Energy Harvesting Techniques for Thermal City-Buses

A solution for improving the environmental footprint of public road transportation is presented, based on the exploitation of renewables, energy recovery and energy saving techniques in thermal city-buses. Except for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, additionally, fuel savings is achieved too. The proposed technical solution consists of energy harvesters (such as rooftop and window-integrated photovoltaics, thermoelectric generators, and piezoelectric elements), battery energy storage units, as well as a smart energy management system. The proposed scheme is suitable both for thermal, hybrid and electric city-buses and it is fully adaptable in regards to the geometries of the bus. Finally, the estimated on-road energy generation is presented, along with the assessment of economic and environmental benefits.