A TROPICAL CASE STUDY QUANTIFYING SOLAR IRRADIANCE COLLECTED ON A CAR ROOF FOR VEHICLE INTEGRATED PHOTOVOLTAICS (VIPV) TOWARDS LOW-CARBON CITIES

Abstract

As dense high-rise urban cities embrace a low-carbon paradigm, vehicles have attracted research attention as they emit carbon emissions from traffic. This has spurred research into electric and hybrid vehicles, which relies on charging from the grid. In view of this, solar-powered vehicles have emerged as an attractive area due to the improved independence from the grid and reduced lifetime carbon emissions. While the weight of traditional photovoltaic (PV) modules has been a concern, the advent of thin film solar modules has enabled vehicles to utilise lightweight solar modules for electricity generation. However, the irradiance that is received by the roof of the vehicle is attenuated by adjacent tall buildings in an urban setting. Furthermore, the mobility of the PV module on the car roof would result in significant variation in irradiance received. Hence, this paper aims to quantify this variability via 1) an experimental approach through a case study in quantifying the irradiance received on a car roof in a tropical environment, and 2) a simulation approach utilising the sky view factor. Subsequently, the effect of road orientation and tropical weather conditions received on irradiance received is discussed. The results of this study have potential impact for low-carbon/zero-carbon vehicles in the tropical urban environment.