Why you shouldn’t charge your electric car in the evening
We believe it is allowed, but manager Stedin wants you not to charge your electric car in the evening. The organization wants to set up public charging stations between 4 and 9 p.m.
Practical (not!), because this is exactly when most electric cars are at the charging station. And that’s why Stedin makes this statement. In the evening the power grid is too busy.
Charge electric car
The network operator is therefore calling on operators to switch off charging stations for electric cars, especially in the areas surrounding large cities, between four o’clock in the afternoon and nine in the evening.
According to the organization, the overcrowded network needs to be relieved during these hours. Not only are electric vehicles being charged en masse, but people are at home and have all sorts of devices plugged into them.
Invest in network
“We will invest at least 8 billion euros in the power grid by 2030,” says Stedin’s CEO in a statement, “but we won’t achieve that.” In the evening peak, it’s bursting at the seams.”
Intelligent charging of electric cars
In order to continue charging electric cars, the Netherlands will need to switch to smart charging, which means charging will be much more spread out across the day and night.
“It is not always necessary to charge an electric car at dinner time. This is also possible at other times, for example when there is a lot of solar power available or when the grid is quieter at night.”
Expand charging network
Stedin assumes that around 20 percent of the total capacity will be used for charging stations in the coming years. For every mast that is switched off in the evening, a new home can be connected to the grid.
In most parts of the Netherlands, the network dates back to the time when houses were still heated with gas. The introduction of induction cooking devices and (hybrid) heat pumps is putting them under a lot of pressure.
Stedin has calculated that 105,000 kilometers of cable will need to be added, requiring about 54,000 additional transformer houses. Every third street has to be renovated for this purpose.