How to Solve EV Fires?
Electric cars are generally considered to be safer than gas cars because they do not produce emissions that can endanger people. There are two types of electric vehicle (EVs) which is vehicles that are either partially or fully powered by electric power.
However, study shown that electric vehicle fires ( EV Fires ) are more common than previously thought as vehicle use batteries. Lithium-ion batteries power standard for modern battery electric vehicles as they have greater longevity and are excellent at retaining energy.
Despite this improved efficiency, there are still challenges with these batteries as they can experience thermal runaway.
Thermal runaway is a chain reaction that occurs when a battery cell short circuits & starts to heat up. It can last much longer than gas which tends to burn out quickly. When the battery catches fire, it requires almost tens of thousands of gallons of water to extinguish.
There are several causes of EV Fires, which:-
High temperature
Lithium-ion batteries perform most optimally within a temperature range of up to 38 Celcius +- 5 Celcius. Summer temperature could touch up to 50 Celcius, especially during direct exposure to the sun which can lead to thermal runaway.
Battery fire
Since batteries need to be charged, you should know the risk of charging in higher temperatures. Electric abuse such as overcharging and deep discharging cycles also a factor. Batteries have been damaged in some way and during charging, which is the case with recent vehicle fires that have made the news recently and resulted in safety recalls, to the cost of billions of dollars.