From a historical perspective, cars began with systems of six volts. The voltage was changed to 12 volts in the 1950s as the complexity of the cars’ electrical systems increased. The increased voltage was in response to additional electric starters and appliances. Despite the high cost constraints, designers have started to come up with 48-volt systems with the hope that the costs will lower as adoption starts to pick up. It is essential to clearly understand the importance of the extra volts in question.

One of the key reasons for the need for extra volts is that vehicles usually have several components, which demand more electric power. Some modern vehicles have up to 150 electric motors in additional to new features such as the stop-start technology. Such features strain the car systems, especially those that have diesel engines. The second reason dates back to electric and hybrid car development. The additional voltage would allow manufacturers to not only boost efficiency, but to also minimize emissions. For instance, when a car is on brake, the starter may serve as a generator to generate electrical energy from kinetic energy and then store it.

It is undoubted that a hybrid can reap more benefits from the technological advancements in question compared to either pure electrical cars using multiple electric motors or complex systems. Hybrid cars can also gain the most returns from smaller sized engines. It is not surprising that Audi already has a plan of making the move and currently uses a 48-volt system in the SQ7 luxury car. Operating an Audi requires a 48-volt system as well as an electrical turbine for forcing additional air to the engine. The response time given under this system is faster compared to that given by a turbocharger.

More electrical motors mean more conductors for hybrid and electric cars. It will be necessary for cars to utilize 12-volt systems in addition to 48-volt components. The 12 volts will be required for media, lights, as well as the general electrical appliances. Components like generators, circuits and battery will be separate so as to give high performance. The beefed up systems will increase the demand for silver, copper and batteries. It has been projected that the 48-volt systems will necessitate vehicles to have two batteries, lead acid as lithium-ion or lead-carbon to be used on 48-volt circuits. It is apparent that there has been a considerable improvement in emissions and performance.