The European Parliament has adopted Directive 2019/1161 on the promotion of environmentally friendly and energy-efficient road transport vehicles, which also defines the obligations and forms of support for the procurement of environmentally friendly vehicles in urban logistics. The increase in the number of shipments delivered within e-commerce, which is also the result of the COVID-19 pandemic, requires a transition to a sustainable logistics system. New research questions are being raised in the preparation of new projects for the introduction of small electric commercial vehicles in particular. One of the main research questions about deployment itself is whether light commercial electric vehicles are able to fully replace conventionally powered vehicles. What operating conditions are optimal for the operation of them? How does load weight affect the energy efficiency of operating a light commercial electric vehicle? The authors decided to carry out research into the impacts of weight and the nature of a driving cycle under laboratory conditions to eliminate all external factors that could distort individual measurements and their results. In order to simulate driving cycles, an urban driving cycle was designed on the basis of the course of speed, acceleration, deceleration and slope conditions of roads in the selected regional city of Žilina (Slovakia). In the case of the operation of an electrically powered light commercial vehicle, the impact of load weight on the range of the vehicle is low, and is below the level of the theoretical maximum range of the vehicle in urban logistics applications. The operation of electrically powered vehicles in hilly terrains with relatively longer gradients and steeper slopes increases electricity consumption and, thereby, reduces their range.

Electric car does not supply all the electric energy, obtained from the electric network, to the wheels in the form of mechanical energy. During such a transformation, a part of this energy is lost. The article endeavours to determine the ener...

The article deals with the problem of electric power production in terms of environmental impact, in particular the energy efficiency of its production to utilize primary sources. The efficiency of its production directly depends on the composition of primary sources and technologies used. Difference in efficiency by converting various forms of energy into electrical power and their ratio in the use directly affect the resulting efficiency, production of emissions and thus the environmental impact. Electric traction, its production, is burdened less efficient than other types of tractions used in transport, but at the final reconciliation of their consumption in vehicles, this difference decreases or delays because the vehicles themselves work with different conversion efficiency of its traction on mechanical work, vehicle driving.

Climate change and the associated global warming affect all of us. These changes cause the melting of the glaciers and consequently the increase in sea and ocean levels. This phenomenon threatens the existence of some of the island states. The warming casing all this was brought on by the economic activity of humans, with the greatest responsibility being attributed to the ever-increasing production of greenhouse gases. Transport generates large portion of these gases. When means of transport are in motion, they are affected by certain driving resistances which try to keep vehicle from moving. In order to overcome them, it is necessary to produce certain useful work equivalent to the measurement of driving resistances. An internal combustion motor is the most frequent source of such energy. It generates energy by oxygenating hydrocarbon fuels, and in addition to the useful work, it produces also unfavourable emission. The amount of such emissions equals to the amount of burnt fuel. Thus, levels of emissions can drop by reducing fuel consumption. The most commonly mentioned gas is the CO2. Reduction of CO2 production is essential to affect the high level of CO2. The article focuses on the possibilities of reducing CO2 from road transport. The possibilities of reducing CO2 from road transport are quantified in the form of mathematical model calculations.

The purpose of a road vehicle’s friction brakes is to convert a vehicle’s kinetic energy to thermal energy. When doing so, the brakes should not be heated to such temperatures at which their efficiency could be reduced. The objective of the measurements in this article is to assess the ability of passenger brakes’ spare parts, brake discs and brake pads to meet the requirements for brakes. For the experimental measurements, brake discs and brake pads of high, middle and low prices were selected from advertisements intended for a particular vehicle. The measurements were performed via driving test measurements as well as under laboratory conditions. Driving test measurements determined the brake distance and mean fully developed deceleration of the brake components of all three price categories. On the other hand, the dependence between the effort to control the steering and the brake force, as well as the temperature of brake discs during repeated interrupted braking and continuous uninterrupted braking, were determined under laboratory conditions. Attention was also given to prevention against corrosion. The results show a sufficient ability of all the brake pads and brake discs tested to generate braking force under common conditions. However, when using the lowest-priced brake discs and brake pads, a substantial reduction in their efficiency can occur if braking intensively or over a long period.

While a vehicle is driving, the air filter is gradually being clogged. Thus, there is a condition for air mass delivered into the engine’s cylinders to be reduced. It can further degrade the vehicle’s ability to accelerate and, therefore, have an impact on road driving safety, or it can eventually make a vehicle performance worse or cause a change in the exhaust gas composition. The article pays attention to the impact of clogged air filter on selected vehicle characteristics including a vehicle’s dynamic features, fuel consumption and composition of the exhaust gases. The measurements have been performed under laboratory conditions. For higher result objectivity, the measurements have been done under some extreme conditions as well, with both the air filter fully clogged and forced air induction. The importance of the article lies in quantification of the impact of clogged air filter on selected vehicle features. The results from this article show a relatively low impact of air filter on the features studied. The biggest differences were measured under extreme conditions when the air filter had been almost fully clogged, or the air had been delivered into the engine under pressure.