The social ownership of electric bicycles in my country is close to 300 million, and the safety of charging and battery attracts attention
How can I "please" go downstairs to recharge if it is not "burning"?
Our reporter Li Yimeng
In recent years, electric bicycles have become one of the main travel tools for residents due to their convenience, economy, and environmental protection.
At present, the annual sales volume of electric bicycles in my country exceeds 30 million, and the social ownership is close to 300 million.
However, at the same time, the number of fires caused by electric bicycles is also showing a clear upward trend.
According to data released by the Fire and Rescue Bureau of the Ministry of Emergency Management, about 2,000 fires related to electric bicycles occur every year across the country, of which 80% are caused by charging.
Since August this year, the state has banned electric bicycles from entering buildings for charging.
But why are dangerous charging methods such as going upstairs and charging at home, "flying line" charging, etc., repeatedly banned?
How many hurdles will an electric car go downstairs to charge?
How to prevent electric bicycles from being "burned"?
A reporter from the Workers’ Daily conducted an investigation and interview recently.
"Flying line" charging is not uncommon
The "Regulations on Fire Safety Management of High-Rise Civil Buildings" implemented on August 1 this year clearly stipulate that it is prohibited to park or charge electric bicycles in public halls, evacuation walkways, stairwells, and safety exits of high-rise civil buildings.
Encourage the establishment of centralized storage and charging places for electric bicycles in high-rise residential districts.
The reporter recently visited and found that although the new regulations have been implemented for more than two months, many residential corridors have posted signs saying "No electric vehicles (batteries) are allowed to enter", but there are still wires of different colors "flying" out of residents' homes. , Extending to the first floor or the corridor entrance.
In some old communities where property management services are lacking, this kind of "flying line" charging is not uncommon.
Ms. Zhou, a resident of a residential area in Fuzhou City, Fujian Province, told reporters that every day when she goes home from get off work, she can always see several electric vehicles charging by "flying wires" through the entrance and exit of the corridor.
Ms. Zhou said that her community is not without charging piles, but the carport facilities are simple and lack of safety facilities such as fire sprinklers. At the same time, due to the chaotic management, there is a phenomenon of "grabbing" and "occupying".
In addition, the charging pile also lacks automatic power-off function. Residents need to go to the carport to remove the plug after charging is completed.
Therefore, some electric bicycle users are more convenient and prefer to use the "flying wire" charging method.
"Fear of the battery being stolen", "Will not use smart charging equipment", "There are too many cars, and I come back late from get off work, so I can't find a charging pile"... Many electric bicycle users told reporters that some real situations Make them discouraged from going downstairs to recharge.
In addition, because the electricity charges charged by some charging piles are higher than the electricity price of residents, in order to save money, some users choose to "take the risk" to charge at home.
For example, according to the charging standard of "1 yuan for 4 hours" for a charging pile in a community in Yichang, Hubei, it takes 7 to 8 hours for an electric bicycle to be fully charged, and about 2 yuan for each full charge.
However, if residential electricity is used, it is calculated at 0.558 yuan per kilowatt-hour, which requires 1 to 1.5 kilowatt-hours of electricity to be fully charged, and the maximum cost does not exceed 0.84 yuan.
"Pushing" the multiple hurdles to get downstairs to charge
Why can't the electricity bill of the charging pile come down?
The reporter learned that at present, most public charging piles for electric vehicles cannot directly use direct power supply, but need to purchase electricity from the property owner to supply power to the charging piles.
Taking Shenzhen as an example, the residents' electricity bill is about 0.68 yuan/kWh, but the charge for charging pile companies to settle in the community is 1.3-1.5 yuan/kWh.
This means that for companies, the charging pile electricity expenses account for a large proportion of the operation process, and this part of the expenses will be shared among consumers.
"High electricity bills and initial investment mean that the utilization rate of charging piles must reach a certain number before the company can make a profit." A person in charge of a company mainly engaged in the sales and operation of electric bicycle charging piles told this reporter. The industry has invested a lot in the early stage, including charging equipment, ground hardening, fire extinguishers, canopies, cameras, etc., but also requires professional maintenance in the later stage.
"Take a five-year agreement as an example. It takes more than two years of operation to recover the cost."
"At present, the utilization rate of smart charging piles in our community has reached 90%." Wei Tingting, a staff member at the Home Affairs Service Center of Cangxia Street, Taijiang District, Fuzhou City, told reporters Users "please" go downstairs to charge. The street has considered safety, cost, management and other aspects in the design of smart charging piles, and "flattened" the multiple hurdles that hindered residents' willingness to go downstairs to charge.
Cangxia New City is the first batch of shantytown reconstruction and resettlement housing communities in Fuzhou. It consists of 5 communities including Jiaheyuan and has more than 3,000 residents.
At present, the intelligent charging and safe parking unattended system of Cangxia New City is being put into use one after another.
The system not only has full automatic power-off, automatic detection and other safety protection functions, but also uses the "one car, one card, one" management mode, charging and parking according to the number to ensure that everyone has a parking space.
In addition, 3 to 4 smart parking garages are set up in each community, and charging piles use residential electricity prices to reduce costs.
Wei Tingting introduced that the current charging standard is 33 yuan per month and can be charged for 150 hours, which can basically meet the needs of residents.
Battery safety arouses strong concern
In addition to fires caused by improper charging of electric bicycles, there are also accidents caused by spontaneous combustion of batteries that have not been charged.
This has aroused consumers' intense concern about the safety of electric bicycle batteries.
"The deflagration phenomenon of electric bicycles is not entirely a problem of the battery itself." Liu Yanlong, secretary general of the China Chemical and Physical Power Supply Industry Association, said in an interview with this reporter. Internal expansion and short-circuit may also be caused by long-term use of the battery's external circuit aging or short-circuit. At the same time, the failure of the BMS (Battery Management System) with intelligent protection functions may also bring safety hazards to overcharging and overheating."
At present, my country's "Lithium-ion Battery Standard for Electric Bicycles" for lithium batteries is only "recommended" and not "mandatory".
Some experts pointed out that when consumers buy and replace batteries that are not shipped with the car, because they may not meet mandatory national standards, whether or not to implement the recommended standards for batteries, and how strongly they are implemented, there is more room for operation.
At the same time, battery swap services for electric bicycles are rapidly emerging.
Recently, during the evening rush hour, our reporter came to a replacement cabinet in Taijiang District, Fuzhou City. In less than 3 minutes, 3 food delivery staff came to replace the battery.
A food delivery person told reporters that on average, he would change the battery 2 to 3 times a day, with the highest being 4 times.
"Currently, the battery swap mode mainly serves groups such as takeaways and couriers who have a higher demand for electricity." Liu Yanlong said.
At the same time, he said that consumers should try their best to buy original batteries, or good-quality brand batteries produced by regular manufacturers, and pay attention to the use and life of the batteries.