high power chargers They have been shown as an alternative to those commonly used to charge electric vehicles. Since they can achieve much more power, they manage to load the vehicle significantly. less timereducing waiting time. All of them are advantages. However, there are some concerns about how they might affect people with heart conditions that require the use of devices such as pacemaker. could he a magnetic field What is generated to affect how these devices work, affecting the health of those who wear them?
To answer this question, a group of scientists from German Heart Center conducted an investigation that analyzes what will happen in the worst case. That is, when people with pacemakers or defibrillators they use the charger at full capacity with the cable resting on their chest.
Fortunately, contrary to what was supposed, they found that This is not dangerous. Those with pacemakers did not receive false readings due to a false arrhythmia detection, and those with defibrillators did not receive an unnecessary shock. This suggests that these users do not need to be warned about the dangers of powerful chargers. Although, logically, if they follow certain precautions, so much the better.
The advantage of high power chargers for electric vehicles.
According to the European Parliament, road transport represents approximately a fifth of the European Union’s emissions. In addition, cars are a major environmental polluter. 60.6% of total emissions road transport in Europe.
This trend has begun to slow down. However, since introduction of larger vehicles, emissions from the passenger car sector rose by about 8% in 2021, according to the International Energy Agency. In the absence of optimizing combustion methods that produce fewer emissions, it is clear that electric vehicles are the most sustainable alternative we currently have. This is not ideal, but so far the only one capable of correcting the situation.
For this reason, ways are being sought to encourage drivers to use them. One of the reasons many people avoid electric vehicles is length of charging timewhich can greatly delay your journey. But this is something that already has a solution thanks to powerful chargers that use direct current instead of alternating current. They are able to reach maximum 350 kWwhich is even more than most electric vehicles currently on the road can get.
There are more and more charging stations with these chargers, so it is necessary to clearly understand some precautionary measures. For example, due to the fact that the charging current is very large, a strong magnetic field can be created around it, which can interfere with the operation of some devices. It was assumed that these could be pacemakers and defibrillators that are implanted in some people with heart disease. But, fortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case.
Pacemaker and defibrillator users are safe
It is estimated that every year from 1 to 1.4 million people all over the world receive pacemaker. For implantable cardioverter defibrillatorsare from 150,000 to 200,000 peoplethose who can wear it for the first time annually.
This is a very large population, so it is likely that many could become electric vehicle users. To find out if new chargers could be a problem for them, the authors of this new study recruited 130 volunteers. average age 59 years, of which 21% are women, the rest are men. In addition, there were four electric vehicles currently in circulation and a prototype capable of reaching 350kW of charge.
Everyone was asked to load the car, for the required time, chest cable placement. This is unusual, but the researchers wanted to see what would happen in the most extreme situation. In parallel, of course, their devices were controlled.
So they saw that even with a prototype that could get a higher load power, there were no changes to either pacemakers or defibrillators. With the latter, it was feared that they could cause a painful discharge for users by interpreting erroneous changes in heart rate. But it wasn’t.
These chargers can be used without problems
The conclusion of this study is that people with pacemakers or defibrillators can use these chargers without problems. Even can stay in the car while charging. The only thing they recommend is not to place the cable near the device. Even if they did it in a study, it’s better to prevent it.
For conventional home chargers, which use AC instead of DC, since the magnetic field is not so intense, there will also be no problems. Of course, it is not recommended to be near the charger for a long time. Ideally, leave the electric car to charge and return when it is ready.
This is not a limitation for using this less polluting alternative. This is a relief for all people with pacemakers or defibrillators.
Source: Hiper Textual
