Surge Protection Of EV Charging Stations
Read More: https://www.raycap.com/wp-content/uploads/EV-Charger-Global-Application-paper_EN.pdf
The lack of available charging stations nationwide in the United States has led to a slower adoption of electric vehicle ownership by the public, and the public shies away from electric vehicle ownership because of the lack available charging stations. This vicious circle has proven to be a hinderance to the wider spread growth of the industry, ultimately resulting in slower than hoped results with regard to reversing carbon emissions. There are 17,000,000 new cars sold every year in the United States, and only 2% of that total is represented by vehicles that are either fully electric or hybrid gas and electric. In order to create a climate where electric vehicle ownership is more widespread, government interaction has been necessary which will incentivize both private ownership as well as business development of the different aspects of the industry. Where profitability of a new electric vehicle charging station is difficult, the US government has plans to subsidize with tax benefits and other incentive programs. These incentives are designed to push private industry further with regard to the development of the current administration’s goal of 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations in the United States by 2030. To achieve this goal, it is assumed that far more vehicle owners will choose the electric over gas. The installation cost of a new level three charger can be upwards of $260,000, and even though these advanced chargers can deliver a charge in as little as 10 minutes, they are few and far between in the United States. There are only 5000 fast chargers of the 41,400 electric vehicle charging stations in the US, compared to more than 135,000 gas stations. This has been one of the major hurdles which has been identified by the government. The two trillion dollar Infrastructure Bill that’s making its way through Congress addresses what the government could do to help. It is up to private industry to do the rest to move the country forward with electric vehicle ownership.
One company that is doing its part in this respect is Raycap, who has developed the technologically advanced line of surge protection devices for electric vehicle charging stations. Through the integration of more robust surge protection devices into the footprint of a high-powered charging station environment, the ongoing costs of operation can be reduced significantly. This is because downtime leads to more costs, and one of the main costs associated with this industry is ongoing maintenance of equipment as a result of lightning strikes and power surges coming from the grid. The wider footprint and expensive circuitry of high-powered charging stations brings a greater risk of damage and loss as a result of lightning strikes. Only through wider adoption and better methods of damage avoidance can operational costs be reduced. Through their products, Raycap expects to help a large number of electric vehicle charging manufacturers and operators to bring down the ongoing costs associated with the industry, ultimately resulting in more stations being built. The electric vehicle market is still emerging, and through private and public sector cooperation we can achieve the current administration’s goal of 500,000 chargers by 2030.
