The elevation factor: Digital elevation model quality and sampling impacts on electric vehicle energy estimation errors

Energy used to overcome elevation is a significant factor in estimating energy consumption of moving objects and (electric) vehicles in particular. A common source of elevation data for electric vehicle energy estimations are digital elevation models (DEMs). These DEMs are available from multiple providers and with varying quality as free or paid data. This paper presents an evaluation of the impacts of DEM quality and methods used to sample DEM values for elevation profiles on energy estimations for electric vehicle routes. The evaluation is carried out for two different study areas: an urban mostly flat area, and a rural alpine area. An overview of the error obtained with different DEMs and sampling methods in these two areas is provided. These results can serve as a reference for estimating the magnitude of the energy estimation error in case high resolution elevation data is not available in a study area.