3 ms·
Something that should go USB-PD is electric bicycles.
by jeffbee 3y ago
Something that should go USB-PD is electric bicycles.
- jjeaff 3y agoUSB PD is 20v max. I think most electric bikes are 24v or 48v
- jeffbee 3y agoUSB-PD goes to 48V https://www.usb.org/usb-charger-pd https://www.usb.org/usb-charger-pd
- jjeaff 3y agoInteresting. Unfortunately, that is not quite enough to charge a 48v li-on battery. You need something like 52v.
- lxgr 3y agoIt goes up to 48 V these days! That's still "only" 240W, i.e. not nearly enough to charge electric bicycles. The other direction would still be nice, i.e. for faster charging of phones mounted on the handle bar.
- jeffbee 3y agoThe whole line of Specialized e-bikes charge at 42V, 2 to 4A. USB-PD 3.1 would be more than enough for an e-bike.
- lxgr 3y agoOh, I wasn't aware that the charging power was so low!
- Cthulhu_ 3y agoCaveat, bikes are outdoor devices, it's probably better to have wireless charging on an e-bike.
- lxgr 3y agoMany phones have been waterproof for a while now, and I've used at least one that's told me that I had moisture in the charging port, with charging being paused while that was the case. I'd rather take my chances during the few times I need to really charge my phone in the rain over the inevitably slower charging speeds and inefficiencies that go with wireless charging, especially when the power source is also a battery.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- pythonguython 3y ago240 w would charge most e-bikes in 2 hours
- 0_____0 3y agoBattery pack that big will be better served by a larger connector for power (500Wh battery can sink more than basically any USB-C source can supply), But the big reason is it's just a big object, and using a little tiny wire and plug on a big object that can fall over is just asking for damage. There's a reason 120V plugs are the size they are, and it's not ampacity. Big connectors for big objects. Small connectors for small objects. That being said a dual role sink -source controller on a motorized bicycle battery pack would be super convenient for charging phones on the go etc
- jeffbee 3y agoWell, at this time every e-bike battery has a one-off charger, at best shared with other models of the same brand. It would be cool if they were a little more uniform. That would make it easier to host e-bikes in the bike room of an office or apartment building.
- 0_____0 3y agoI think you're correctly observing that there's a hole in the available smart charging specifications around the power levels needed for motorized bikes. USB-PD is perfect for most small devices, electric cars and larger have their own protocols, but 0.5-1 kWh batteries are left in the cold. (xkcd 927:1-3)