Solar powered battery charging scheme for light electric vehicles (LEVs)

This work is targeted to design an economical and self-reliant solar-powered battery charging scheme for light electric vehicles (LEV’s). The single-ended primary inductance converter (SEPIC) is utilized to enhance the performance of solar power and battery charging at various solar irradiances. Various unique attributes of a SEPIC converter offer the effective charging arrangement for a self-reliant off-board charging system. Further, the continuous conduction mode (CCM) function of the converter minimizes the elementary stress and keeps to maintain the minimum ripples in solar output parameters. A novel maximum power point tracking (MPPT) approach executed in the designed system requires only the battery current to track the maximum power point (MPP) at various weather situations. Both the simulated and real-time behaviors of the developed scheme are examined utilizing a battery pack of 24 V and 100 Ah ratings. These responses verify the appropriateness of the designed system for an efficient off-board charging system for LEV’s.