Assessing the influence of glass properties on cabin solar heating and range of an electric vehicle using a comprehensive system model

As consumer adoption and total energy consumption of electric vehicles continues to rapidly increase, it is important to develop comprehensive system modeling frameworks that consider the complex interactions of their mechanical, electrical, and thermal subsystems to guide component technology development. In this study, such a comprehensive system model of a generic long-range electric vehicle is developed and used specifically to assess the influence of cabin glass radiative properties on vehicle performance. The system model incorporates simplified models for all salient components in the electric traction drive, cabin HVAC, and battery subsystems, and uses a higher fidelity cabin thermal model that is able to capture the individual properties of the cabin glass used in the vehicle. The system performance is evaluated under a dynamic NEDC drive cycle which is repeated until battery depletion to determine a vehicle range. The system model is used to study five different glazing design cases, each corresponding to different transmission and reflection properties of the glass, by predicting their impact on the vehicle range. The cases span all theoretically possible glass properties while also enabling inspection of practical glass technologies that are available or under development to be adopted in modern electric vehicles. The influence of glass on vehicle range is then further compared at various locations across the United States to understand and illustrate the effects of ambient conditions and solar load. The system model predicts a vehicle range of 188.5 miles under a high solar loading scenario typical for Phoenix, AZ using traditional glass properties, which increases to a range of 221.6 miles using high-performance glass properties, representing a significant potential gain of 33.1 miles using technologies available on the market today. Under this same loading scenario, the glass properties at their extreme physical limits could theoretically affect the vehicle range by up to 92.5 miles. The influence of the glass properties is location-specific, and the model predicts that using the same glass at different locations can affect the range of vehicle by up to 100.8 miles for traditional glass properties and 73.4 miles for high-performance glass properties.

Automated summary

As the consumer adoption and total energy consumption of electric vehicles continues to rapidly increase, the development of comprehensive system modeling frameworks that consider the complex interactions of their mechanical, electrical, and thermal subsystems becomes crucial. This study developed a comprehensive system model of a generic long-range electric vehicle and specifically assessed the influence of cabin glass radiative properties on vehicle performance. The study found that the glass properties can significantly affect the vehicle range, with a potential gain of 33.1 miles using high-performance glass properties available on the market today. The influence of the glass properties is location-specific, with the same glass affecting the range of the vehicle by up to 100.8 miles for traditional glass properties and 73.4 miles for high-performance glass properties.