Power conservation for electrically assisted rickshaw-vans with pv support, torque sensor pedal and the solar battery charging station : a complete off-grid solution (conducting field tests and data analysis for performance and feasibility study)

Abstract

Rickshaw-vans are the most popular form of transportation in the cities as well as rural areas of Bangladesh. A significant number of people of Bangladesh are directly or indirectly dependent upon this rickshaw-van pulling profession. This paper describes a research to modernize the pollution free rickshaw-van, aiming to improve the lifestyle and income of the rickshaw-pullers and reduce stress on the health of the pullers. The modernized rickshaw-van used in our experiment causes no carbon emission and thus it is eco-friendly.The electrically assisted rickshaw-van consists of torque sensor pedal in order to reduce the over-use of battery-bank. The control system assists the human power with motor and saves energy by reducing the over-use of motor. PV panel is installed on the rooftop of van to share the load power and a solar battery charging station is implemented to make the whole system completely independent of national grid. The paper describes the data obtained from field test to determine its performance, feasibility and user friendliness. The solar battery charging station is designed and its performance analysis is included as well. The hybrid “green” rickshaw-van was developed to save energy, use sufficient solar energy and make it a complete off grid solution.