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This is a value for value post: see the explanation in the footer.
Over on X, a post from Top Gear about Hyundai showed up in my feed and at first I shared it with a quip, without even looking at the underlying story. I just saw it was about a way to defrost a car's windshield faster than before.
Back in the UK this would have been of interest to me, here in Israel, I think I might have parked one night up in northern Israel and seen ice on my windscreen the next day. Maybe, hard to remember. This has certainly never happened here in Tel Aviv.
https://x.com/brianoflondon/status/1869344889886126080
But then I actually did click on the story and saw this little gem in there:
Hyundai has been working on – wait for it – the future of windscreen technology. Heated windscreen technology, to be precise.
It’s been testing a 48-volt system dubbed - and it really does what it says on the tin here - 'Metal-Coated Heated Glass'; an innovation that Hyundai reckons works three times faster to defrost the screen than conventional systems in sub-zero conditions.
The magic words in there are "48-volt system". Anyone with a passing understanding of DC electricity (which is the way accessories in cars are always powered) knows a bit about what happens when you use something higher than the 12-volt systems we have in almost every car on the road.
At 48V you can use much smaller and lighter (less heavy) wires to carry the same amount (power) of electricity. 12V was OK for lower power things like lights or a radio but as soon as it started to be used for bigger motors, like moving seats, windows, sun roofs and all the other modern electronics in a car, 12V is just wrong.
But inertia means that none of the giant automobile companies has ever realistically tried to change this standard. They all keep building everything for 12V.
Tesla Cybertruck
That is until the Tesla Cybertruck came out. Cybertruck has a number of amazing firsts including the first consumer vehicle to not a physical connection between the steering wheel and the wheels of the car. The steering is "by wire" which means the bit you hold links to the wheels only via wires and a computer and electric motors to change the direction.
And part of the reason that makes that possible is that the entire car runs on a 48V system for the accessories. This 48V system is much better at driving the big motors needed to steer such a huge vehicle.
Hyundai catch up
So when I read that Hyundai are experimenting with just defrosting the front windscreen with a 48V part, it's obvious that this is a better way to do that job. Tesla had to make everything in their car for themselves: the motors that move the seats, the windows the stereo and computer systems. All of these things are bespoke for Tesla because an eco system of 3rd party suppliers of 48V car accessories simply doesn't exists. It sounds like Hyundai are exploring this now after Tesla have already shown they are going that way.
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