Performance analysis of an onboard PV system on a demonstrator light commercial vehicle

We present an analysis of the performance data of a monitored PV system onboard a light commercial electric vehicle during parking and driving conditions. The PV system’s nominal power is 2180 W P with flat silicon modules on the vehicle’s roof, rear, left, and right sides, as well as other electronic components needed to charge the vehicle’s high-voltage (HV) battery. The analysis indicated that after 488.92 hours of operation, the modules mounted on the vehicle roof produced 133.32 kWh of electricity during parking compared to 15.4, 30.67, and 22.99 kWh for the modules mounted on the rear, left, and right sides, respectively. During the trips, after 31.99 hours of operation, 6.12, 0.68, 1.08, and 1.86 kWh of electricity were produced by the modules on the roof, rear, left, and right sides, respectively. The overall system efficiency was in the 60-65 % range. The aggregated usable electricity reaching the HV battery after multiple conversion stages generated by the system at the two parking locations was 129.39 kWh. PV electricity generated at the two parking locations enabled a range extension of approximately 530 km, which is 30% of the total distance driven during the measurement period between April and July 2021.