Tesla shares 48V architecture with other automakers

Post by mcguire » Thu, Dec 07, 2023, 9:13 PM UTC

myself248 wrote: post #60

intrepidhero wrote: post #5

Why would a car need a 48V system for accessories? In general the things a car's 12V system powers have gotten less power hungry over time (LED's, heat pump) and in particular, an EV loses the highest power electrical device on the 12V bus, the starter. The typical equipment used for the entertainment and control systems are going to be much more available with 12V supplies, just because that's the industry standard.…

Hi, automotive electrical is my job. There's quite a bit of very thick wiring in a car, not just the starter wire, but boring stuff like audio amplifiers, rear window defrosters, power seat motors. Those things don't draw a ton of power, like maybe just a few hundred watts, but at 12 volts even modest powers require extraordinarily thick wires, especially when you account for bundle derating. This requires large term…

Post by jnsaff2 » Thu, Dec 07, 2023, 9:25 PM UTC

Post by tootie » Thu, Dec 07, 2023, 9:29 PM UTC

myself248 wrote: post #60

intrepidhero wrote: post #5

Why would a car need a 48V system for accessories? In general the things a car's 12V system powers have gotten less power hungry over time (LED's, heat pump) and in particular, an EV loses the highest power electrical device on the 12V bus, the starter. The typical equipment used for the entertainment and control systems are going to be much more available with 12V supplies, just because that's the industry standard.…

Hi, automotive electrical is my job. There's quite a bit of very thick wiring in a car, not just the starter wire, but boring stuff like audio amplifiers, rear window defrosters, power seat motors. Those things don't draw a ton of power, like maybe just a few hundred watts, but at 12 volts even modest powers require extraordinarily thick wires, especially when you account for bundle derating. This requires large term…

Post by jnsaff2 » Thu, Dec 07, 2023, 9:32 PM UTC

contingencies wrote: post #84

jnsaff2 wrote: post #83

The "expert" in the article got it wrong. The relationship between the voltage and the losses in the wires is not proportional. They are squared. Going from 12V to 48V is not a saving of 4x rather 16x. For some applications you could also consider Power over Ethernet in the car, get both shielded comms and power. Or can and power over twisted pair.

The great thing about PoE standards is there's so many to choose from. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_over_Ethernet#Standards_... Honestly, ethernet introduces a degree of non-determinism with respect to time in the link layer, plus increased bringup times, a potentially more costly core switching fabric, and the need for critical revision of latency assumptions on any potentially safety-related control concerns…

Post by taylodl » Thu, Dec 07, 2023, 9:39 PM UTC

bryanlarsen wrote: post #63

taylodl wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because we already have the 12V infrastructure and part supplies in place. You're disrupting things for no benefit. We've been running split 24V/12V systems for decades now in automotive applications. It's not that big a deal to change that to 48V/12V systems as many European car manufacturers have done.

No benefit? I've seen estimates of $1000 in reduced cost due to reduced copper wiring, and more importantly the labor required to string that wiring. Modern phones charge on 48V these days, so 48V parts are extremely common & cheap.