Checking What’s Under the Hood

We recently received a comment from a reader about the electric vehicle (EV) graphic from our September 2019 issue (“What Makes EVs Tick,” page 6). The graphic points out components of an EV engine, including a “DC/DC Converter.”

Q: Shouldn’t this be an AC/DC converter?
Stephen Rusk, Elkin, a member of Surry-Yadkin EMC

A: Thank you for the question — the simple answer is that this is not a mistake. DC/DC converters are used to change voltages for different needs in the system (such as a higher voltage for the electric motor or lower voltage for electrical accessories). Without such a converter, the modern EV wouldn’t be possible! You can learn more about that online, or read the paper (PDF) if you want to get really techy.

While there is also AC to DC conversion taking place, this is handled by the onboard charger. I hope this helps!