5 ms·

To charge the average Tesla in 5 minutes you need about 1MW and cables as thick as a forearm.

• slaw 9mo ago
  1 MW chargers don't look any bigger than standard chargers. https://insideevs.com/news/761403/byd-thousands-megawatt-chargers-china/ https://insideevs.com/news/761403/byd-thousands-megawatt-cha...
  • nine_k 9mo ago
    The thickness of the cables is often due to their water cooling. Transferring 1 MW at 99.9% efficiency means 1kW escaping as heat.
    • deleted 9mo ago
      [deleted]
    • Alex2037 9mo ago
      that depends. transferring 1 MW at 1 MV produces very little heat
      • Thorondor 9mo ago
        Yes, but a car can't use electricity at 1 MV and converting the megawatt back to something lower than 1 MV still produces a lot of heat.
      • nine_k 9mo ago
        1 megavolt means huuuge spark gaps, I'd say no less than 20", given dry air. This also means very thick insulation, very bulky and expensive switches and breakers, etc. Tesla 3MW charger uses 1250V DC: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megawatt_Charging_System https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megawatt_Charging_System Liquid-cooled charging cables are a thing. too; one of many: https://www.mouser.com/new/phoenix-contact/phoenix-contact-500a-liquid-cooled-charging-cables/ https://www.mouser.com/new/phoenix-contact/phoenix-contact-5...
      • loeg 9mo ago
        Vehicle battery packs are 400-800V today; not 1MV.
    • jfengel 9mo ago
      That's about the same as a hair dryer. Maybe I can save time by charging my car and setting my 'do simultaneously.
      • deleted 9mo ago
        [deleted]