Solar Charging Station Research Articles

Plataforma Cloud de Monitoreo del Funcionamiento de una Electrolinera Solar Fotovoltaica

El Estado ecuatoriano está interesado en promover la integración de energías renovables en el sector transporte, con especial atención a las islas Galápagos. En este contexto, el presente artículo describe el diseño e implementación de una plataforma informática cloud de monitoreo del comportamiento de una estación de recarga de vehículos eléctricos, alimentada desde un sistema solar fotovoltaico aislado, actualmente en funcionamiento en el campus Huachi de la Universidad Técnica de Ambato. En el presente estudio se realiza una breve descripción del diseño, dimensionado, instalación y puesta en marcha de la electrolinera solar fotovoltaica instalada en la ciudad de Ambato. El monitoreo remoto de la electrolinera está integrado en una plataforma cloud que garantiza realizar el seguimiento del óptimo funcionamiento de instalaciones solares en diferentes zonas geográficas del país. En este sentido, la electrolinera solar fotovoltaica representa un prototipo replicable y escalable en zonas aisladas, en especial en las islas Galápagos. La plataforma cloud de monitoreo remoto permite analizar el comportamiento de los diferentes elementos de la instalación solar: paneles, reguladores, baterías e inversores. La presentación de los datos adquiridos de forma visual permitirá al personal a cargo de la instalación registrar el correcto comportamiento de la electrolinera y estar alerta ante fallos inesperados, garantizando el normal funcionamiento de la electrolinera.

Solar energy contribution to an electric vehicle needs on the basis of long-term measurements

The European Commission has set the rules towards a cleaner and more sustainable environment. Considering that the transportation sector is a great GHG emitter, not only have pollution limits been set, but also the directives for the necessary infrastructure have been introduced. Namely, renewable energy sources (RES)-based electromobility is strongly promoted by EU countries so as to encounter the polluting internal combustion engines on the one hand, and the fueling of electric vehicles (EVs) with electricity generated from fossil fuels on the other. In this context, the current study provides useful insight with regards to RES-based electromobility, using real measurements from the operation of the innovative, solar-based EV charging station of the Soft Energy Applications and Environmental Protection Laboratory of the University of West Attica. The particular installment can operate both autonomously and connected to the local grid and is used both for research and the actual charging of EVs, with similar installations believed to pave the way -together with other novel elements- for the creation of smart grids and future smart cities. The results of the specific study derive from the adoption of specific distance scenarios (km per annum) concerning average drivers and normal driving patterns. The available vehicle is discharged under real-world driving conditions and afterwards charged under the same charging speed in order to assess the contribution of solar energy (photovoltaics (PVs)). To this end, it is proved that a solar carport of 3kWp total capacity can support an EV covering more than 20000km within one year. The importance of the results lies in the fact that the energy consumption of a Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) is estimated under real-world driving conditions, together with the respective PV or grid contribution necessary for charging the vehicle, while, in addition to that, sizing directions for a solar charging station used for the supply of a BEV’s annual energy needs are provided.

ANALYSIS OF SOLAR POWER STATION SCHEMES ON PHOTOELECTRIC MODULES FOR ELECTRIC CARS CHARGING STATIONS

The analysis of existing schemes for building solar power stations on photoelectric modules with the revealing of their operation principles and functionality has been conducted. The specified technical characteristics of each of the analyzed schemes are given. The structural scheme of the solar charging station for electric cars with determining its functional capabilities and operation features is proposed. The practical application of this scheme will help to reduce the dependence on the general electric power supply network and will create conditions for its total rejection

Design, Dimensioning, and Installation of Isolated Photovoltaic Solar Charging Station in Tungurahua, Ecuador

In this article the process of design, sizing and installation of the first solar photovoltaic electric vehicle charging station isolated from Ecuador is described. The construction of solar electric vehicle charging station is framed within the concern of the Ecuadorian State to promote the integration of renewable energies in urban transport and in isolated areas of the country. In this sense, the electric vehicle charging station is revealed as a prototype that been allowed the standardization of the technical characteristics of solar photovoltaic materials to be used in a set of photovoltaic isolated rural projects in different provinces of country. In addition, an optimized design of this solar photovoltaic electric vehicle charging station can be installed in the Galapagos Islands, allowing address the problem of land transport in the islands with the use of massified renewable technologies currently technically and economically very competitive.

DC-DC CONVERTER WITH FUZZY CONTROLLER FOR SOLAR CELL APPLICATIONS ON MOBILE ROBOTS

Emerging technologies increase the needs on self efficient mobile robotic applications that bring a new concern of sustainable and continuous power supply for the robotic platforms. This paper covers the various techniques and technologies used to design a solar powered robot, exploring the currently available products, software and limitations to this application. The main aim is to integrate a fuzzy logic based charging system which allows the batteries to be charged from solar panels, wall outlet, and a deploy-able solar charging station. The goal of this paper is to summarize the tested methods and results to expedite future researchers in the correct direction. This paper will cover only up to the design of the DC-DC converter and simulation, as further work is still pending implementation on actual hardware.Simulations results are provided to evaluate the feasibility of the paper for future implementations.

Scheduling electric vehicles with shared charging stations

Zimbabwe has one of the highest maternal death rates in the world, partly because of the difficulty in getting expectant mothers from rural villages to health care facilities. Specifically designed electric vehicles, called African Solar Taxis, are currently being developed for a rural hospital in Zimbabwe. The vehicles will be charged at solar charging stations located at the hospital and at heath clinics. The vehicles have limited speed and range, and charging is slow compared to conventional vehicles; because of this, efficient scheduling is important. In this article we describe a method for scheduling multiple taxis that share a common charging station. References African Solar Taxis, September 2016. http://africansolartaxi.com . A. Albrecht and P. Pudney. Pick up and delivery with a solar-recharged vehicle. In 22nd National Conference of the Australian Operations Research Society (ASOR 2013), pages 239–246. Australian Society for Operations Research, Dec. 2013. http://www.asor.org.au/conferences/asor2013/J8/albrecht.pdf . K. Marriott and P. J. Stuckey. A MiniZinc tutorial. Technical report, 2015. http://www.minizinc.org/downloads/doc-latest/minizinc-tute.pdf . N. M. Moghaddam. The partially rechargeable electric vehicle routing problem with time windows and capacitated charging stations. PhD thesis, Clemson University, 2015. http://tigerprints.clemson.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3210&context=all_theses . H. Wang and R. Cheu. Operations of a taxi fleet for advance reservations using electric vehicles and charging stations. Trans. Res. Rec.: J. Trans. Res. Board, 2352:1–10, 2013. doi:10.3141/2352-01 . H. P. Williams. Model Building in Mathematical Programming. Wiley, 4th edition, 1999. http://au.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1118443330.html .

Centralised solar charging station for LED lanterns for deployment in Indian rural areas: a design approach

With the ever improving lighting and photovoltaic industries and the initiatives of various solar lighting programs, the market is witnessing a gamut of solar lighting products and delivery models for the same. Besides the widely used stand-alone model, the lighting services of solar lanterns and other portable solar lighting products can be alternatively delivered through charging station models; especially catering to the populace who are unable to purchase standalone models. This paper presents an approach towards designing a central charging station model for solar LED lanterns for rural areas considering the various climatic conditions throughout India, the available technology and the field dynamics. Theoretical design based on the available climatic data is presented followed by the experimental observation at a typical site in one climatic zone as a case. The paper concludes with a discussion on the way-forward towards design and operation improvements for this present model.

Application of the TOPSIS and intuitionistic fuzzy set approaches for ranking the life cycle sustainability performance of alternative vehicle technologies

This research involves two novel elements to advance the body of knowledge in existing sustainability assessment frameworks for alternative vehicle technologies. First, we developed an input–output based hybrid life cycle sustainability assessment model using several macro-level social, economic, and environmental indicators, taking into consideration the manufacturing of vehicles and batteries, operation, and end-of-life phases. Second, the results of a hybrid life cycle sustainability assessment for different conventional and alternative vehicles technologies (internal combustion electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in-hybrid electric vehicles, and battery electric vehicles) are incorporated into the Technique for Order-Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution and Intuitionistic Fuzzy Sets. Two policy scenarios are considered in this analysis, with Scenario 1 being based on existing electric power infrastructure in the U.S. with no additional infrastructure requirements, while Scenario 2 is an extreme scenario in which the electricity to power electric vehicles is generated exclusively via solar charging stations. The Intuitionistic Fuzzy Multi-Criteria Decision Making and Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution methods are then utilized to rank the life cycle sustainability performance of alternative passenger vehicles. Furthermore, since expert judgments play an important role in determining the relative performance of alternative vehicle technologies, a sustainability triangle analysis is also presented to show how the weighting applied to each dimension affects the selection of different alternatives. The results indicate that hybrid and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles are the best alternatives for both Scenarios 1 and 2 when all of the indicators are considered. On the other hand, the ranking of vehicles changes significantly when each of the environmental, economic, and social indicators are evaluated individually. This proposed method can be a useful decision making platform for decision-makers to develop more effective policies and guide the offering of incentives to the right domains for sustainable transportation.

Combined application of multi-criteria optimization and life-cycle sustainability assessment for optimal distribution of alternative passenger cars in U.S.

This research aims to advance the existing sustainability assessment framework for alternative passenger cars with a combination of life-cycle sustainability assessment and multi-criteria decision-making. To this end, sixteen macro-level sustainability impacts are evaluated for seven different vehicle types: internal combustion vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles with all-electric ranges of 16, 32, 48, and 64 km of electric powered drive, and battery electric vehicles. Additionally, two battery charging scenarios are considered in this analysis with respect to plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and battery electric vehicles; Scenario 1 is based on existing electric power infrastructure in the U.S., while Scenario 2 is an extreme scenario in which electricity to power battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles is generated entirely via solar charging stations. In this study, optimal vehicle distributions are calculated based on the environmental, social, and economic impacts of all vehicle types for each scenario. Various distributions are presented in accordance with the relative importance assigned to each indicator, with different weighting scenarios applied to account for variability in decision-makers' priorities, such as the assignment of higher weights to socio-economic indicators (e.g. maximizing employment) and lower weights to environmental indicators (e.g. minimizing greenhouse gas emissions). In a balanced weighting case (i.e. when environmental and socio-economic indicators have equal importance) under Scenario 1, hybrid electric vehicles have the largest fleet share, comprising 91% of the optimal U.S. passenger car fleet, while internal combustion vehicles dominate the optimal fleet with 99.5% of the optimal fleet share when only socio-economic indicators are given priority. On the other hand, in a balanced weighting case under Scenario 2, the optimal U.S. passenger car fleet consists entirely (100%) of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles with 16 km of all-electric range. In the majority of the considered weighting scenarios, battery electric vehicles were not given any share of the optimal vehicle fleet. The proposed framework can be used as a practical decision-making platform when deciding which vehicle type to promote given each vehicle type's respective environmental, social, and economic impacts. Considering that decision makers are often highly influenced by the “silo effect”, i.e. a lack of communication among different agencies and departments (national or international), the proposed framework provides a holistic system-based approach to minimize the silo effect and can enhance the efficiency of future inter/cross/trans-disciplinary works. Furthermore, the outcomes of this study can pave the way for advancement in the state-of-the-art and state-of-the-practice of current sustainability research.

A review of technical options for solar charging stations in Asia and Africa

Charging stations are an attractive solution to provide access to electricity to low income populations with low energy consumption in remote and off-grid areas. This paper reviews the state of the art of charging stations, with special focus on the technical options. Forty-five different actors in this field were analysed, based on academic publications, reports, online search and surveys. Results show that most stations are run in Sub Saharan Africa and South Asia, are powered by solar energy and although there are many different energy services targeted, the most popular services are charging batteries, mobile phones and lamps. The first charging station was installed in 1992 but most activities happen after 2005. This recent growth has been enabled by the falling cost of photovoltaic modules, learning effect, economies of scale, financial innovation, private sector involvement and worldwide dissemination of mobile phones. While in the first system the only purpose was to charge solar photovoltaic lanterns, the first multi-purpose station appeared in 2008. As expected, the technical challenges are mostly related to the use of batteries not only because they represent the component with shortest lifetime but also because if the battery is not for individual use, social questions arise due to poor definition of rights and duties of the customers. Furthermore, the development of a sustainable business model is also a challenge since this requires technical skills and system monitoring that are not usually available locally. Finally, it is also suggested that the minimum technical quality standards for charging stations should be defined and implemented.

Towards Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment of Alternative Passenger Vehicles

Sustainable transportation and mobility are key components and central to sustainable development. This research aims to reveal the macro-level social, economic, and environmental impacts of alternative vehicle technologies in the U.S. The studied vehicle technologies are conventional gasoline, hybrid, plug-in hybrid with four different all-electric ranges, and full battery electric vehicles (BEV). In total, 19 macro level sustainability indicators are quantified for a scenario in which electric vehicles are charged through the existing U.S. power grid with no additional infrastructure, and an extreme scenario in which electric vehicles are fully charged with solar charging stations. The analysis covers all life cycle phases from the material extraction, processing, manufacturing, and operation phases to the end-of-life phases of vehicles and batteries. Results of this analysis revealed that the manufacturing phase is the most influential phase in terms of socio-economic impacts compared to other life cycle phases, whereas operation phase is the most dominant phase in the terms of environmental impacts and some of the socio-economic impacts such as human health and economic cost of emissions. Electric vehicles have less air pollution cost and human health impacts compared to conventional gasoline vehicles. The economic cost of emissions and human health impact reduction potential can be up to 45% and 35%, respectively, if electric vehicles are charged through solar charging stations. Electric vehicles have potential to generate income for low and medium skilled workers in the U.S. In addition to quantified sustainability indicators, some sustainability metrics were developed to compare relative sustainability performance alternative passenger vehicles. BEV has the lowest greenhouse gas emissions and ecological land footprint per $ of its contribution to the U.S. GDP, and has the lowest ecological footprint per unit of its energy consumption. The only sustainability metrics that does not favor the BEV is the water-energy ratio, where the conventional gasoline vehicle performed best.

PV Modules Deterioration with Less than 15 Years Installation in Thailand

This paper presents the investigation on deterioration of PV modules installed in Thailand. The modules under this study were dismantled and collected from KMUTT installation in the Buriram province. Modules were same model of modules that were installed over a thousand of solar water pumping systems and battery charging stations by Green E-san project since end of the 1980's and in earlier of 1990's. There are 35 modules, single crystalline silicon sized 47 Wp, in this study that were exposed in the field with less than 15 years. The experiments consist of visual inspection and measurement of performance at standard test condition (STC 1000 W/m2, 25 °C AM1.5) according to IEC61215:2005 standard. It is found that physical deteriorations and power output degradations. The physical deteriorations in this study can be classified delamination on middle cell, delamination on bus bar, delamination of edge cell and discoloration. For power output degradation, there is no module that was degraded less than 20% of nameplate wattage. There are only 8 of 35 modules (~23%) having power output over 50% of power rating.

Techno-Economic Analysis of PV Battery Charging Station in Kampot, Cambodia

 Abstract—This paper presents the technical and economic analysis of PV battery charging stations in Kampot, Cambodia's situation. The solar radiation reflected by the air molecules, clouds and ground was obtained from the satellite data. The absorption of solar radiation due to water vapor was calculated from precipitable water derived from ambient relative humidity and temperature from Cambodian meteorological stations. The annual solar radiation from January to reach a peak in the summer months of March and April each year and the yearly map showed the features of a high solar radiation pattern in the southeast of Cambodia. The average value is 5.10kWh/m 2 /day can be observed in the southeast of the country. With the highest values of solar radiation, solar PV battery charging stations (PVBCS) will be installed in each village, which are not electrified by national grid or mini-grid projects by 2020, and where no battery charging station is currently operating in order to ensure that the Royal Government of Cambodia's political objective of 100% village having electricity supply by 2020 from different sources of energy. With capacity of 10kW PV battery charging station in Kampot was calculated to evaluate and compare the technical and economic evaluation of c-Si PV modules and diesel battery charging station under the Kampot climate. The present electricity price of rural areas is about 0.22US$/kWh showed that c-Si PV modules present not only high NPV (15,986US$), IRR (0.041%), BCR (1.52) but shorter payback period (8.82 years) than the diesel battery charging station of 0.22US$/kWh with the NPV (7,450US$), IRR (12%), BCR (1.70) and payback period (14.74 years) values. Based on the technical and economic evaluation of c-Si PV battery charging station, in fact, pointed the most suitable technology for people in rural areas in the kingdom of Cambodia.

Power distribution architectures to improve system efficiency of centralized medium scale PV street lighting system

Typically, stand-alone/decentralized off-grid solar street lighting solutions are designed for autonomy of 3–5days to meet 3–5days of low or no-insolation period. These decentralized systems meet the lighting load requirements even under bad weather condition but more than two–third of the year, the surplus solar energy remains unutilized. The small amount of unutilized surplus energy from a single street pole may not be sufficient to meet local energy needs. On the other hand centralized system will have enough energy capacity to meet many of the energy needs of rural community, such as by establishing solar charging stations (energy kiosks), or electric vehicle charging stations or even feeding to grid . This paper investigates various centralized power distribution architectures with the objective of improving system efficiency and simultaneously reducing system complexity. Among various distribution architectures for centralized street lighting system, narrow DC voltage bus architecture is most efficient and has higher reliability. Analytical work using MATHCAD has been undertaken to identify the boundaries of efficient distribution network; and is presented in this paper. During analysis, factors like load at each point, distribution range, type of distribution network, extension to grid and safety are taken into consideration. The analytical work though has been undertaken for centralized street lighting system, it is equally relevant to cluster of homes in off-grid or grid connected systems. One such 220V DC centralized street lighting system has been designed and tested in lab as well as in field. Experimental results of 220V DC centralized street lighting system are presented to illustrate system efficiency improvements over conventional 230V AC system.

Well to wheels energy and emissions analysis of a recycled 1974 VW Super Beetle converted into a plug-in series hybrid electric vehicle

Abstract The low emission and high fuel economy standards set by regulatory agencies are causing an increase in the number of electrified (hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and battery electric) vehicles reaching the marketplace. In order for students to obtain a better understanding of the architecture of these vehicles, a 1974 Volkswagen Super Beetle was converted into a plug-in series hybrid electric vehicle with a generator that runs on used canola oil biodiesel. Moreover, this vehicle is connected to a solar photovoltaic charging station for a comparison of recharging on or off the electrical grid. To analyze this recycling of a vehicle including renewable energy sources requires a life cycle energy and emissions analysis (LCA). To this end, this effort utilizes the Argonne National Laboratory Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation (GREET) model. Moreover, a Matlab-based vehicle dynamics simulation coupled to GREET provides a localized driving cycle examination in the LCA. The resulting outcomes presented include the reduction in energy use and emissions through recycling and component reuse for a vehicle. In addition, on-road testing with model validation demonstrates fuel savings using a more efficient vehicle over the baseline design. Finally, this effort documents improvements in the sustainability of the vehicle by incorporating solar energy for charging.

Research and Design on Intelligent Outdoor Solar Charging Station

To solve the current problems of monotonous forms in solar charging and various electrical equipment recharging, an intelligent and multi-functional solar energy charging system was designed, which can charge electric bicycles as well as various digital products. This system also can store electrical energy for LED for night use.

Small-Scale Use of Solar Power in Remote, Developing Regions: A Case Study

A solar-power-based electrical system was designed to provide power to a small, remote village in Western Uganda. The purpose of the project was to electrify the village by providing lighting and electrical outlets for use with small electronic devices. The size of the village (fifty homes, one school, and one pharmacy) allowed a centrally positioned solar-battery system that was directly wired to the houses. The system was designed in a modular manner so that redundancy could be achieved and security was improved; the system would continue to function after the loss of a portion of the solar-charging station. The entire system required eight solar panels, each capable of producing 175W in full sunlight. The panels were used to charge two 12V batteries which were connected in series to produce 24V of DC power. The batteries, which were charged during daytime, are discharged at night when power is utilized by the village. To improve the process by which energy is transferred to the batteries, a Maximum Power Point Tracking system (MPPT) was used. Inverters were instituted to transform the DC power from the batteries to 240V AC power for transmission. Following the successful implementation of the system, an education program was instituted to ensure proper maintenance of the system in the coming years. Plans are already underway to ensure that periodic replacement of certain components (e.g. batteries) is accomplished to ensure that the system is able to continue to provide electricity for years to come.

Centralized solar lantern charging station under ‘lighting a billion lives’ campaign: a technological evolution

To mitigate the use of kerosene for rural lighting and to promote utilization of solar energy, solar lanterns prove to be a viable and promising option. For addressing the issue of large-scale dissemination of solar lanterns, a rental model is implemented though ‘Lighting a Billion Lives (LaBL)’ campaign. This paper deals with the technological development and customization of the Centralized Solar Lantern Charging Station (CSLCS) under this campaign. A single unit in a typical LaBL charging station consists of a Solar Photovoltaic (SPV) module feeding a junction box (JB) containing multiple ports for charging of a certain number of lanterns simultaneously. The first version was developed with an available Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) lantern model. The design calculation of the various components considering the various climatic conditions in India and other required parameters are presented. Further, the optimization of the modular design of the charging station based on the above analysis is given. Subsequently, the second version was developed with features addressing the challenges faced in the first version. The field demands and feasibility of incorporating modifications addressing them are reported in detail. Further, a more advanced and customized third version lanterns with additional features was developed. The versions also involved considerable modifications of the JB and lantern circuitry. Comparative analysis of the obtained efficiencies of all the three configurations is presented. The concluding section proposes methods that lead to the way forward in establishing a more rugged and customized system addressing the issues of seasonal and technological constrains more efficiently. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Informal markets for electricity: economics of lighting for hawkers in India

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the economics of supplying energy needs for illumination requirements by hawkers using alternatives like compact fluorescent lamps battery lamps, liquefied petroleum gas mantle lamps or supply from mini‐grids supported by local diesel generators. Further, the prevailing business models like the lamp rental and the mini‐grid models, which epitomise informal electricity markets, are also analysed.Design/methodology/approachThree localities in Kanpur city are identified and data on techno‐economic characteristics of illumination options used by hawkers are collected. To compare the available options with varying capital life‐span, equivalent annual cost approach is utilized. This is used to calculate the levelised cost of 1 kiloWalthour energy used for providing illumination.FindingsThe daily user cost of illumination ranges from Rs 6.1 to 17 (for four hours) across the four existing models studied in the paper. This translates to Rs 31.3 to 312.5 per kWh of electricity use. The technology choice by hawkers is influenced by lack of initial capital and inconvenience associated with cheaper options than overall economics of the alternative option is found.Practical implicationsThe paper highlights the absence of financial and institutional intervention that can help significantly reduce the cost of electricity access by such users and also help adoption of greener options like solar lanterns or solar battery bank charging stations. A practical solution may include a greater role of micro‐finance institutions. Greater awareness and capacity building needs of local entrepreneurs as well as of end‐users also need attention.Originality/valueThis is perhaps one of the few attempts to unravel the informal electricity markets in India and help identify issues that need attention so as to address needs of millions of consumers at the margin of the electricity grid in the country.

Solar lanterns for domestic lighting in India: Viability of central charging station model

About 68 million households in India rely on kerosene as a fuel for domestic lighting. Kerosene-based lighting devices, not only for poor quality of light, but also for the risks of indoor air pollution and fire hazards, etc. are not a desired option for domestic lighting purposes. Solar lantern is a better alternative in terms of its quality of illumination, durability and versatility of use. The dissemination model for solar lantern in India has so far been based on cash sales with or without the incentive of capital subsidy. This paper analyses several dissemination models including rental and fee-for-service based on centralized solar charging station concept for CFL- and LED-based designs of solar lanterns available in India. The basis of comparison is the acceptable daily costs or rental to the user as well as to the owner of the charging station. Further, the paper studies the impact of likely escalation in kerosene price on the acceptable daily rental and estimates the amount of subsidy required to make the charging station model viable for disseminating solar lanterns among rural households.