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U.S. Department of Energy
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Analysis Reveals Impact of Road Grade on Vehicle Energy Use (Fact Sheet)

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1129250· OSTI ID:1129250

With funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Vehicle Technologies Office, engineers from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) performed an analysis quantifying the incremental efficiency impacts of road grade by appending high-fidelity elevation profiles to GPS speed traces. This in-depth study employed nationwide elevation data from a U.S. Geological Survey digital elevation model as well as detailed GPS data from NREL’s Transportation Secure Data Center with drive cycles from more than 250,000 unique trips in various metropolitan areas across the country.

Research Organization:
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Energy Efficiency Office. Building Technologies Office
DOE Contract Number:
AC36-08GO28308
OSTI ID:
1129250
Report Number(s):
NREL/FS--5400-61678
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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