Smart Power Management System for Charging Plug-in Hybrid/Electric Vehicles Using Solar PV for Software Technology Park

E-vehicle technology will bear future transport demand in rural and urban sectors. The design and development of a vehicle for the respective application and corresponding charging devices are on the cards. Charging systems for mass transport will be highly challenging while involving renewable energy as a source. This study evolves the idea of setting up plug-in charging stations for hybrid & electric Vehicles at software parks in India powered by the solar photovoltaic (PV) system. The methodology ascertains the use of parking lot space available around the building for solar PV installation. Henceforth, this study aims to carry out MATLAB Simulink simulation to understand the power generation capability at Chennai, India. The results of the simulation discuss the Smart Power management strategies by including micro-controllers for the charging station, which help in deciding the appropriate charging scheme for the vehicles. The simulation studies report on the amount of energy from the PV system that would be required to be able to meet the power requirement of the charging station for a specific case study. Also, discussion on the number of PV modules necessary, configuration of their installation, the number of batteries required for energy storage along with an estimate for the cost of installation of the whole system are mentioned.