Madrid
Updated:05/06/2022 00:48h
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The automotive industry is taking firm steps towards electrification, with the European Union about to agree to a ban on the sale of non-zero emission vehicles from the year 2035.
While manufacturers strive to offer more and more electrified vehicles and administrations in Spain advance at a very slow speed when it comes to offering recharging infrastructures, consumers are forced to make many calculations when deciding what type of technology bet for their next means of transport.
The pure electric car and the plug-in hybrid variants of combustion cars are slowly gaining a foothold in the preferences of buyers, with more models on the market.
Its main benefits are its zero CO2 emissions in circulation, and the possibility of “feeding” them with electricity from renewable sources.
Autonomy, time and price of the recharge are the main questions that arise when making a purchase decision.
Although the way of enjoying or using a car as a means of transport is evolving, and new formulas such as renting allow access to a vehicle with certain characteristics for a certain time and for specific tasks.
Manufacturers publish the autonomy data of an electric car, but to make comparisons and have a value that is as realistic as possible, you have to make sure that this figure has been calculated under the WLTP measurement cycle, which is the one that best fits the real conditions of use of a vehicle. For example, a BMW iX3 declares a maximum autonomy of 460 kilometers in the WLTP cycle and 520 kilometers under the previous NEDC cycle.
If we do not have that data at hand, there is a “trick” to be able to calculate it approximately. Battery manufacturers claim that, on average, each kWh of battery is equivalent to 10 kilometers of autonomy. But this figure changes substantially if we take into account the power and weight of the vehicles. If you do not have the official data, there is a simple way to calculate the approximate autonomy.
In a small car, multiplying the battery capacity by the factor 7.5, for example, in a 40 kWh Renault Zoe, we would get a range of 300 kilometers. In a midsize car, the factor is 7; and in a large one, 5. In this way, a Hyundai Ioniq of 39 kWh would have an approximate autonomy of 273 km; and a 71 kWh Audi eTron, 355 kilometers.
Electric rates
As a general rule, recharging an electric car at home is much cheaper than doing it in a public charger. The cost to charge an electric vehicle (EV) or plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) depends on the electricity rate and the amount of electricity (kWh) used. A typical domestic tariff is around €0.15/kWh, so a vehicle with a 40kWh battery would cost around €6 to fully charge the battery, while a plug-in hybrid vehicle with a small 10kWh battery would cost €1.5 € only.
The most appropriate rate to recharge an electric vehicle is the supervalley (2.0DHS) with hourly discrimination, which offers much lower prices at night, which is the ideal time to leave the car plugged in. These rates can reach a minimum of €0.03/kWh, so fully recharging an average model such as an electric Hyundai Ioniq, with a 39 kWh battery, would cost 1.17 euros. For this amount we could travel 340 kilometers (according to the WLTP approved autonomy data of this model), from which an energy cost of 0.34 euros per 100 kilometers comes out, much lower than that of an equivalent diesel model, which is located around 5 euros every 100 kilometers. In the case of a Hyundai Ioniq plug-in hybrid, with an 8.9 kWh battery, the cost would be 1.30 euros at the peak rate, and 0.27 euros at the off-peak rate.
As for the time it takes to charge an electric car, it depends on the speed of the charging unit, the size of the battery, the capacity of the car charger (which varies according to the model) and the cable that we use. If the car does not support fast or ultra fast charging, we will not be able to benefit from the most powerful charging speeds.
Trickle charge (domestic plug) charges at 2.5 kWh
Fast charging (at home, work or public network) usually charges at 7 kWh (single phase), but can increase to 11 kWh or 22 kWh if it is three phase.
Ultra-fast charging (specialized network) charges at 50 kWh, but can go up to 100 kWh and 350 kWh with super chargers). In these chargers you can only charge up to 80% of the capacity to protect the battery.
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