Clean Power Auto
Converting Cars to Electric Power in Tampa Bay Area
Clean Power Auto
Converting Cars to Electric Power in Tampa Bay Area
EV Components
1 - Electric Motor
2 - Battery Pack
3 - Motor Controller
4 - Contactor
5 - Fuse
6 - Vacuum Pump
7 - DC-DC Converter
8 - Instrumentation
Electric Motor - this is what replaces old gasoline engine in your car. There are 2 general types of EMs - Alternating Current (AC) and Direct Current (DC). We use DC motors made by NetGain, Illinois based company that makes highest quality DC motors specifically designed for EVs. EMs are categorized by their size, for example a very popular model called Warp9 is 9" diameter motor, capable of moving a mid size car. NetGain also makes Impulse9 motor, which is a bit shorter than Warp9 and fits better in limited room under the hood of small compact cars.
Battery Pack - is a set of individual battery cells connected in series. Battery pack stores electric energy during charge and releases it to the motor during discharge. Several battery types have been invented over the past century, all based on different metal's abilities to exchange electrons and ions. The best battery type for EV that exists today is LiFePO4 chemistry, which is based on Lithium and Iron Phosphate. The key advantages for LiFePO4 are the safety, high cycle and calendar life, the high current or peak-power rating, and environmental friendliness. We use batteries made by largest manufacturer's of prismatic EV batteries in the world, ThunderSky. They come in various sizes based on amount of energy stored, measured in Amp Hours ( AH ). For example typical mid size car would use 160-200 Ah cells. Cells have to be large enough to provide high acceleration current and able to supply energy for maximum range. When planning conversion, sizing battery pack is one of the key decisions to make, which effects all other aspects of the project, including overall cost.
Motor Controller - regulates the flow of electric energy from the battery to the motor when you press the accelerator pedal. Controllers are rated for amount of energy they can dispense continuously and during short peaks of hard acceleration. Controller must be large enough to handle good acceleration, so your EV can keep up with traffic comfortably with some room to spare. We use brand new DC controller developed locally in Tampa area by our partner company, Rebirth Auto. This controller is the best in its class, using powerful IGBT semiconductors, computerized controls, software based configuration.
Contactor - is basically a powerful on/off switch, controlled by ignition key in the car. It connects battery to the controller when you are ready to drive and disconnects when you remove the ignition key.
Fuse - is a safety device, protecting the battery and the rest of your EV in case of electric short, which could occur in case of an accident. The fuse would blow and disconnect the battery from the controller and the motor.
Vacuum Pump - modern cars use vacuum assist brakes, to help driver stop the car with light pressure on the brake pedal. Combustion engines produce vacuum naturally, but EV needs electrical pump to provide the source of vacuum. You can hear the vacuum pump when you start EV, it takes few seconds to accumulate required level of vacuum in the vacuum canister. Some automakers use electric pumps in diesel engine cars, so we take those well designed pumps and use them in our EVs.
DC-DC converter - is a small electronic device that steps down high voltage from the main battery to 12 Volt required by car's original electric systems, such as radio, etc. It has same role as the alternator in I.C.E. car, charging up and assisting 12V battery. We replace original heavy starter battery in EV with small 12V battery, to save weight.
Instrumentation - in EV, the driver has to monitor the state of the battery pack to know how much energy is left and when the battery must be recharged. Also, the driver has to watch how much energy is used by the motor at any given time. We install 2 gauges in our EVs, one is called PakTrakr to monitor battery State Of Charge ( SOC ) and Ammeter to monitor amount of current flowing from the battery to the motor.