Power management strategy for the electric recreational vehicle

There is a growing trend towards electrification within various sectors, including automotive and residential. The aim of this trend is to increase the utilisation of renewable energy sources (such as solar and wind) and to reduce dependency on fossil fuels which are of high cost, unsustainable, and adverse environmental impact. However, this electrification process leads to higher demands on the current electrical grid. Such demand increases require increased infrastructure investments if not addressed with “smart” solutions. The recreational vehicle (RV) falls under both sectors of automotive and residential, as it combines both functions of transportation and temporary living. Therefore, the electrification of both driving and living facilities is desirable. The campground facilities within the leisure industry are of restrictive electrical infrastructure capability, and this heavily restricts electrical equipment usage and electric recreational vehicle (ERV) charging. If not addressed via some “smart” solution, this again would require further infrastructural investments. This will potentially lead to an unaffordable and unreliable system, limiting the adoption of the ERV. The possibility of utilising power management solutions to eliminate the requirement of infrastructural investments was analysed in this thesis for both the electrification of the transportation side of the RV (i.e. the facility to charge an ERV from the campground supply) and the living facility functions (e.g. the appliances) of the ERV. Furthermore, existing power management solutions which can potentially be applied for either ERV functions were reviewed. The requirements analysis and the reviews for both electrification functions then were utilised to propose relevant advanced novel power management solutions for each electrification function which achieved the aim of reduced infrastructural investment requirements in an optimised manner. Finally, both proposals were combined and further advanced, developing a holistic and novel ERV central controller power management solution. The proposal is smart grid integrated and creates a platform for the future ERV which doesn’t require infrastructural upgrades, thus, enhancing and accelerating its adoption.