When a petrol car draws too much fuel from the gas station, the tank overflows. With electric cars, the situation is different: they can draw more electricity from a charging station than the battery can hold.
This so-called loss of charge is physically unavoidable and originates from our electrical grid. This works on alternating current while batteries store direct current. The corresponding transformation requires energy – namely electricity. As a result, not all purchased electricity is available for driving.
Fast chargers swallow loss
Experienced e-mobilists know that fast charging stations charge the vehicle with direct current from a charging speed of upwards of 50 kilowatts. There, electricity is already converted at the charging station. The question arises of who is paying for the “lost” energy. Therefore, the Swiss business magazine “Saldo” measured how much electricity a charging station provides and how much is charged to the customer.
The results are surprising. Most of the six controlled charging stations provided more electricity than was ultimately charged. Superficially, providers – at least in terms of the amount of electricity – assume charge losses. Grauholz found the biggest plus in the BE service area, with 6.8 percent, in favor of “Saldo” electric car drivers. This is where the ABB Terra HP CP500 C2 charging station in the Europe-wide Ionity charging network is used. The remaining charging stations provided 0.2 to 1.7 percent more electricity than the providers billed. Only the amount of electricity drawn and paid from eCarUp with the Alpitronic Hypercharger HYC 300 in Däniken SO was matched.
hard work
So, do the operators of charging stations have a big heart for e-car drivers and bear the additional costs? Of course not – but they can easily afford that generosity and easily pass on the loss of charge to customers driving electric cars at high electricity prices. For example, a kilowatt hour of electricity costs 79 cents in Ionity, while home e-car owners pay almost three times less. After all, charging station operators also remain profit-driven companies.
Big losses depending on the car
In your own garage, the loss of charge no longer depends on the charging station, but on the car itself. Because home wall boxes are charged with alternating current converted by the car. German ADAC determined the charge losses of 60 different e-cars and found large differences.
For example, the BMW iX is one of the wasteful. To charge the 105 kWh battery, the luxury SUV draws 125.2 kWh from the grid. This corresponds to a loss of 20 kWh per full charge, or an additional CHF 5.35! However, the model is the student Audi E-Tron GT. When charging the 83.7 kWh battery, the loss is only 3.2 kWh or 85 centimeters.
saving electricity
However, there are ways to reduce charge losses through battery temperature and charge capacity. A battery should be warm between 20 and 40 degrees while charging. On some Stromer models, the battery can be suitably preheated or cooled to charge within the ideal temperature range. In addition, the highest possible charging power should always be set. Because the shorter the load time, the lower the conversion consumption.
However, the electric car is not always responsible for additional power consumption while charging. Some Stromers have time-controlled air conditioning. The interior can be preheated in winter or cooled in summer. If the car is still connected to the charging cable, it will get its power from the mains and not from the battery. This does not cost any range, but additional electricity and money.
Source: Blick
I’m Ella Sammie, author specializing in the Technology sector. I have been writing for 24 Instatnt News since 2020, and am passionate about staying up to date with the latest developments in this ever-changing industry.
