Germans have really thought about everything when their major producer Siemens Energy released the new electric-vehicle charging station CP700A. Why is this different to previous models? Because you can now charge your electric car in a mere 30 minutes!
So far, devices of this kind have allowed drivers to charge their vehicles within an hour. But since electric vehicles are expected to find their way onto the German roads quicker than expected, the company had to think of a plan to improve the charger’s performance.
Le’s face it, 60 minutes for a recharge is a lot! 30 minutes is not short either, but i’s a significant progress. This was made possible by increasing the output to 22 kilowatts.
For the rest, you couldn’t ask for more from the charger: you can see from quite a distance whether the charging station is already “booked” or not thanks to outdoor lighting. If i’s not, you can safely pull over and start the charging process.
First, you pay with a special card. Second, you start the charging process from a display, by choosing the exact output level you wish (it has a three-phase alternating current of 32 amperes), depending on your vehicle’s requirements. Until then, as a safety measure, no electric current is flowing through the exterior cable.
Then, once you sort out with how much voltage you want to recharge and attach the cable to you car, you can start charging in all confidence. When you leave, the station is protected against vandalism through a security system. I told you they thought about everything!
[via Physorg]
