Electrical System for Ecotrike 15 with regenerative braking. (click on diagram to enlarge)
The source of power for Ecotrikes is a Lithium Ferric Phosphate battery pack of 5 kWhr capacity . It consists of sixteen series connected 3.2 V, 100 Ahr modules producing a nominal 52 V battery voltage. (See picture) This battery pack generates the power needed to drive two rear wheel hub motors (Two 3000 watt 13″ wheel Kelly Control motors) Two Kelly Controls KEB 48401x controllers provide the speed control via a thumb-throttle. The battery pack is charged via a 250 watt solar panel on the vehicle’s roof and an external charger (900 watt, 120 AC).
A DC – DC converter reduces the battery voltage to 12 V to power the lights, horn and displays required for a street-legal motorcycle.
Two Kelly Controller showing connections to power contactor and 100 Ampere circuit brakers protecting each of the controllers. Two 400 ampere circuit brakers connected in parallel allow disconnecting the battery form the rest of the electrical system.