Feasibility Study of a Partially Solar Powered Electrical Tricycle in Ambient Condition of Bangladesh

Due to simple mechanics and cheaper maintenance, electric vehicles have gained quick popularity in Bangladesh. Electric tricycles have become a revolution in the mass transportation system in the country. Not only have they reduced the transport cost but also, they have created jobs and developed local automobile industries with no carbon emission and air pollution. The battery bank used by these tricycles gets energised from the utility grid. The conventional chargers that use iron core transformer have efficiency lower than 80%. These inefficient chargers consume huge power from national. A partially solar powered electric tricycle can really help in mitigating the pressure on grid and at the same time be a green transporting solution for the country. Some companies already take initiatives to install solar based charging stations for these electric tricycles. But considering initial budget and storage complexity, a partially solar powered electric tricycle should be more economically sound than other solutions. This paper presents the basic configuration of a partially solar powered electric tricycle and analyse the overall performance by it in the ambient condition of Bangladesh. The efficiency and maximum rated power of solar PV array is also observed and calculated.