MENNEKES FAQs: for everyone who wants to know more

Today, electric vehicles are already outstandingly suited for daily use, for example, for the daily commute to work or the trip to the supermarket. Expansion of the charging infrastructure is running at full speed. Throughout Germany there are thousands of charging points, most of them in the major metropolitan areas. 

With increasing market penetration, in the future the prices of electric vehicles will continue to drop and reach the price level of internal-combustion vehicles. In this regard the costs of servicing and maintaining electric cars will become significantly more favourable.

Thanks to major advances in battery research, batteries will not only become more powerful and lighter, they will also become cheaper and cheaper. The price per kilowatt hour will continue to drop and the ranges of electoral vehicles will become ever greater.

Worldwide, overall three types of plugs are standardized by the IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission). For charging electric vehicles with alternating current. In Europe the so-called IEC Type 2 plug has been defined as the standard charging plug with which the driver can charge on 230 V, as well as on 400 V.

Starting in 2017 this will be used for all new vehicle models in Europe. This system was developed in Germany by MENNEKES.

From the time before agreement on a common plug connector there are still vehicles that are equipped with the so-called IEC Type 1 system. These are primarily vehicles from the far east or the USA.

In addition, you also encounter SCHUKO, CEE-Caravan and HPL connections that can only be used for charging on 230 V networks. Occasionally you still find CEE three-phase current plugs and socket for charging on 400 V AC. Due to the low capacity, charging on 230 V is associated with long charging times The complete charging of a 20 kWh rechargeable battery in this case takes almost six hours. It is faster to charge on 400 V AC. At a charging power of 22 kW, charging only takes 1 hour.

Charging with DC is even faster. At 500 V and 100 A charge current (50 kW) the 20 kWh rechargeable battery is full again in 20 minutes. The common standard for these connections is currently still being worked out. Consequently, different systems are still being used here, for example, the CHAde-MO system and the Combined Charging System (CCS) on the basis of the IEC type 2 plug system. The latter supports charging via alternating current, as well as fast charging via direct current, and is compatible with the current Type 2 standard system.

The range of an electric vehicle depends on several factors:

Capacity of the drive battery

The following always applies: The greater the battery capacity, the greater the range.

Power draw of the vehicle

This not only involves maximum power but also the power actually required, which in turn depends on the following factors:

• Weight of the vehicle:
  Heavy vehicles require more energy than light vehicles.
• Route profile
  For ascents and trips at high speed the range is less than it is with a uniform driving style on a straight route.
• Driving style
  Strong acceleration and braking shortens the range. Anticipatory driving and normal acceleration have a positive effect on the range
• Supplemental consumers
  Heater and air conditioner likewise consume energy which likewise reduces the range.

Modern onboard computers calculate the remaining range with relative reliability and take the energy consumption of all units, as well as the previous driving style into consideration.

This is how the range is calculated: Rechargeable battery capacity ÷ consumption/100 km = range.

Example: A rechargeable battery capacity of 30 kWh and consumption of 15 kWh/100 km, results in a range of 200 km.

Range anxiety describes the worry that the car will run out of power during the trip, the car will come to a stop and there will be no possibility for recharging. However at the current ranges of 120 to 160 km this fear is unfounded. The charging infrastructure is constantly being extended and expanded.

Various studies have shown that in Germany per day on average a car is only driven between 40 and 60 km. In Europe 80% of the population does not drive more and 80 km a day. Only 4% of Germans drive more than 160 km a day. In addition an average vehicle is standing still approximately 23 hours a day. Thus electric vehicles can be outstandingly charged wherever they are standing.

Rather you should ask the question; where precisely do you want to go? What is your driving behaviour on a given day?

The electric range is primarily dependent on the capacity (in kilowatt hours), the battery weight, vehicle concept (plug-in or full electric vehicle) as well as acceleration and speed. Thus for example, the Tesla S Limousine at normal vehicle load has a range of 480 km at a battery capacity of 85 kWh. The BMW i3 on average manages 160 km with 18.8 kWh. The Volkswagen e-Golf with 24.2 kWh drives 130-190 km pure electric.

The battery is the critical component for the life of the vehicle.

Currently, some manufacturers provide a warranty of up to 8 years on their vehicle batteries. These batteries can also be replaced with a new battery unless the life of an electric vehicle reaches that of a petrol-powered vehicle.

You can charge wherever you park your car.

With an electric vehicle, you no longer need filling stations, but use your own private charging station or one of the many charging stations in public spaces.

You can conveniently fully charge your car overnight at home or even at work. In addition, more and more public charging points and fast chargers are being set up. With an electricity contract with your energy supplier, you can then charge at these points.

Fundamentally energy can be injected from the vehicle back into the power grid. The prerequisite in this regard is that the charging technology of the vehicle, as well as the charging infrastructure, must support this function.

In this regard there is also a huge opportunity for energy policy, particularly in conjunction with effective use of regenerative energy. Thus electric vehicles can serve as buffer accumulators for regenerative energy and compensate for load peaks in the power grid through injection from electric vehicles.

Today these load peaks are still compensated through nuclear power plants or power plants that are operated with fossil fuels. With an appropriately expanded charging infrastructure and large distribution of vehicles, the energy injection from electric vehicles would be significantly more environmentally-friendly for compensation of load peaks.

Through appropriate programming of the onboard electronics and user specifications, it is insured that the vehicle always remains sufficiently charged. Currently work is still underway on implementation models and tests in pilot projects.

Special approval is not required for the erection of charging stations in or on your own building.

However special regulations apply for underground car parks, such as the fire protection regulations of the respective federal state. A charging column on your own property with public access must be agreed with the responsible approval authorities. A legal clarification occurs via the building permit procedure.

The power costs per 100 km are significantly cheaper as compared to gasoline powered vehicles.

For example, an electric vehicle consumes 15 kWh power on 100 km. At a power price of 25 ct/kilowatt hour the energy costs are €4.00.

For a combustion engine with a consumption of 6.5 l/100 km Super and a litre price of €1.35, the energy costs are €8.10 – thus more than twice the amount.

Depending on the capacity of your car (compare Tesla) the battery of your vehicle recharges up to 80% in 30 minutes, and thus depending on your model, you have a range from 350 km to 380 km.

The following always applies: the auto charges while you are sleeping, working or shopping. Consequently it is really not so relevant how long a charging process lasts.

But rather what is relevant is how many kilometres you drive per day, maximum, and whether you can manage this distance in the morning with a full battery. For long distances, in the future there will be quick-chargers on the motorways.

In principle, yes, but normal household sockets or their supply cables are not usually designed for such a continuous load. Charging at a normal household socket should therefore only be done in an emergency.

For normal charging at home, we expressly recommend charging with charging stations or wall charging stations, e.g. wallboxes, which have been specially developed for this purpose. These are available with different charging capacities.

We recommend a charging solution with sufficient charging power reserves. This way, you are equipped for the future and can charge your vehicle faster and, above all, safely.

Yes, electric vehicles can even be safely charged in rainfall.

No. You can charge your electric vehicle in accordance with your power requirement, and you can also interrupt this process at any time.

You can find charging stations directly in your vicinity via websites such as chargemap.com and also register them.

If parking spaces are marked with a no stopping sign for charging of electric vehicles at these spaces only, then only electric vehicles can be parked on these spaces for charging.

Of course, even without such a no-stopping sign, it would be nice if these parking spaces remained free for electric vehicles.

Whether you can see the charged amount of electricity when charging depends on the respective charging system. As a rule the power is totaled on the meter of the charging column.

In an app appropriate for the charging system you can view the power per charging process.

Interruption of a charging process is no problem. The charging process can be resumed at any time.

The charging process can always be ended in the vehicle. Some systems can also be stopped through an app or by holding the RFID card that is used for authorization, in front of the column again.

Vehicles and charging stations are in both cases upward compatible, as well as downward compatible. The charging station communicates to the vehicle the maximum power, but the vehicle can also take less than this power.

The electricity flow is automatically stopped after full charging by an integrated charging management system.

As a rule, there are no costs or damage caused by a permanent power connection after a full charge.

In the future, the existing connection will even be usable, for example, to preheat the car in winter without drawing power from the vehicle's battery. In this case, costs would be incurred.