Solar Energy for Cars: Integrating Control Strategies, Design, Battery Management and Marketing presents major topics relating to the integration of solar energy on electric, hybrid and conventional cars. The book covers energy management, component sizing and battery management, and is geared for specialists interested in applying each concept to hybrid and electric vehicles. It further discusses how to apply these concepts to conventional cars, both for reducing the electrical load of the alternator, or for directly contributing to traction by means of vehicle hybridization systems. It uses case studies to present applications of solar energy to vehicles.
The book is an ideal resource for control, automotive, and power engineers and researchers.
- Highlights key concepts on solar energy and its potentialities and limits in automotive applications
- Discusses self-orienting solar panels for electric and hybrid vehicles, including mechanical structure, expected performance as a function of location and time, and real-time control
- Presents control strategies and technology findings to incorporate solar energy power for electric, hybrid and conventional cars, as well as possible alternatives for conventional cars
Table of Contents
1. Introduction to Solar Energy To level the knowledge of the audience on the subject2. Applying Solar Energy to Vehicles What are the main challenges of Solar Power when it comes to vehicle applications?
3. Mobile Smart Grid for Vehicles Considering having multiple energy sources deserves a chapter to discuss how energy is managed and how could the concept of Smart Grid be applied to the case
4. Control Strategies for Integration Solar Energy to Vehicles What characteristics must be controlled? Design and Aerodynamic challenges How to incorporate PV Cells into the vehicle and how to adapt it to an existing model
5. Power management for vehicles How to best manage the different power sources in order to have the needed reliability and optimal performance
6. Case studies Overview of present applications of solar energy to vehicles
7. Conclusions and Future Challenges This is basically to look at the frontier of this technology and propose what can be considered the most promising opportunities and what technological challenges interpose
