48v instead of 12v systems in cars

Read today that OEM's are looking at using 48v electrical systems instead of 12v. Various system upgrades and efficiencies to follow. Even read they would use the energy generated by hitting a pothole to convert suspension travel into electrical energy to help power the car. Sounds cool but ever more complex. The march towards autonomous driving cars is accelerating.

 

Been working on cars my entire adult life since finishing tech school (17 years). They've been talking about that since then, won't happen.

 

At least 24v needs to happen. Open all kinds of possibilities for improvement. 12v is just too low.

 

Everything will be a hybrid variant of some sorts instead. Using a 12v base system just like all current hybrids do right now. Even the most sophisticated current hybrid or EVs are 12v.

 

Can someone explain the pros/cons of 48v vs 12v?

 

Everything electrical works more efficiently at higher voltages.

Amperages are reduced, wire sizes are reduced, heat is reduced...

But the likelihood of taking a nice DC jolt is increased significantly.

 

con- size of the battery will increase.

 

No it won't.

You'll still have the same power requirements, you just skew the voltage/amperage scales. Batteries will be able to maintain their present form factor, increasing voltage and decreasing amperage.

 

I guess with new technology, but I don't understand the benefits of it. since the standard is 12v everywhere.

 

Our 52 Willy's Army Jeep was 24V.

 

Military still is 24v.

 

Dim bulb

 

Reading Car and Driver, eh?

 

I remember reading this would happen at least 10 years ago. LOL, if I remember correctly I actually held off on buying a new battery charger for awhile to see if it would happen....nope....bought 4 chargers in the past year for work and home.

 

Oops, You should not have said that.

 

English?

 

Sooooo...what will they call it when autonomous happens? Car and Chip?

 

Dumbass

 

You'll need more cells. It takes 6 lead-acid cells to make 12.8v, 12 cells for 25.6v, etc. LiFePO4 batteries make more volts per cell, but you'll still need more cells to get to 24v, and twice as many that new total to get to 48v. The individual cells will probably be smaller, but I don't think it will be anywhere near half the size to counter doubling the number. The battery will get bigger, just not necessarily double in size.

Hyperdyne's '52 Will'ys jeep with the 24v system had 2 12v batteries in series, just like pretty much every NATO vehicle out there. (IIRC, the Brits and Aussies use 24v for civvie trucks etc).

 

Also, the manufacturer I work for already uses higher DC voltage on certain components, using converters. For example our fuel injectors are 75volts DC, in a 12v system. So since they can achieve what they want in a 12v system , why change the whole infrastructure?