Small insulated truck refrigeration units are usually powered by the internal combustion engine used for the vehicle traction, as the system size does not require the use of a dedicated prime engine. The paper presents an innovative layout where an electrically driven compressor is connected to a battery pack, which is powered by a photovoltaic generator placed on the roof of the insulated box. The battery packs are also connected to the vehicle alternator, which is used as a backup source. A fully functional prototype of the system is presented and characterized.
Numerical simulations are then used to forecast the impact of the solar contribution to the system performances under different ambient conditions. Numerical simulation results demonstrate the proposed system can sustain itself for most of the considered cases, resulting in a significant
reduction of the annual consumption for the vehicle
