Analysis of Fuel Savings Enabled by Photovoltaic Panel Addition on a 48V Mild Hybrid Vehicle

Recovering solar energy, and then fully reusing it, can significantly improve light duty vehicles' efficiency, hence reducing the CO2 emissions and fuel consumption. The aim of this study is to investigate and explain how the solar energy flow affects the fuel economy (FE) and CO2 benefit in a particular hybrid vehicle configuration. The paper starts with the explanation of two different simulation models of a conventional vehicle and a mild hybrid (MH) vehicle along a defined path. A method is defined to estimate the battery state of charge constraint relaxing and then a modified forward model is used to assess solar energy contribution. An analysis of the three models (conventional, MH and solar mild hybrid) along a federal urban driving schedule (FUDS) is presented to compare the correct behavior of the models to follow a defined path and the improvements in terms of FE and CO2 emissions obtained via solar hybridization.