Help
Why EV :
IC engines has distinct pluses like range, speed, power, scallability, flexibility etc. They have disadvantages like noise, environmental issue and overly designed vehicles due to unreasonable expectations and considerations while choosing a car. Most people in US drives about 50 KMS a day same must be true even in India. I drive about 55 KMS per day. So may be EV is ideal for many commuters. Also there are load of even government report which says EV is the only practical least polluting opting for vehicles atleast for next 2 decades. Hydrogen Fuel cells or real efficient hybrid is not feasible in near future.
Minimum Requirements for Daily commuters:
Range of about 70-80 Kms (To cover contigencies and degradation of batteries)
Speed : 80 KMPH max. So when battery wears off it may still attain 60 KMPH. Which may be good for city commuting.
Donor Car:
I have chosen two cars one is TATA INDOIGO MARINA (Which I already have, I just have to buy replacement car till EV is available) or Old great work horse - Maruti 800, small, rugged and easiest to maintain, tinker and do odd jobs.
Drive system : AC or DC
AC drives has advantage of safety, widely used industrial technologies (so for trial one can use industrial grade components before specs are finalized to get automotive grade components), reasonable prices of component. But its little complicated as it requires more number of interfaces.
DC motors and drives are cheap due to fewer components. However motor and controllers are expensive and DC is hazardous if not implemented properly.
EDIT -1 :Best part of choosing this would be availability of necessary components easily as I can use components made for Battery operated Fork Lift as it is. BTW if any one knows who manufacture it or can help me to get component, I will be immediate start. COmpoents required: Motor, Controller, Charger and DC to DC convertor.
Still need to go through pro and cons of both systems. Motor required about 12-15 HP (10-12 KW)
Battery:
LiON and LiFePO4 are said to be best battery types for EV but they are expensive and I have apprehension about getting necessary support for chargers, availability of unit batteries / cell in case of faiilures. It saves 35% weight though.
Lead Acid are established types, chargers are available. Batteries are available freely in India. So I may choose this type - atleast for this project. Expected battery 1440 AH (About 250 kgs)
AC or Non AC car:
In Ahmedabad AC is necessity but not sure if I will be going to install AC or not. AC has about 20% toll on power. Means I may need 20% more battery.
Please help me to choose right components and vendors so that cost of this project remains attractive. I have not budgeted any thing so far, but I assume it may be about 1.5 to 2 lakh.
This post has been edited by kshah: 10 March 2010 - 03:13 PM
