Interior Climate U-Value calculation and optimization for electric buses at Volvo buses

Abstract

Improving energy efficiency while complying with the interior climate requirements is one of the main challenges in electric buses. Heat Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system of electric buses has a rather large share of total energy consumption during driving. Compared to conventional buses that use internal combustion engines, there is less excess heat from an electric motor in electric buses. Therefore, improving the HVAC system’s energy efficiency can increase the driving range of electric buses. In this master thesis calculation of the U-value for the Volvo electric bus was performed using the GT-SUITE simulation software. The suggestions for improving the energy efficiency of the Volvo electric bus were discussed as well.