In some countries, EVs can recharge on a mat
I think wireless could address vandalism concerns for urban charging, Evan. DC fast charging? Not so much. Cost effective? No, it will cost more unless the cable charge portsfor 120V, 240V are eliminated from cars. Faster charging? Not for highway trips where DCFC would rule.
These systems tend to be more expensive and have greater energy loss than a direct connection. Plugless Power sells systems designed to work with a US domestic 240V output, fit to existing cars, and the company claims power can be delivered through an air gap of up to 12 inches, meaning wireless charging of taller vehicles like SUVs and trucks could be possible.
Plugless Power says its upcoming third-generation wireless charger has a target price of $3,500, plus installation, and it is working on chargers for the European market too.
"Technically, everything is scalable; however, as power transfer rates go up, the complexity and size of the power management electronics must go up,” he added. “More importantly, as the power goes up, a number of additional factors needs to be considered, such as thermal losses and thermal management. The higher the inefficiency, and the higher the power, the higher the heat losses and more that must be done to manage that heat.”
Dr. Milan Rosina, principal analyst for Power Electronics and Batteries at Yole Développement (Yole), said that EV charging requires much higher voltage, power, and amount of energy transferred. Therefore, the technology, safety, cost, and environmental challenges are much more severe. “While wireless chargers and smartphones are often in close contact, it is difficult to position the vehicle accurately over the charger, and the distance between charger (transmitter) and the receiver installed on the vehicle is much bigger,” he said.
Rosina pointed out that this results in poor efficiency of the energy transfer in actual conditions. But it is high efficiency that is needed to reduce the cost and thermal management challenges, as well as to reduce the environmental impact of wireless inductive charging (Figure 1)."
I'm looking at getting an induction range to replace my 50 years old Frigidaire electric resistance heating coil stove. In talking to the manufacturer, I asked about how pan height above the cook surface might affect the performance, if at all. I've seen some attach tiny feet to the bottom of a pan with a not-flat bottom, or pans that have an outside lip on the bottom. I was told that the induction heating will be negatively affected.
The same holds true for wireless car charging of course. the receiver plate on the car bottom needs to be in a sweet spot zone to function well. The further away the receiver is, the less power it will get, increasing the inefficiency (power lost via charging).
