With more and more people choose electric vehicles as their way of personal transportation, EV charging cables, whether fixed ones or portable ones, are an integral part of an electric vehicle’s charging system. The cable is highly vulnerable due to the frequent daily use and exposure to potential damages. It can be found in two designs, coiled/spirl or straight.
It’s difficult to make a choice between a straight ev cable and a spiral ev cable. Below are advantages and disadvantages of coiled cables for your reference:
Advantages of Coiled Cables
1. Avoid Tripping Hazards
Coiled EV charging cables are great for avoiding tripping hazards. The tight coils will often elevate the cable above ground. The cable will remain suspended while being connected between the charging station and the EV socket inlet. All this makes it easier for people to spot the cable and avoid tripping over it. It is more so when the cable is of a noticeable colour like green and orange.
2. Get More Protected
Being suspended and able to stay off the ground also help to reduce the risk of damage to the cable insulation. Rubbing against the ground, being stepped or driven over is a common reason for EV charging cable damages. With a slower deterioration to the cable, you can use the ev charging cable for longer periods without the need of repair or replacement.
Disadvantages of Coiled Cables
1. Working Length
Coiled cables have to be much longer to cover the same distance as a straight cable. You may find that a coiled cable would have to be about 8 metres before being coiled to cover the same 5 metres as a straight cable. This extra length can be a bother to some as it means more space is required for storage and a heavier cable to manipulate.
If the coiled cable is shorter, it will be more difficult to link should there be a long distance between the parking space and the charging point.
2. Storage
Coiled EV charging cables must be longer than straight cables to cover the same distance between the EVSE and the EV. Being longer means bigger overal weight and volume size. Besides, as the cable is coiled, it’s more difficult to tell the number of loops compared with straight cables when the user tries to organize it. If it is a portable ev charging cable, you will need more space to in your car boot. In a word, more space is needed for the EV cable’s storage.
3. Higher Cost
A straight ev charging cable can have a TPE cable jacket but s coiled cable can only be TPU insulated because only TPU cables are flexible enough to be coiled. Straight TPE cables are 30% less expensive than straight TPU cables. Compared with straight TPU cables, coiled TPU cables take extra work, so they cost more money. Take a portable coiled cable for example, around $6.5 more is needed for coiled cable with the same pre-coiled length. It costs even much more (at least 60% higher) if you want a coiled able to cover the same distance as a straight cable in your daily use.
4. Personal Taste
Last but not least, personal taste is a key point in whether to choose a coiled cable. Straight ev cables are simpler and neater, but more boring and plainer. Coiled eelectric car charging cables will often give you a bulkier appearance that may be unpleasant to some people.
For people, who attaches importance to practicality and cost, straight ev charging cables are a better choice. For people who thinks beauty and longer service life outweigh practicality, the coiled ev charging cable is the way to go.
