Reducing Charging Burden of Light Electric Vehicles by Integrated Photovoltaic Modules

A push to electrify vehicles is underway, but concerns remain about the increased burden on the electrical grid and the environmental sustainability of the electrical grid itself. Solar vehicles have been proposed as a solution to make mobility more sustainable while also reducing the charging burden. In this work, we assess the effectiveness of integrated photovoltaic (PV) modules on light electric vehicles (LEV). Generated trip data and real-world solar irradiance data are used to investigate the power consumption and PV power generation of an LEV over a one month period. The results show that PV modules allow LEVs to generate up to 45% of their consumed energy.