A sustainable wiring harness is made with eco-friendly materials and has an energy efficient design. It can also be a wireless wiring harness that minimizes the material content.
This article reviews common ways to make a conventional wiring harness more sustainable. It then looks at how semiconductors can be used to replace wires in the wiring harness of an electric vehicle (EV) battery management system (BMS) and closes by considering how digital twins can help to design more sustainable wiring harnesses.
One place to start when developing a sustainable wiring harness is replacing the standard cables with polyvinyl chloride (PVC) jackets with more eco-friendly alternatives like low smoke zero halogen (LSZH or LS0H) cables made using a thermoplastic or thermosetting compound.
LSZH cables are more easily recycled than PVC cables. LSZH are also more environmentally friendly because they produce less smoke and non-toxic fumes when they burn. Burning PVC cables release toxic gases like hydrochloric acid and heavy black smoke.
Another benefit to LSZH cables is their compliance with the European Union’s Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive.
However, the operating temperature range of LSZH cables is only -20 to +75° C while PVC can be used from -50 to +90° C. LSZH cables are more difficult to make and more costly than PVC cables. So, while LSZH is more eco-friendly, it’s not a panacea and care must be taken when specifying LSZH wiring harnesses.
No wire wiring harnesses
Eliminating the wires in an EV BMS harness can result in significant weight reduction, smaller solution sizes, and an increased driving range due to lower energy requirements. Replacing the wiring harness with a combination of wireless connectivity and software can increase sustainability in several ways.
Wireless harnesses use less material. The semiconductor devices that replace the previous wiring harness can enable the use of automatic assembly, reducing manufacturing costs compared with hand installed harnesses. Semiconductor based solutions are also more flexible and modular compared with hard-wired approaches (Figure 1).
Figure 1. A comparison of the complexity of a wired BMS (left) with the simplicity of a wireless BMS (right). (Image: Analog Devices)
Wiring harness digital twins
The sustainability of cars, trucks, and aircraft is often discussed in terms of use cases. However, the design and production of wiring harnesses can be a significant factor in lifecycle sustainability. Digital twins are uniquely suited to addressing lifecycle concerns, including sustainability.
A digital twin is a virtual model of a physical object (like a wiring harness), process, or system that uses real-time data to simulate how it behaves under actual operating conditions.
A wiring harness digital twin can be used to:
- Predict performance
- Monitor operation during its useful
- Optimize decisions about maintenance and lifecycle
- Improve overall efficiency.
The design stage of a product like a wiring harness can influence up to 80% of the lifecycle environmental impact. Optimized wiring harnesses can contribute to a circular economy, less material use (and lighter weight), improved recyclability, and a reduced carbon footprint.
It’s been estimated that a 10% weight reduction can improve fuel economy in a conventional car by 6% or increase EV driving range by 14%. For an aircraft, each kilogram of weight saved can lower CO2 emissions by up to 25 tons over the entire lifecycle.
Designing a wiring harness for recyclability reduces emissions from mining and production of copper; or, it can support replacement of copper with glass or plastic fiber optical cables that are both easily recycled. It also supports the use of recycled copper or recycled glass or plastics during production.
Digital twins use feedback from performance to support continuous improvement in design, production, and operation (Figure 2).
Figure 2. The use of digital twins can support continuous improvements in wiring harness sustainability. (Image: Siemens)
When supported by sustainable materials and digital-twin design cycles, wireless harness technologies help move vehicles toward a circular wiring-harness ecosystem with lower material use, higher recyclability, and reduced environmental footprint.
References
- Advanced Electrification Technology Accelerating Sustainable Transportation, Analog Devices
- Designing wiring harnesses for sustainability, Siemens
- Sustainable Engineering: Harmonizing Environmental and Mechanical Design in Wire Harness Engineering, Cableteque
- The Future of Automotive Wiring Design: Trends and Predictions, Cadonix
- Wire Harness & Electric Bus: Powering Green Transport, Yacenter
WTWH related links
- New Sustainability Alliance to support companies with electrification
- Rare earths and EVs — it’s not about batteries
- How do connectors made with conductive plastics contribute to sustainability?
- Why EV makers are racing to automate wire harnesses
- Are Li-ion or Na-ion batteries a more sustainable technology?
Images
Filed Under: FAQs, Power Electronics