Regenerative Redundant Electrical Generation in Electric Vehicles could Aid in Vehicle Efficiency

Power efficiency in Electrical Vehicles that includes electrical power regeneration should be a major consideration when designing these type of vehicles. The type and size of the rechargable vehicle battery is already one of the most important considerations when refering to overall vehicle efficiency. The two more important processes that require higher amounts of electrical energy in these vehicles are the air conditioning system and the battery recharing system. In many plug in electric vehicle designs, some of the power generated by the combustion engine is used to recharge the vehicle battery when its capacity gets lower than a certain charge level. In non plug-in electric vehicles (HEV's), regenerative electric power that is applied to the battery is produced by taking advantage of the braking and coasting functions that produce electric power near the wheels. This type of system would also be advantageous for plug in electric vehicles. In theory, a redudant electrical power generation system obtained from several regenerative power sources could help future electric vehicle designs. Redudant systems could be useful in plug-in electric hybrids since regeneration of battery power is not always needed and can be applied towards other electrical systems in the car such as air conditioning and lights. The type of regenerative power sources include roof top solar PVs, wind turbines, waste heat to electricity systems and also the aforementioned regenerative braking system.

Alternative power sources such as solar and wind power have already been developed and designed as regenerative power sources for electric hybrid vehicles. One example includes a possible wind turbine that can fit on the top of a vehicle roof that would be designed to recharge the battery. Such a system may be considered by Automobile manufacturers from individual(s) who have designed wind turbine & electric generator patent. The use of solar roof top PV panels have also been designed by companies and are currently being used in selected vehicle models for battery recharge capability. One of the more important functions of vehicle use that takes large amounts of electrical power is the air conditioning system. It is estimated that normal sized vehicles use up to 400 Watts of power just to run the air compressor used for air conditioning, waste heat generated from the vehicle is one regenerative power source that could be utilized to run an air compressor. Waste heat generated by the engine block could be taken advantage of also. The waste heat from the engine block could be recovered by placing semiconductor like chips on the engine itself and possibly converting the waste heat directly into electrical energy. There are many options to regenerate electrical energy to assist with it's many needed uses in a vehicle that many times is provided for by the battery itself. The size and weight of the vehicle battery itself also affects engine performance.

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KEYWORDS: Redundant Electrical Power Generation, Regenerative Braking and Coasting, Waste Heat to Electrical Generation from Computer Chips, Vehicle Wind Turbine Generator, Vehicle Roof top Photovoltaic Panels