Current status and future trends in more electric car power systems

Increasing use of electrical power to drive automobile subsystems, which historically have been driven by a combination of mechanical, hydraulic, and electrical power transfer systems, is seen as a dominant trend in advanced automotive power systems. This is the concept of More Electric Cars (MEC). Recent advancements in the areas of power electronics, fault tolerant electrical power distribution systems, electric drives, control electronics, and microprocessors are already providing the impetus to improve the performance of automobile electrical systems and their reliability. As a result, the MEC concept is seen as the direction of automotive power system technology. This paper briefly discusses the conventional automotive power systems, their disadvantages, scope for improvement, future electric loads, and advanced distribution system architectures. Finally, it concludes with a brief outline of the advancement to be made in the future.