Solar storms are coming: Why you don’t want an electric car

Solar storms sound like something astrological, but they are not. They mark the end of a solar cycle and can affect electrical devices on Earth, including electric cars.

De Telegraaf reports on the possibility that we will have to contend with solar storms in the coming months. The American space agency NASA expects the end of the solar cycle to end at the end of 2025. Indian scientists think the beginning of 2024 is more likely. You can read a detailed explanation of solar storms at De Telegraaf.

Solar storms

The impact of such a solar storm can be very large. The resulting magnetic radiation can cause aircraft not to take off, GPS signals to be lost, and power outages.

Solar storms are not completely unknown to the world. Because of this, a major power outage occurred in Quebec, Canada on March 10, 1989. The influence was already great back then. But now the world is even more dependent on electricity.

Disadvantage of electric cars

The problems directly affect electric car users, as they cannot charge their electric car at a charging station in the event of a power outage. However, there are more than just disadvantages to using an electric vehicle during a power outage.

Advantage of electric cars during solar storms

Electric cars often have large batteries. When your electric car battery is full, you have a large supply of energy. Some electric or hybrid vehicles even allow you to feed energy back into your meter cabinet or connect a device directly to it. Then your electric vehicle must still function properly. Because there are many stories about electrical systems failing at the end of a solar cycle.

The question is when the solar storms will occur. Nobody can predict exactly when the strong solar flares will occur. If this problem also occurs in the Netherlands, Autovisie.nl will probably also be offline for a while. Don’t want to be bored? Then prepare yourself well with our 500-page Autovisie yearbook. And charge your electric car!