We are all quite familiar now I think with this technology, but there has been a incremental step in technology in it’s use in electric vehicles (EVs). When the battery is fully charged the regenerative braking is effectively turned off and reverts back to mechanical friction braking, where energy is lost through heat to the atmosphere.

If a power resistor is incorporated, regenerative braking could still be employed and the excess energy transferred to heat energy in a liquid. This in turn could heat the inside of a car, saving battery power. Another bonus is mechanical wear of braking system would be reduced along with service costs. The power resistor itself is low to zero maintenance because it has no moving parts. Power harvested should be around 7-10kW.

A downside to the power resistor is a ‘trade off’ between efficient cooling and pressure drop through the cooling channels from inlet to outlet. For the average car an extra pump shouldn’t be necessary but only for larger vehicles. This technology will slightly increase efficiency of EVs and help increase vehicle range – which is always welcome !

Hope you have a good month

All the best

Mike

Quotation corner:

“A life spent making mistakes is not only more honourable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.”

George Bernard Shaw

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”

Theodore Roosevelt

ps  If you have enjoyed the blog please forward to those who might be interested, many thanks in advance, Mike