The Irish electric vehicle charging start-up EVHACS has announced the successful roll-out and trial of its combined EV charger/air-conditioner technology, with vehicles charged using the firm's devices having clocked up more than 6,000km of travel.
Aims to stop tripped switches
The company, founded in 2022, has developed the world's first all-in-one EV charger, air-conditioner and heat pump in an effort to counter potential tripped switches and blackouts as a result of overstressed home electricity systems in the event of EV owners trying to charge their cars and run their domestic heat pumps at the same time. Having an EV charger and air-to-water heat pump system in one unit also streamlines the installation process, potentially reducing the cost and hassle of households going green.
Thousands of kilometres worth of charging
EVHACS has now announced the results of two of its heat pump trials, one of which ran between November 13 and January 15, during which the company's patent-pending technology charged two electric vehicles for a total of 218 hours, 51 mins and 46 secs, supplying a total of 976kWh of power. With both cars achieving an efficiency rating of 4.78km/kWh, the test vehicles were able to travel a total of 4,665km, charged only using an EVHACS charger. As well as powering the two cars, the device supplied 5,162kWh of heat to the five-bedroom detached home in Celbridge, Co. Kildare where it was being tested. The entirety of the heating to the house was supplied by the Mitsubishi-based heat pump, modified and upgraded to accommodate the EVHACS technology.
Despite running throughout the winter, the EVHACS system proved itself capable of successfully balancing the electricity consumption in the home with the demands of the heat pump and EV charging, with no interruptions to the electricity supply reported. The set-up was able to monitor the electricity consumption of the house and throttle back the EVHACS system when required to avoid overloading the domestic grid.
In addition to the domestic trial in Celbridge, EVHACS' development team has also been running a concurrent, smaller trial in the firm's Clane office with 72 hours, 37 minutes and 59 seconds (406kWh) of charging delivered to multiple electric vehicles - as well as the air-conditioning requirements of the building met - without any supply downtime.
Combining the electricity supplied by the charger in Celbridge with the 1,827km-worth of charging supplied at the office in Clane, equates, EVHACS says, to a total of 6,492km - more than the length of the Republic of Ireland's entire primary and secondary road network, according to CSO figures.
System worked "brilliantly"
"In one of the coldest months recorded in Ireland for several years, the EVHACS system was deployed and monitored in an above-average sized house to observe its performance during harsh weather conditions," said Jeff Aherne, CEO of the company.
"Our patent-pending system was, effectively, tested on Irish roads where total distance was measured over a period that included harsh Irish winter weather. The system worked brilliantly: it charged the EV outside our home while the installed heat pump was able to heat the house throughout the test period. This system is a potential game-changer for those looking to provide their household with a heating and energy distribution system between their home and car."