Reducing fuel consumption

[mrexp21]

Does anyone has suggestion on reducing engine load or in terms of reducing fuel consumption using any electrical system or conversion into electrical system ?

[shorod]

I'm not really sure what you are asking here. Can you provide more details?

My 2011 Taurus SHO has only the alternator and A/C compressor driven off the crankshaft by a serpentine belt. The power steering is electric to reduce mechanical load on the engine.

If you're just interested in reducing fuel consumption of your own personal car, the easiest place to start is with your driving habits. Accelerate gradually, maintain the speed limit to hit more green lights. Make sure to keep your vehicle well maintained, including checking and correcting tire pressures regularly. Don't haul around more "stuff" than is necessary. Remove carpeting from your vehicle and insulation to further reduce weight. You can take this about as far as you are comfortable.

If you are only going somewhere nearby and don't need to carry cargo, ride a bicycle or walk.

-Rod

[mrexp21]

Hi,

Thanks for the reply. As you stated in your post earlier, I wanted to reduce mechanical load as much as possible. I'm planning to convert power steering, AC compressor and water pump into electric.

Addition to that, I would like to develop a de-clutch mechanism for alternator pulley. Considering de-clutch the alternator puller during idle condition while waiting at traffic light, for example. It will use battery power only. The de-clutch will only work if the current goes above required range.

But, some of them said it will kill the battery fast and even cannot supply the entire system with battery only after conversion. I'm considering to remove AC compressor from the list, but I'm still not sure whether it will work or not.

[mrexp21]

I'm currently working on a project titled "Development of high efficiency electrical system" for a urban type gasoline car. Do you have any suggestion for it ?

[shorod]

I think using a magnetic clutch on the alternator would be counter-productive. When the electrical load on the alternator decreases, so does the mechanical load on the pulley. If you instead modulate the alternator output you can decrease the mechanical load that way. Plus you can monitor the system voltage and decrease the duty cycle once the battery voltage is high enough. A pulse width modulation scheme should be relatively easy. The challenging part will be developing the algorithms for the logic controlling the PWM and getting components that can handle the current efficiently.

-Rod

[mrexp21]

shorodm, thanks a lot for the valuable reply. I really appreciated it. But, I didn't understand for the pulse width modulation scheme. Can you please explain it furthermore, what is it, how it works, and how I can implement it.

[vgames33]

Some Chrysler products (Caravans for sure) use a mechanical roller clutch on the alternator. I don't know any specifics on it, but maybe you can use the information.

[shorod]

Originally Posted by mrexp21

shorodm, thanks a lot for the valuable reply. I really appreciated it. But, I didn't understand for the pulse width modulation scheme. Can you please explain it furthermore, what is it, how it works, and how I can implement it.

There are several documents on the Internet and in datasheets explaining Pulse Width Modulation (PWM). It is used extensively in modern power supplies, inverters/UPS's, and even lamp dimmers.

How you implement it for this application is something you'll need to determine based on how much you want to spend. There will certainly be multiple design iterations to find something that works well.

-Rod