The electric car has been a revolution in itself for the industry, also for what has to do with the high voltage of electricity. Because if; These types of vehicles have changed a lot, and not only throughout history, but also more recently over the last few years. There, a term begins to sound that will end up becoming popular: the high voltage that our electric car has. Do you know what it is and what it means?
High voltage to increase performance
At a point where the demand for hybrid and electric cars can only go up, the automotive industry is faced with the challenge of developing and offering new technologies for propulsion, charging and power components.
Thus, among the challenges mentioned is that of recharging systems for electric vehicles and energy management systems, which are strongly trending towards higher voltages. This is due, in part, to achieve much shorter charging times and to increase the performance of the power trains.
What does this bring us? to higher efficiency. However, the still long way that remains in countries like Spain for the number of charging infrastructures in Spain to be reasonable, leads us to the fact that it is the same manufacturers that are doing it (not all of them), because their electric car models have a higher voltage, or also known as high voltage. The best example is Porsche.
What does it consist of
And it is that in recent years the automobile industry is considering the need to increase the voltage of the electrical installation of cars from the current 12 volts to 48 volts. One of the reasons why this jump is complex is, precisely, security.
This increased stress on automotive electrical systems brings with it new challenges in terms of safety, heat management, reliability and performance in extreme conditions. Thus, as manufacturers such as the aforementioned Porsche maintain, “there are complications that appear with the highest voltages. We are seeing what the short-term needs of the industry are. There is a lot of activity in electric vehicles, but it is still in its infancy. It's still early days," director Oliver Blume said.
Although for years there have been various attempts to standardize 24-volt and even 42-volt electrical systems in conventional cars, these attempts have usually failed for various reasons, mainly economic and compatibility, in addition to maintenance and repair costs, both by the prices of batteries and other electrical components.
However, the reduction in battery costs, the growing demand for electricity from modern cars (even more so in autonomous cars, which use various complementary systems), and the need to reduce polluting emissions have once again revealed the need to increase the electrical voltage of cars, conventional, hybrid and electric.
Every time we find vehicles with a higher energy demand
More recently we find cars with great demands for electrical energy, especially depending on what types of luxury electric cars, which already use 400 V electrical systems, even 800 V, as the Porsche Taycan does.
In fact, and although today these voltages are timidly seen in electric cars, this seems to be the direction in the not too distant future, in which charging infrastructures will be increased above these figures.
And this is not something exclusive to the 100% electric car, but also to the hybrid, which can be high voltage. It's more; Today, many of those that use this technology use dual voltage systems: that of the propulsion system itself, which increasingly tends to be 48 volts, and the 12 volt that powers the rest of the electrical systems.
Adopting 48 volts makes hybrid and conventional cars more efficient, with less consumption, and makes it necessary to use an additional 12-volt electrical system. For now this 'dual system' allows cars to continue to use reliable, proven and low-cost systems, such as motors for electric windows or electric seats.
