The electrolineras in Ecuador, become a necessity of inevitable solution, since its importance lies in the renewal of the automobile fleet in a very short time in the country; In this article, the advantages and disadvantages of the types of electric stations that could be part of the solution to supply the future growth of this new technology are analyzed; as well as a possible commercial proposal, in order to postpone the useful life of the battery of these vehicles.
Key Words: Electrolinera, electric car, renewable energies, automotive electricity, automotive technology.
use-electric-cars-electrolineras-ecuadorIn February 1913, a car transports a newly married couple through the streets of Cuenca. It is the first Clement Bayard car in Ecuador acquired in Paris by Federico Malo Andrade; the novelty of the first car, encouraged children and adults to take photos with him; By then, it was not foreseen that at the turn of a century, tens of thousands of vehicles would congest the streets, nor would it be imagined that laws would come to regulate traffic, that driving licenses would be required, that traffic lights would be invented to regulate traffic and worse still that these will demand an unconscious exploitation of the environment.
With the arrival of the “devil that rumbles through the streets,” says Leonardo Ochoa Andrade, the owner's grandson, Ecuador experienced a growing rate of the vehicle fleet and with this the need for gas stations; Although the first imports of gasoline with 95 octane have arrived since November 2011, it is still a pollutant because it produces sulfur emissions.
According to Fausto Chancusig (2014), Electrical Engineer from the National Polytechnic School, in his thesis entitled: Technical economic analysis for the insertion of electric vehicles in the Ecuadorian electrical system; An average gasoline vehicle, which runs on four cylinders, emits 170 g per kilometer. of CO2 and considering that the country has an approximate vehicle fleet of 1,100,000 vehicles, that is, one vehicle for every thirteen inhabitants, pollution is high and is increasing.
ELECTRIC POWER PLANTS IN ECUADOR
Importance in Ecuador
In the 21st century, efforts to reduce air pollution have been a debate of great technological ideas and one of these will enter Ecuador from the second half of 2015, the electric car. With its arrival, in addition to being a great contribution to the change in the energy matrix, it represents a total change in the electricity supply infrastructure for these vehicles, the electrolineras.
The term electrolinera is derived from the word “gas station”, the name given to a supply of gasoline; Since the objective is to supply electricity to vehicles, the new word takes its form by replacing the term “gas” with “electro”, in this way an electric station is defined as a supply of electricity for non-polluting cars.
One of the benefits that this technology brings with it is the use of clean energy that is not wasted, as well as the ease of use, since the electric car is recharged while it is parked; But, the disadvantages for this innovation would not be long in coming, since they will not be so cheap as for anyone to have their own station in the garden and it will be difficult to find this type of technology in the streets of Quito until it becomes popular., and what to do in the meantime?
The government in power has already carried out the technical maneuver of supplying Ecuadorian households with a 220-volt electrical system due to induction cookers, but thinking in advance of the arrival of the electric car in households; In an interview with Carlos Ghosn, the chief executive of the Nissan and Renault brands in March of this year, he mentions that in the case of the city of Quito, electric stations would be placed at a distance of 90 and 120 km on the highways.
Operating principle
An electric station has a simple operating principle, one of the most important stages namely, is the source of electrical energy (renewable energy or public power grid), followed by a direct current to direct current (dc / dc) converter and alternating current to direct current (ac / dc), this in turn feeds a battery bank that is in charge of supplying the electrical power necessary to recharge an electric vehicle; The block diagram in figure 1 shows in detail the circuits that the complete system of an electric station would involve.
Basic Principle of an Electroline Station
There are two ways to charge the battery of an electric car: slow charge (domestic charge) and fast charge (electric station); slow charging systems are installed in each of the homes, these facilities must be designed and built to accept a current of at least 16A (amps), so that the power that can withstand the electrical installation of a home In particular, since the voltage is 220V, it is:
220? ? 16? = 3.5 ??
To cite an example, if a 24 Kwh battery, charged in the electrical system of a 15 A home installation, as the power it can supply will be 3.5 kW, it could theoretically be charged in:
According to the company Eléctrica Quito, on its website, in the services section for changing the meter due to increased load, it shows that an electrical system with a load less than or equal to 10Kw can be obtained through a trade; Being in these conditions, the charging time of an electric vehicle would be reduced to:
Opting for the best conditions of an electrical system at home (using the maximum power supplied, without turning on other electrical equipment), the charging of the car remains slow. That is, this charge could only be carried out when the car rests for approximately three hours.
Getting closer to the reality of the state of charge of the battery, the most common will be that they are not completely discharged, in this way the necessary charging time can be calculated, with the previous example:
Assuming that the battery is 50% charged and there are losses of 15% in the electrical network, that is, the energy used would be 85%, it would be necessary to:
The charging time would be around:
That is, 1 hour and 24 minutes approximately
Electric stations are considered as fast charging points, due to the power they supply (40 Kw), that is, if the example of a 50% discharged battery is mounted, the charging time would be reduced to:
That is, approximately 21 minutes
As you can see, there is a great difference between both types of charge, where, apparently, the electric station would be the best option; But what consequence does the fast charging of a battery carry?
Fausto Chancusig (2014), an electric vehicle consumes around 24Kwh to travel 160Km, and if the average annual vehicle travel is 20,000 Km, the energy it will consume per year will be:
If we exemplify with a quantity of 1,000 electric vehicles, a total energy of approximately 3Gwh would be needed, which represents 0.01% of the estimated total energy demand for the year 2022.
This technical approach provides one of the best electricity saving opportunities to the country and supports the environment; Now, the creation of an electric station is based on the need to supply electrically to a vehicle immediately, but technically when a battery has been subjected to a fast charge, its useful life decreases prematurely, what does this mean?
According to Carlos Ghosn, a battery has a value of 50% of the cost of an electric vehicle, so, the average Ecuadorian, would risk charging the battery of his vehicle in an electric station ?; In a headline of the newspaper El Comercio, it is mentioned that the cost of a vehicle in Ecuador would be around 35,000 USD that means, that if the battery of this vehicle deteriorates, its replacement would cost 17,500 USD, therefore, what is the proposal?
To facilitate sales in Europe, the equipment is not sold by price, but rather a commercial leasing scheme for the battery is maintained. The cheapest vehicle is sold if the battery is leased. In a station of the agency itself, the used battery is changed for a new one and it does not even have to be charged (Plan V, 2015)
Conclusions
Any change implies advantages for some and disadvantages for others, however, the arrival of the electric car in Ecuador is a fact, and it is generating both economic and technical expectations; the same business model corresponding to the commercial battery leasing can be adopted, as it has been tested and generated good results in Europe
Bibliography
Jordán, J., Esteve, V., Magraner, JM, Cases, C., Dede, E., Ejea, JB, & Ferreres, A. 2- and 3-element topologies for inductive charging of electric vehicles.
Salmerón Ozores, JM (2012). Design of the electrical installation of an electric station.
Mateo, A. (2010). Evaluation of the Impact of Electric Vehicles on Distribution Networks. Master's thesis, Universidad Pontificia de Comillas-Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería ICAI, 32, 35.
Sánchez, MAM, & Martínez, AMR (2010). The electric car as a source of exploitation of entrepreneurial opportunities. Industrial Economics, (377), 86-94.
Hidalgo, LA, & Fuentes, JMA (2009). Biofuels: opportunities and risks of their application. Revista de Fomento Social, 64, 755-791.
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