a new way to integrate and use large-scale distributed power to provide electricity to isolated locations, such as islands and villages. A utility engineering microgrid structure is designed to provide fast response and efficient operation by analyzing hybrid power systems and fuzzy-PI-based control techniques. This project aims to design a solar photovoltaic (PV)-battery-diesel generator-based hybrid power system employing a Sepic converter. The Perturb and Observe algorithm is used for maximum power extraction from solar panel. A lithium-ion battery is utilized as a storage battery in this system, which may be charged by the PV source. When the storage battery is depleted and PV generation is unavailable, the charging station uses the grid and a diesel generator. The generated voltage is synchronised at the Point of Common Coupling (PCC) to achieve continuous charging. The simulation is done in MATLAB/Simulink. The simulation output of using the PI control strategy is compared with the fuzzy-PI control strategy. This demonstrates the efficacy of the fuzzy-PI control method.

Techno‐economic analysis of a hybrid solar wind electric vehicle charging station in highway roads

Renewable energy resources have a remarkable landmark across the world to provide electricity to the consumers without any inadequacy in the energy market. The utilization of renewable energy sources in electric vehicle charging stations is among the most prominent area of research in developing countries. This paper analyses techno-economic and environmental factors of hybrid solar wind vehicle charging stations at the highway of Southern Tamil Nadu, India. The sensitivity analysis is performed in the design of a charging station at the following highway locations at Madurai, Virudhunagar, Sattur, Kayathar, and Tirunelveli. The locations are chosen in such a way that, wind and solar potentials are having contradictory nature in the specified locations. The charging station is designed and optimized as ON-grid strategy using the hybrid optimization model for electrical renewable tool. The designed system is capable of charging 17 electric vehicles at day from forenoon 6:00 am to evening 6:00 am The attainment of the proposed designed system proves that Virudhunagar shows less net present cost with $303 291.26 and cost of energy as $0.072/kWh with 50% reduction in emission. Moreover, with a focus on economic analysis and Madurai produces 70% more electrical energy than other selected locations. Further, the performance analysis of the system is also studied and it shows more reliable results and is feasible considering both economic and technical studies.

Electric Vehicle Motor, Converter, Controller and charging station with challenges and Configurations: Review

Electric vehicles (EVs) are an emerging technology that enhances the ecology and environmental respect around the world through the automobile industry. The impact of electric vehicles mainly depends upon the efficient output of batteries and power converters. Converters and controllers used in the EVs have many drawbacks such as large switching loss, reduced dynamic response, increased current stress, and a larger number of components. The effectiveness of controllers, converters, and motors should be necessary to achieve reliable output power from the storage systems. Therefore it is necessary to choose the appropriate converter, controller, and motor to get efficient output. This review paper explores different types of converters, power controllers, EV motors, and charging stations with its advantage and disadvantage. A comparison was made on various types of Electric vehicles, power converters, EV controllers, charging stations, and motor with their commercial demand. Finally, this review article explores the challenges and gives suggestions for future electric vehicle development and application. Keywords : Electric Vehicle, DC-DC Converter, Controllers, Modulation Techniques, Solar Charging Station, EV Motors.

Technical and economic calculation of a solar-powered charging station for electric vehicles

Problem. Development and implementation of green technologies is both an urgent and a cost-effective scientific and engineering task. Therefore, the issues related to the study of renewable energy sources, which are used as the main sources of energy for electric vehicles, are quite relevant and promising. At the same time, an equally important question is how profitable is building solar charging stations in terms of both ecology and economy. Goal. The aim is calculation and analysis of technical and economic indicators of a solar charging station for electric vehicles (EV). Methodology. The analytical methods of studying the development and application of the ways and devices to transform the energy of the sun into electricity are used, as well as the methods of experimental research and mathematical methods of processing and modulation of the received results; methods of calculating technical and economic indicators. Results. The review of the literature on the development of renewable energy sources, in particular, solar power plants, and the spread of electric vehicles with the gradual displacement (replacement) of traditional cars working on internal combustion engines with electric vehicles (BEV and PHEV) was made. The main parameters and technical characteristics of the solar-powered charging station (SPCS) were studied. For the analysis and calculation of technical and economic indicators of SPCS for EV it is offered to take a SPP with a capacity of 20 kW as a basis. The calculation of SPCS electricity generation both for own consumption and for power supply of EV and the sale of surplus electricity to the general network at the “green tariff” was carried out. Originality. The technical and economic calculation of SCS was made taking into account the rise of electricity prices in Kharkiv region (Ukraine). Practical value. According to the analysis of the obtained results, it can be said that the payback period of SPCS for EV is about 7.9 years. If we consider the constant increase in the cost of electricity (approximately 15% per year), we can expect the payback after 6.8 years of operation.

High mass load of oxygen-enriched microporous hollow carbon spheres as electrode for supercapacitor with solar charging station application

Carbon materials modified with pores and heteroatoms have been pursued as promising electrode for supercapacitors due to the synergic storage of electric double-layer capacitance (EDLC) and pseudocapacitance. A vital problem that the actual effect of pores and heteroatoms on energy storage varies with the carbon matrix used presents in numerous carbon electrodes, but is ignored greatly, which limits their sufficient utilization. Moreover, most of modified carbon electrodes still suffer from severe capacitance degeneration under high mass load caused by the blocked surface and inaccessible bulk phase. Here, we shape an interconnected hollow carbon sphere (HCS) as the matrix by regulating and selectively-etching low molecular weight component in the inhomogeneous precursors, accompanied with the decoration of rich oxygen groups (15.9at%) and micropores (centering at 0.6–1.4 nm). Finite-element calculation and energy storage kinetics reveal the modified HCS electrode exposes accessible dual active surface with highly-matched electrons and ions for pores and oxygen groups to improve both EDLC and pseudocapacitance. Under a commercial-level load of 11.2 mg cm−2, the HCS exhibits a high specific capacitance of 288.3 F g−1 at 0.5 A g−1, performing a retention of 91.8% relative to 314 F g−1 under 2.8 mg cm−2 load, applicable for solar charging station to efficiently drive portable electronics.

Simultaneous Long-Term Planning of Flexible Electric Vehicle Photovoltaic Charging Stations in Terms of Load Response and Technical and Economic Indicators

Photovoltaic charging stations (PVCSs) are one of the most important pieces of charging equipment for electric vehicles (EVs). Recently, the process of designing solar charging stations as flexible sources has been growing and developing. This paper presents a relatively complete design of a solar charging station as a flexible economic resource in a 10-year planning horizon based on a genetic algorithm in two scenarios. PVCSs are not considered in the first scenario. This scenario is only to confirm the results, and the proposed method is proposed. However, in the second scenario, the effects of PVCSs and the demand response strategy (DR) on this development are considered. Copula probability distribution functions are used to create appropriate scenarios for vehicles during different planning years. The proposed energy management system shows a stable performance in terms of the annual load growth index and electricity price of each level of demand over the time horizon along with minimizing power losses and costs required, which makes PVCS efficiency higher and gives them a suitable structure and stability. The modeling results in terms of uncertainties in the system indicate that the use of load management along with PVCS design and flexible electric vehicle charge control strategies improves power quality parameters and optimizes system cost over a period of 10 years. Compared to the obtained results with the traditional case, it is observed that long-term planning in terms of DR and PVCSs and the technical specifications of the network have been improved. As a result of this proposed long-term planning, PVCSs are more flexible.

The influence of the hygrothermal aging on the strength and stiffness of adhesives used for civil engineering applications with pultruded profiles: an experimental and numerical investigation

ABSTRACT The use of the composite pultruded materials is increasing due to the particular characteristics of lightness, ease of installation, high corrosion resistance and, finally, lower maintenance costs. Even if the bolting technique is the most widely used, especially in the field of civil engineering re-adapting the rules valid for steel structures, thanks to several studies on adhesives, there is reason to believe that the best connection technique for pultruded profiles is gluing (the continuity of the fibers is guaranteed). Current applications involving such materials, strictly related to the field of civil engineering, include bridges, pedestrian and the motorway bridges, roof structures, helipads, solar charging stations, offshore structures, cooling towers and lockgates. In some of these structures, the system (composite material and resin) is in contact with water. Even if there are several studies on the durability of composite pultruded material, current literature referring to adhesives between pultruded adherents needs further investigation. Within this framework, the paper aims to investigate, from an experimental and numerical point of view, the effect of the hygrothermal ageing on both the fracture energy in mode II as well as the strength and stiffness of two commercial epoxy resins taking into account the further effect of the desorption. Finally, in view of a safe design of a bonded joint, limiting its behaviour to the elastic field only, a lower fracture energy value is presented in relation to the classical one.

Energy-Efficient Trajectory Optimization for UAV-Assisted IoT Networks

In this paper, we propose and study an energy-efficient trajectory optimization scheme for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) assisted Internet of Things (IoT) networks. In such networks, a single UAV is powered by both solar energy and charging stations (CSs), resulting in sustainable communication services, while avoiding energy outage. In particular, we optimize the trajectory design of UAV by jointly considering the average data rate, the total energy consumption, and the fairness of coverage for the IoT terminals. A dynamic spatial-temporal configuration scheme is operated for terminals working in the discontinuous reception (DRX) mode. The module-free, action-confined on-policy and off-policy reinforcement learning (RL) approaches are proposed and jointly applied to solve the formulated optimization problem in this paper. We evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed strategy by comparing it with other dynamic benchmark algorithms. The extensive simulation results provided in this paper reveal that the proposed scheme outperforms the benchmarks in terms of data transmission, energy efficiency and adaptivity of avoiding battery depletion. By deploying the proposed trajectory scheme, the UAV is able to adapt itself according to the temporal and dynamic conditions of communication networks.

Technical Economic Analysis of Photovoltaic-Powered Electric Vehicle Charging Stations under Different Solar Irradiation Conditions in Vietnam

At present, the electric vehicle (EV) market is developing strongly and widely across many countries around the world. Increasing clean energy infrastructure for EVs is a possible solution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help improve air quality in urban areas. Electric vehicles charged by electricity from photovoltaic (PV) systems can produce less emissions than conventional EVs charged by the utility grid. Thus, the combination of solar power and EV charging stations is one of the possible methods to achieve sustainable development in the current EV market. EVs in cities in Vietnam have developed very quickly in recent times, but the charging station infrastructure is still very limited, and most existing charging stations use electricity from the utility grid. In this paper, the optimal configuration of PV-powered EV charging stations is analyzed technically and economically under different solar irradiation conditions in Vietnam. The study results show that the optimal configuration and investment efficiency of PV-powered EV charging stations in each urban area are greatly affected by the solar irradiation value and feed-in tariff (FIT) price of rooftop solar power. In Vietnam, a region with high solar irradiation, such as Ho Chi Minh, is more likely to invest in PV-powered EV charging stations than other areas with lower solar irradiation, such as Hanoi.

Design of a solar charging station for electric vehicles in shopping malls

In this article, we present the design, sizing and modeling of a grid-connected solar charging station for recharging electric vehicles in shopping malls. The applied method consists of an analysis of the solar resource available at the location of the shopping mall, as well as the analysis, evaluation and selection of the components of the grid-connected photovoltaic system with the support of simulation software such as PVsyst and Helioscope, as well as analysis, evaluation and selection of the components of the charging points of electric vehicles and finally the economic analysis of the solar charging station in the shopping mall.

Problems that have occurred in higher education in connection with СOVID-19 on the example of the Master program of dual degree

Problem. The growing number of energy-efficient and environmentally friendly cars requires a completely new approach to the development of transport infrastructure designed for their operation, maintenance and repair. In this regard, a joint Master’s degree program in dual degree “Electric Cars and Energy Saving Technologies” (EC & EST) has been developed. But due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there were problems with the implementation of this program. Goal. The goal is analysis of problems that have arisen in higher education institutions due to the COVID-19 pandemic on the example of a joint educational Master’s program of dual degree “Electric vehicles and energy-saving technologies” and search for the ways to solve them. Methodology. Analytical and experimental methods of research of the solar charging station for electric cars which is intended for carrying out laboratory works are used. Results. The result is the analysis of the situation that arose in the university in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic on the example of the international educational Master’s program of dual degree EC & EST. It identified a number of problems that prevent the timely implementation of this program. Namely: the implementation of priority tasks related to improving the level of technical English of the research and teaching staff; to retraining and advanced training of scientific and pedagogical staff; to increasing mobility of teachers and students. Most of the planned activities have been postponed indefinitely. However, as part of the EC & EST program, a distance course in the Moodle educational environment has been developed. The paper provides a brief description of this course; description of the complex for laboratory and practical classes on the basis of a solar charging station for electric vehicles, which was developed in the conditions of adaptive quarantine. Laboratory and practical classes have been developed at this complex. Originality. The list of laboratory and practical classes that can be conducted on the developed complex is presented. Practical value. This work is an intermediate stage in the implementation of the program of EC & EST dual degree.

Energy cost minimization in an electric vehicle solar charging station via dynamic programming

Environmental crisis and shortage of fossil fuels make Electric Vehicles (EVs) alternatives for conventional vehicles. With growing numbers of EVs, the coordinated charging is necessary to prevent problems such as large peaks and power losses for grid and to minimize charging costs of EVs for EV owners. Therefore, this paper proposes an optimal charging schedule based on Dynamic Programming (DP) to minimize the overall cost of charging EVs for consumers in a solar Charging Station (CS). The large state space that makes the use of general DP inefficient is handled by using modified DP. Also, due to the stochastic behavior of the PV production, four different cases accounting for four different weather conditions are considered. Simulations are done for each weather condition and potential cost savings for customers and benefits for the grid are investigated in comparison to uncontrolled charging in each case. Simulation results demonstrated a significant decrease in the total CS purchased power cost, indicating reduced costs for consumers. Also, the optimal charging schedule shifts the charging sequence of EVs from high demand hours to low demand hours, to keep a smooth load shape for the distribution grid.

Energy management strategy for solid‐state transformer‐based solar charging station for electric vehicles in smart grids

This study introduces a type of solid-state transformer (SST) for solar power station design and an energy management strategy (EMS) for the SST. The purpose of this study is to design a real efficient EMS for the photovoltaic-assisted charging station in smart grid ancillary services and apply the optimal decision method. Also, the energy bound calculation (EBC) model is proposed to find the upper and lower bounds of flexible sources. Also, taking into account the EBC results and the power order from the aggregator, a charge power allocation algorithm is designed to distribute the power of flexible electric vehicles (EVs). With the help of a case study and laboratory analysis, the proposed EMS strategy is effective in real-time energy management and is suitable for practical applications. The obtained results show the stable performance in the calculation of the energy range and real-time power allocation which improves the efficiency of the photovoltaic-based charging station. Also, the SST improves the operation of charge stations for supplying the sustaining power.