Heavy Duty Trucking, January 2018
ithin a decades time we will probably have very different electrical systems on trucks than those in use today Electrical demands on todays highway trucks have pushed systems to their capacity Current electrical demand on a typical on highway truck is about 3 5 kW but that is projected to increase to 40 kW by 2030 Development of advanced powertrain technology is stalled because of capacity constraints Theres much more we could be doing with electricity if the systems were up to it In short we need to upgrade our electrical systems But do we migrate up to 24 volts or 48 I dont think the industry has converged on 24 or 48 volts at this point says Craig Jacobs Eatons director of engineering and program management for Controls Protection Transportation Military and Aerospace Division There are a couple of different camps on this The 24 volt supporters point to Europe where 24 volt systems are used so theres already some standardization and components are readily available The 48 volt camp says if were going to make a change lets go all the way By Jim Park quipment Editor jpark@ truckinginfo com HDT JANUARY 2018 60 WWW TRUCKINGINFO COM W The industry is on the cusp of major changes to electrical systems Do we go to 24 volt or 48 volt systems and what will it take to get there Alternators like this one will probably disappear from the front of engines replaced by a starter generator built into the transmission PHOTO JIM PARK ELECTRICAL THE FUTURE OF
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