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 CO
₂
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 CO
₂
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 CO
₂
emissions obtained via solar hybridization.