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| The portrait of Novendra Setyawan, ST., MT., the Electrical Engineering lecturer at the University of Muhammadiyah Malang. (Photo: Istimewa) |
Recently, the presence of an electric car has garnered much public attention. In addition to its futuristic design and eco-friendly standpoint, an electric vehicle is considered more economical. The Government, through Presidential Regulation No. 55/2019, regarding the Acceleration of Battery-Based Electric Motor Vehicle Program, also continues to encourage the conversion of oil-based vehicles to electric-based ones.
Although it is attractive, there are several things to know before buying an electric vehicle. In this case, Novendra Setyawan, ST., MT., the Electrical Engineering lecturer at the University of Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM), shares a few explanations. As he says, an electric vehicle is driven by batteries that produce electrical energy. The energy naturally comes from charging at home or through stations provided by the government.
At first, the public did not notice electric vehicles due to battery storage which was considered non-durable. People still had to constantly replace batteries, which could cost similarly as much as the price of the car itself.
"If wishing to buy an electric car, people should set up their own charging house with a single power of at least 2200 watts. Therefore, the vehicle can be charged for approximately 2-3 hours. Additionally, people need also to prepare an appropriate adapter because there is still no adapter standard in Indonesia until now," explained Novendra.
Besides those preparations, he also reminds the public that it is necessary to use additional safety or Miniature Circuit Breakers (MCBs) to avoid a short circuit when charging the power supply. Also, paying attention to the battery's condition to make the battery last longer is essential.
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Despite its advantages, an electric vehicle also has disadvantages. For instance, it will rely heavily on energy storage from batteries. The charging process takes 2-3 hours for fast charging in contrast to a conventional vehicle which only needs less than 10 minutes to fill up the fuel and continue the journey.
"Indeed, one of the obstacles of electric vehicles is that their storage is still weak and non-durable. Thus, maintenance or battery replacement is required at a cost of almost 50%," Novendra continued.
Therefore, Novendra hopes that Indonesia will have the standardization of charging methods and the maintenance of electric vehicles in the following days. That said, an electric car can be more durable and attractive to the public.
"In my opinion, besides encouraging using electric cars, new renewable energy development is also necessary. At UMM, we have a micro-hydro power plant and a solar power plant. I feel both can help supply electricity for electric vehicles because they can be regenerated continuously," ended the Electrical Engineering. (imh/tri/wil)
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