As EV sales surge and cars get heavier, parking garages will have to change

News

Charging points at an underground car park in England. The number of EVs on our roads is increasing.
Peter Titmuss/UCG | Universal Images Group | Getty Images

Driving is changing. Today, hybrids and pure electric vehicles are a common sight around the world, and the overall size and heft of cars — whether they’re fully electric or use internal combustion engines — is increasing.

From the accessibility of EV charging points to noise levels, new designs and technologies have already created a range of issues that will need to be addressed in the years ahead.  

Parking garages (known as multistory car parks in the U.K.) are one area where the proliferation of EVs and bigger vehicles is expected to have a major impact.

Earlier this year, the London-based Institution of Structural Engineers published updated design guidance for car parks.

The wide-ranging document covers all structures where cars can be parked — including those on multiple levels, underground or within residential and office buildings — and how they are designed, built and maintained. The guidance has been written for all stakeholders involved in car park design.

One potential issue relates to the load of what we drive. According to the institution, the average vehicle’s weight has increased from 1.5 metric tons in 1974 to nearly 2 metric tons in 2023.

In a statement, it said the reason behind the weight increase was “due to electric and hybrid batteries and the size of cars increasing.”

“This extra load and the changing fire safety requirements are all considerations not just for new car parks, but for existing structures too,” it added.

Speaking to CNBC, Chris Whapples, a fellow of the institution and contributor to the guidance as an author and overseeing consultant, said some of the market’s top-end executive cars and long-range SUVs were now coming in at over three metric tons.

When the guidance was released in June, there was much focus on the potential collapse of some car parks under the weight of heavier vehicles.

“It is something we have to consider, but we mustn’t be too alarmist about it,” Whapples told CNBC.

“The thing to bear in mind is that the ones that cause the damage, if you like, are the heavy vehicles — not the vehicles that are heavier than they were 40 years ago but still within the capacity of the design for car parks,” he went on to explain.

The latter type of vehicles are still in the majority, he said. Nevertheless, the trend for bigger vehicles shows no sign of letting up.  

“We’re seeing increasing numbers now of SUVs, large executive cars — both fossil-fueled and battery ones — and pickup trucks, which are immensely heavy.”

The cumulative load of these vehicles in parking garages could present some challenges in certain circumstances. 

“If one pickup is significantly overloaded and that car park is weak, that’s a potential disaster waiting to happen,” Whapples said. Planning and preparation is, therefore, key — hence the updated guidance.

“We said, as an industry, we must actually check our car parks out and make sure that that’s not going to happen,” Whapples said. “Because what we want is the public to maintain confidence in our car parks and structural engineers.”

One way of doing this is to make sure that garages are structurally assessed.

“If it’s not strong enough, then it will need strengthening,” he added. “It may not need strengthening everywhere, it might be just individual elements.”

If this option turned out to be “prohibitively expensive,” Whapples said that vehicles could potentially be screened before entering these garages. Another possible solution could see the “heavyweights” remaining on the ground floor.

Fire safety and sprinklers

When it comes to electric vehicles, another area of concern relates to fire safety. That’s because while EV fires aren’t common, putting them out can be challenging.

“To actually extinguish an EV fire is very, very difficult — particularly if the battery is on fire, because you’ve got so much energy that’s locked in,” Whapples said.

He went on to highlight the potentially crucial role sprinkler systems could play going forward, especially in underground facilities.

“Although the sprinkler system will not put out the car fire, it will reduce the rate of spread within the car park, so it’s constantly … ‘quenching’ the car next to the one that’s on fire, and stopping that one from catching fire.”

This should give the fire service time to get to the site and tackle the flames.

While EV fires are a “worry,” Whapples highlighted that vehicles using gasoline also have the potential to ignite and create challenging situations.

Not ‘anti-EV’

Discussions about how parking lots and garages need to change to accommodate new types and sizes of vehicle extend beyond the U.K.

In Feb. 2023, the European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, launched a task force focused on developments related to the “fire safe deployment of recharging points in covered parking garages.”

AVERE, The European Association for Electromobility, co-leads the task force alongside the Commission.

In a statement sent to CNBC, the Brussels-headquartered organization said the task force “aims to create guidelines to help national and local authorities implement rules to welcome EVs in covered car parks while maintaining fire safety.”

The statement also said the “rise of e-mobility … helps us mitigate climate change and brings new questions, including weight and the impact on car parks.”

EV charging and parking spots at a site in England. The number of EVs on our roads is increasing, creating challenges and opportunities for parking lot design.
Dana Kenedy | Istock | Getty Images

Among other things, AVERE stressed the importance of establishing a discussion involving a wide range of stakeholders — from parking operators and firefighters to EV representatives, insurers and companies that manufacture and operate charging points.

“There is no one-size-fits-all solution to tackle fire safety and weight/size increase for all buildings,” its statement noted. “It is easier to change the structures of future car parks, but existing car parks represent a different challenge.”

“That being said, we need to ensure that the rules for existing buildings find the right balance to allow parking operators to operate them at a reasonable cost while increasing fire safety.”

More than 10 million electric cars — a figure that includes plug-in hybrid and battery electric vehicles — were sold in 2022, according to the International Energy Agency.

Looking ahead, the Paris-based organization, which is viewed by many as an authority on the energy transition, estimates that nearly one in five new cars sold this year will be electric.

Back in the U.K., Chris Whapples was keen to look at the bigger picture. “The Institution of Structural Engineers, and myself in particular, are not anti-EV,” he said.

“We’re really trying to facilitate new car parks to actually cope with EVs and the general increase in size of vehicles across the board.”

Products You May Like

2 Comments

  1. The investigators additionally found that creatine at both the
    2% and 4% by weight doses decreased depressive behaviors within the ovariectomized rats who obtained
    estradiol and progesterone compared to no creatine; this impact was not observed within the other groups [20].
    A Number Of of these investigations, notably in animal models,
    reported improved exercise tolerance and/or medical outcomes.
    Nevertheless, a big multi-site medical trial performed by Bender and coworkers [51] on PD, HD, and ALS sufferers
    did not discover promising outcomes. In this regard, they monitored 1687 individuals who supplemented their food plan with creatine
    (9.5 g/day for as much as 5 years).
    The results indicated that TCr content material was significantly larger in glycolytic (white) muscle fibers than in the oxidative (red) muscle.
    In contrast, CreaT protein content was greatest in oxidative
    muscle when in comparison with glycolytic fibers.
    With all muscle types, CreaT protein content material was situated predominately at the sarcolemma, with evidence that a variety of the protein was also situated internally.
    Lastly, real-time PCR indicated that no difference was observed
    regarding the expression of CreaT mRNA between all fiber sorts.
    This knowledge suggests that oxidative muscle has
    an augmented ability to transport creatine, as a result of a greater CreaT protein content and a decreased TCr intracellular quantity.

    An improve in ingested carbohydrates bigger than the individual needs leads to hyperinsulinemia.
    As a continual condition, it will lead to an increase in receptor
    for advanced glycation end merchandise (RAGE). Thus, nitrosative stress will increase, manipulating mitochondrial operate [105,106,107,108,109].
    Increasing stress will lead to an intracellular
    accumulation of ammonium [110,111,112], ROS [113], lactate [114], ultimately inhibiting the Krebs cycle and oxidative metabolism.
    Kre-Alkalyn® is a pH-buffered creatine monohydrate that is still stable in stomach acid, stopping breakdown into creatinine (a
    waste byproduct that may trigger bloating and stomach discomfort).

    This enhanced stability permits for higher absorption, sooner results, and improved general effectiveness—without the necessity
    for prime doses or cycling. Explanations as to why these
    alternate creatine varieties are prevalent within the market despite not having met the authorized
    and regulatory necessities in the numerous markets
    are probably two-fold.
    Creatine HCL is a extra recent type; therefore it is expensive when in comparability with monohydrate kind.
    If you are just beginning out with these dietary supplements, then go for creatine monohydrate.
    Creatine may benefit in other modes of exercise, such as high-intensity sprints or endurance training (11).

    Whereas creatine retention was considerably greater in the CM and dextrose group, no important
    differences have been seen between the CM and effervescent TCC groups.

    These findings counsel that while consuming a relatively small quantity of dextrose with CM can enhance whole body creatine retention,
    supplementation of TCC in an effervescent form does not increase
    complete body creatine retention greater than CM alone (Fig. 9).
    As an introduction about creatine’s potential position in health and
    illness, the next supplies a basic overview of creatine’s metabolic role, purported benefits throughout
    the lifespan, and potential therapeutic purposes. Additionally, we
    offer reasonable conclusions about the state of the science on creatine supplementation. We hope that this review and special problem will help readers and medical practitioners
    better perceive the safety and efficacy of
    creatine supplementation in a variety of populations and provide suggestions about future analysis wants.

    These who need to quickly increase muscle creatine content material
    might think about what’s often known as a loading part.
    Primarily Based on all the scientific knowledge, our choice of
    the most effective form of creatine supplement is –
    creatine monohydrate. It is the safe, affordable, and
    handiest sort of creatine out there available within the market.
    Creatine monohydrate is taken into account because the purest form
    of creatine out there in the market.
    Briefly, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) serves as the first supply of vitality in most dwelling cells.
    Enzymatic degradation of ATP into adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and inorganic phosphate (Pi) liberates free
    energy to gas metabolic exercise. Creatine additionally plays an necessary function in shuttling Pi
    from the mitochondria into the cytosol to form PCr to help keep
    cellular bioenergetics (i.e., Creatine Phosphate Shuttle) [8].
    In this way, PCr can donate its phosphate to ADP, thereby restoring ATP for mobile needs leaving creatine within the cytosol to
    diffuse again into the mitochondria to shuttle the following phosphate to
    places far from its manufacturing website [8]. The ATP saved in the cells is normally sufficient for energy depletion that lasts lower
    than two seconds.
    Now you’ve probably heard of creatine and even take it to bulk up, improve 
    muscle mass, and even beat your PRs. The soleus
    muscle’s MyHC IIa isoform expression was similar between the
    teams (Cc 9.forty three ± four.08; Cr 10.19 ± four.43, Tc 7.87 ± three.50, Tcr 8.92 ± three.40%).
    Likewise, the MyHC I isoform was not affected by dietary
    intervention or resistance train coaching (Cc 90.fifty seven ± 4.08; Cr 89.eighty one ± 4.forty
    three, Tc ninety two.13 ± 3.50, Tcr ninety one.08 ± three.40%;
    Determine 5). All rats had been submitted to incremental checks to determine
    their initial maximum carrying capability.
    We consider the coaching standing of our participants a power of this examine because we included
    only educated cyclists with aggressive expertise. Moreover,
    members have been skilled in sprint biking in training and/or competition. The familiarization before baseline testing further improves the
    quality of our outcomes as a outcome of reliability improves when a familiarization is undertaken [8,34].

    Creatine is a naturally-occurring organic acid that serves as an energy buffer and energy shuttle in tissues, corresponding to brain and skeletal muscle, that exhibit dynamic power necessities.
    Proof, deriving from a selection of scientific domains, that
    brain bioenergetics are altered in depression and related problems is
    rising. Medical studies in neurological circumstances corresponding to PD have indicated
    that creatine may need an antidepressant
    impact, and early clinical studies in depressive disorders—especially MDD—indicate
    that creatine may have an essential antidepressant effect.
    An individual’s muscle fiber sort can also dictate the response of creatine uptake [14].
    Brault and Terjung [14] examined rat hindlimbs and their response to creatine supplementation.
    Creatine uptake charges and CreaT protein content material have
    been noticed to be biggest in highly oxidative muscle and lowest in glycolytic fibers, whereas, CreaT
    mRNA was not significantly totally different between all fiber types.

    These amplifying effects might be caused by the
    elevated complete creatine store in working muscle tissue.
    Even though vegetarians had a higher increase in high energy phosphate content material, the IGF-1
    levels had been just like the amount noticed in the non vegetarian groups.

    These findings don’t assist the observed correlation sample
    by which a low essential amino acid content material of
    a typical vegetarian food plan ought to reduce IGF-1 manufacturing [33].

    Most creatine analysis initially focused on creatine’s function in exercise
    efficiency, training adaptations, and safety
    in untrained and trained healthy individuals [1]. Creatine supplementation has been reported to increase muscle creatine and PCr levels, improve
    acute train capability, and improve training variations [44,sixty six,69,seventy two,seventy three,seventy four,seventy five,76,77,seventy eight,79,eighty,eighty one,82,83,eighty four,eighty five,86,87,88,89,ninety,ninety one,ninety two,93,94,ninety five,96].
    Ergogenic benefits have been reported in women and men from youngsters to elderly populations, although the overwhelming
    majority of studies have been conducted on men [74,111,113,124,one hundred twenty five,126,127,128].

    Publication of these findings should not be seen as endorsement by the investigators or their establishments of the vitamins investigated.
    The really helpful dosage is 3-5 grams per day, sometimes cut up before and after
    exercises. Count On expert-backed exercises, nutrition advice, the latest in power sports activities, and an entire
    lot of motivation heading your method. Keep
    in thoughts that creatine is best taken with easy carbohydrates,
    such as glucose. It may due to this fact dissolve powder in fruit juice or swallow capsules with carbohydrates to reinforce the impact of creatine and decrease injury.

    At the top of the day, each HCL and monohydrate will assist you to enhance your muscle mass, improve your 
    physique composition, and bolster your 
    muscle recovery. The alternative is dependant on what feels proper on your
    physique and fits your health journey. If you’ve ever taken creatine within the monohydrate type,
    you’ve very doubtless began with a loading phase; this
    helps fill your muscle cells with more creatine.
    Extra creatine in your muscular tissues lets you smash
    your objectives and pump it to the max. The complete
    gastrocnemius mass, in absolute values or normalized by the
    tibia size, didn’t differ between the groups.
    In the past, there have been issues in regards to the risks of taking
    a creatine complement. There had been claims
    that it labored like A Steroid; Commealatele.Com, and
    caused a variety of unfavorable unwanted effects like weight acquire, hair loss and
    kidney issues. If you’ve spent some time perfecting your complement
    regime, you already know that including creatine to the combination is
    a no brainer.
    It was additionally discovered that after electroconvulsive remedy
    sufferers with MDD exhibited increases in [tCr] in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and subgenual ACC.
    The literature discussed so far dealt primarily with how the CreaT is regulated after creatine has been absorbed into the bloodstream.
    Peral et al. took a different strategy by examining intestinal CreaT exercise following supplementation [13].
    Results from this research indicate that not only is the CreaT sodium dependent, but additionally it is
    partially chloride dependent.
    In theory, creatine HCL is extra efficient when it comes to solubility
    and absorption. The safety of creatine HCL can’t be guaranteed until researchers study it more thoroughly.
    Nevertheless, these claims have since been proven wrong by way of years of research.
    In reality, there are hundreds of peer-reviewed research about the efficacy and
    safety of creatine. If you don’t need to try this, simply go
    with creatine monohydrate, which is more of a proven, science-backed
    option.
    The naturally occurring amount of creatine within the physique is limited and it could be considerably elevated via supplementation. This provides more energy sources and the power to perform training with larger
    intensity and for an extended duration. Creatine and anabolic
    steroids are unavoidable dietary supplements in phrases of skilled bodybuilding, but
    many novice bodybuilders also use them in order to obtain better results.
    Though they both contribute to growing muscle mass and energy,
    they are very different substances with completely different mechanisms of action and unwanted effects.
    In summary, kre-alkalyn does not require a loading phase, has minimal unwanted aspect effects, and
    is regarded as a more bioavailable form of creatine compared to monohydrate.
    In reality, consistency is encouraged since every day supplementation may assist enhance muscle performance
    and cognitive operate. For your reference, it takes around 14 days to start experiencing creatine’s benefits.

    Of this, about 2/3 of creatine is certain with inorganic phosphate (Pi) and saved as phosphocreatine (PCr) with the remainder saved as free creatine (Cr).
    The whole creatine pool (Cr + PCr) is about 120 mmol/kg of dry muscle mass for a 70 kg particular person who maintains a food regimen that includes pink meat and
    fish. Vegetarians have been reported to have muscle creatine and PCr stores about 20–30%
    decrease than non-vegetarians [46,47]. The body breaks down about 1–2% of creatine within the muscle per day into creatinine which is excreted
    in the urine [46,48,49]. Degradation of creatine to creatinine
    is greater in individuals with larger muscle mass and people with larger physical exercise
    levels. Subsequently, a normal-sized particular person may have to
    consume 2–3 g/day of creatine to hold up regular creatine shops depending
    on food regimen, muscle mass, and physical activity ranges.
    The best and speedy approach to enhance muscle creatine
    shops is to ingest 5 g of creatine monohydrate 4 occasions day by
    day for 5–7 days (i.e., 0.3 g/kg/day) [46,49].
    It is the simplest sports supplement that improves your train efficiency.

    Even with non-vegetarian dietary supplementation, muscle creatine can be raised by 20 to 40% only.
    In Accordance to research, the most effective way to construct muscle creatine stores is supplementation intake (2).

    This is believed to facilitate a more efficient absorption by the physique, doubtlessly permitting for a decrease effective dosage and lowering common side effects corresponding
    to bloating and gastrointestinal discomfort. Creatine HCL is a comparatively newer
    type of creatine that claims to have higher solubility and absorption in comparison with creatine monohydrate.

    The proponents of creatine HCL argue that its improved water solubility reduces the chance of stomach issues and bloating, a standard facet effect skilled
    by some people taking creatine monohydrate.
    In addition, creatine salts must outperform the physical
    mixture of CM and the corresponding acid,
    displaying synergistic results. Just like creatine monohydrate, nitrate additionally works effectively
    to spice up the efficiency. As mentioned, Creatine nitrate is extra soluble in water than creatine monohydrate,
    that means that it is more easily absorbed into the
    bloodstream. In a research, it’s shown that common supplementation increases the amount of intracellular
    creatine, which boosts the cell’s capability to generate adenosine triphosphate.

    Traditionally, this calculation is based on BM as a contributing factor [13,14,24], but could also be improved by considering FFM as an alternative of whole BM.
    Cohen’s d for related variables between baseline, placebo, and creatine conditions.
    All visits to the laboratory involved the same experimental procedures described below.

    However, in case you are in search of a extra soluble type of creatine, nitrate should be your most
    well-liked choice. It has a quicker absorption price which
    might comparatively affect faster results as in comparison with monohydrate.
    On the opposite hand, creatine monohydrate stays the gold normal in research, with more-than-enough scientific evidence backing
    its efficacy and security. Since Creatine HCl is still a relatively new sports supplement, much less analysis has been conducted on it.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *