Power outages due to wallboxes?!
Insufficient charging infrastructure is leading more and more drivers to charge their e-cars at home. However, the increasing number of wallboxes could lead to power grid overloads.
E-cars are becoming increasingly popular and are slowly winning over even those who were not impressed by their advantages. The bottom line is that experts agree that electric cars can be the most environmentally friendly form of individual mobility under the right circumstances. However, a sufficient - and sustainable - charging infrastructure is indispensable. However, as stated in a study by the state-owned Kfw-Bank on the topic of "Electric Mobility in Germany", the number of electric cars is growing "faster than the public charging infrastructure".
It is true that the number of e-charging points in Germany has increased. Of the approximately 22,600 charging stations in the same quarter last year, the number in June reached a record 28,600. But that is still too few to satisfy all e-car drivers. It is particularly difficult to find a free charging station in rural areas.
According to the Federal Network Agency, an average of 13.7 e-cars are dependent on a single charging station in North Rhine-Westphalia, for example. In some areas, the ratio between the number of available charging stations and the number of e-cars refuelling is even higher, such as in the Rheinisch-Bergisch district. Here the value is 24.9 vehicles per charging station. Only in Düsseldorf (with 9.7 cars), Duisburg (9.7), Essen (6.4) and in the district of Kleve (8.0) is the target ratio of a maximum of 10 electric cars per public charging point stated by the European Union achieved.
Those who do not want to queue for a long time at the few public charging stations therefore often opt to charge their cars at home using a wallbox. This is a small e-charging station that is mounted on the wall and can fully charge the vehicle in a time of about two to eleven hours, depending on the available kilowatt power.
Wallboxes, however, especially the fastest ones with a charging capacity of 22 kilowatts, require a lot of energy. Their power consumption is so intensive that a permit often has to be applied for from the grid operator. This is because it is the only way to ensure that the power demand can be correctly estimated to avoid power outages. Especially in rural areas, where more and more households have an "electric pitch", the danger of grid overload is much greater than in the big cities, he said.
In order to maintain the energy system, it would therefore make sense to think about the necessary scope of performance when purchasing a private charging station. Since not every car necessarily needs a 22Kw wall box for charging. However, it would make even more sense to expand and optimise the public network in rural areas so that a new balance can be found in the context of the ongoing electrification of transport. Funding programmes could also help. Some are already underway. Like in North Rhine-Westphalia, where entrepreneurs and municipalities are to receive financial support to install charging points in large quantities. If the new public charging points were sufficient, this could be a good alternative to the costly and electricity-intensive wallbox for many e-car drivers.