EPAC - How to make e-bike with Golden Motor parts legal in Europe

[Perbear]

In Europe an e-bike must be of the electric motor assist type, pedelec, to be road legal without registration. This means it must follow the requirements in directive 2002/24/EEC. Pedelecs that follow european requirements has been given it's own name: EPAC.

To be an EPAC, or EU-legal pedelec, the e-bike must follow these rules:

• Continous motor output is maximum 250W
• Motor can only assist when pedals are being used to pedal, i.e. moving in "forward" direction
• Motor output must gradually be reduced to zero when the e-bike approach a speed of 25 km/h
• Motor output must stop when brakes are used

In the new product safety standard for EPAC, EN 15194, there are a few other requirements that is important. The EN 15194 will be released April 1, but it is likely that it does not contain major changes compared to the preliminary version prEN 15194. Assuming there are no major changes the following from prEN 15194 should be added to the basic requirement list above:

• Maximum system voltage is 48V
• Maximum weight is 40 kg
• Limit on maximum brake length using both brakes and only rear brake in wet and dry conditions
• Specific requirements on parts that may contribute to starting a fire (battery and charger related parts)

For our DIY community it is important to notice that there is no requirement for a fixed ratio between motor power and pedal power. This is a requirement in Japan, but not in Europe. That means we do not need pedal torque/force sensors.

For the manufacturers of complete EPAC and conversion kits there is one new requirement that will be important:

• EMC testing will be required for complete EPAC and kits

The only real challenge I see when using GM parts for making your own EPAC is how to control the gradually reduction of motor power when we approach 25 km/h. I believe the easiest is to use the BAC-28x cruise controller but I don't know how.

Does anyone have enough knowledge on the BAC-28x to accomplish this?

Thanks,

Per

[Philip Lynott]

hi Perbear,

Do you agree with me that the european rules are ridiculous ?, they make electric bikes almost pointless.

I want the start a petition to have the laws changed - are you interested?

[Perbear]

hi Perbear,

Do you agree with me that the european rules are ridiculous ?, they make electric bikes almost pointless.

I want the start a petition to have the laws changed - are you interested?

Hi Philip,

I shared your view a while back, but after studying the rules and standards, I now understand the reasons for these limitations. First, all motorized vehicles used on public roads has regulations, the same with EPAC.  And remember that within these limitation we can use our e-bike as a regular bike, with no extra insurance, protection, traffic regulations etc. That is a huge benefit.

Remember also that the EPAC is a cycle with motor assistance. The motor is not to give you a speed on the flats higher than other cyclists. You normally only need the motor when going uphill, against heavy wind, or when you are tired. Then the 25km/h is an acceptable limit. Also, as I explain below, the limits can be tweaked, both speed and most important, the 250W limit. IMHO, the EN 15194 standard actually gives wider limits for EPAC speed and power than the 2002/24/EEC directive alone:

1) The EN 15194 standard accepts a 10% "production" deviation on speed limit: "During a production conformity check, the maximum speed may differ by ± 10% from the above-mentioned determined value.". With accurate speed sensor (+/- 0.5 km/h), you may set the limit at 27 km/h and still be legal. 

2) 250W limit is for continous motor output. If your motor is bigger, say 300W but this is power INPUT, not output, and it's maximum efficiency is  say 80%, this would be a legal motor for EPAC.

3) EN 15194 specifies motor power to be measured according to EN 60034-1 section 3.2.1 duty type S1 - continous duty cycle. (Actually, this chapter does not exist, so this is obviously a misprint for 4.2.1).
The chapter in EN 60034-1 about duty cycle S1 describes how to find the load (output power) the motor can handle continously this way: "Operation at a constant load maintained for sufficient time to allow the machine to reach thermal equilibrium..".   
That means the 250W limit is the power output the motor can supply continously without burning the motor windings. Power output can actually be more than 250W for limited periods..
That means you may have a motor with 500W or 1kW peak output for hill climbing as long as your motor can not handle the higher peak power for more than a limitied time without overheating the windings. The peak power must be limited/controlled by temperature sensors or other means. The maximum speed must of course not be exeeded even at peak power.

As a last resort, you may use a more powerful/faster e-bike than EPAC in Europe, but it is much harder to make it yourself since it must be approved/MOT and have insurance.

Per

[GoldenMotor]

Hi Per,

Thanks for the information of EU regulations for ebikes. We will make necessary enhancements to let our products to meet these rules.

We are also modifying our battery casing and plugs to replace existing  kettle style plugs which are illeagal in EU as reported by a member of this forum.

Thanks for all members and readers of this forum, who help us improving our products quality by sending us feedbacks and advices.

We are going to setup dealers network in EU and USA so we can lower the shipping cost significantly and provide local logistics and services locally. You are all welcome to become our local dealers if you are interested in such business partnersship. We are confident that personal electric vehicles will be huge profitable business in coming years.

Thanks for all your support and tolerance.

Philip Yao

President

GoldenMotor.com is ranked at top positions by Google for following product keywords:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ebike motor
bike conversion kit
electric bike motor
hub motor
brushless motor
brushless controller
wheelchair motor
......


   

[Perbear]

Hi Philip Yao,

Thanks for your kind words 

In March I will start a course about building e-bikes here in Norway. Many participants are less than 18 years. So I have to be 100% certain that the bikes we build will both be safe and completely legal. Because of that I have spent a lot of money and many hours getting hold of the necessary standards and studying them. So if you need input on how to make EU compatible kit/parts please let me know. I will be glad if I can help.

Currently we need a controller that can reduce motor power gradually when bicycle speed comes close to max speed (25-27 km/h). Maybe your new BAC-28X series controller fixes this?

Kind regards,
Per

Visit www.evs24.org!

[Perbear]

The EN 15194 standard has now been accepted in all 30 countries responsible for this CEN based standard. A schedule for implementation can be found here:
 http://www.bike-eu.com/news/3260/time-table-for-epac-standard-implementation.html

Please observe that this is a product standard for Manufacturers and it is not a requirement for homemade DIY e-bike, only for readymade e-bikes and e-bike parts.

Per

[e-lmer]

Per;

I am an e-bike advocate here in the US.

I would love the chance to review your materials
for your class, and if you allow, even use them.

Thanks;
Duane

[Perbear]

Hi Duane,

I have sendt you PM.

Per

[wepbep]

I just want to summerise to get this straight:

1. Do we need to mount the Pedalec switch in EU ?
2. We need a controller that reduces the motorsupport over 25km/h ?

/Marc- Bergneustadt Germany

[Perbear]

1. Do we need to mount the Pedalec switch in EU ?

According to EU directive 2002/24-EU you need to make sure that the motor only runs when pedaling. Lacking the Pedelec sensor is very easy to prove for official persons like police etc.  This can be controlled very easily, even when the cycle is locked. IMHO it is stupid not to install pedelec sensor on European ebikes.

2. We need a controller that reduces the motorsupport over 25km/h ?

This is also mandatory according to the EU directive mentioned above. But: all legal ebikes in EU need the cyclist to be pedaling to allow the motor to run. How shall other persons know if it is you alone, or you+motor who makes it go so fast when you pass by at 30 km/h? Of course, a noisy motor will be suspicious, but a 250W direct driven hub motor is almost impossible to hear. The only way to prove such a ebike is illegal would be to test the ebike at a rather complicated testbench. In addition, the new EN 15194 Pedelec (EPAC) standard allows +/- 10% production tolerance  on the 25km/h speed limit, giving a 27.5 km/h practical limit. That means you need to go much faster before some official guy will do all the work necessary to prove your ebike is illegal.  IMHO it is unlikely that someone want to collect enough data to prove you have a motor going faster than the Pedelec limit,  within reasonable limits.  A 250-500W direct driven hub motor should in my view be quite safe as long as it is impossble to prove without physical testing.  Remove the label if it states higher power than 250W.  

Perbear

[wepbep]

1. I'm not getting the pedalec to work 
2. So we need a pulse switch on the pedelec that can switch Pin7 over X pulses....it's quicker to make something like that our selves...

[Perbear]

In fact this is why I think it may be a good idea to register and inspect even low power, especially DIY vehicles, and to base the vehicles classification on the results of inspection or official police traffic stop data in addition to component specifications rather than on anything else.

I can understand that view in the US where some states does not limit power on ebikes. Sooner or later an accident, caused by underpowered brakes etc.,  will happen. That may cause politicans to put a ban on homemade ebikes. It is better to work out some regulation now, instead of overcompensated regulation made by people in panic.

In the EU (plus Norway and Island), some basic common ebike rules has been agreed upon in 2002.  It is basically a definition of a legal "line". Bikes with electric motor acting as an assistant to the cyclist one one side, and electric mopeds, motorcycles, minicars etc. on the other. The benefit of being on the assisted ebike side - or EPAC as they are named in EU, is that they are considered to be normal bikes legally.

To be an EPAC your ebike motor may not apply power to the wheel when you go faster than 27.5 km/h (25 km/h + 10% tolerance). The motor must also supply not more than 250W continous power output to the wheel. In addition, the motor can only run when the pedals are used and must gradually reduce its contribution to forward motion when the speed approaches the maximum ebike speed. Also, the motor must stop when the cyclist applies the brake.

An ebike following these limitations is considered an EPAC and is legally a bicycle. That means they can be used everywhere bikes are allowed and does not require insurance, license plates, driving license or type approval. If your ebike does not have a brake or pedal sensor or have a motor that supplies more than 250W continously your ebike is no longer a bicycle in Europe and may not be allowed on the street without type approval, etc. It will also be illegal to use on cycle paths.

I think the sensor requirements are fairly well thought out, but the speed and power limit is somewhat limiting for some uses. I hope for the future that European legislation will add two enhanced EPAC classes where your motor could assist either 250W without speed limitation (for velomobiles), or 1000W with 25 km/h speed limitation (for hill climbing). Complying to one of these classes could require putting an insurance sticker on your bike, and also an age limit.

IMHO Per

[Perbear]

The new pedelec (EPAC) standard EN 15194:2009 is now available for purchase in Europe.

I bought my copy a week ago and have just finished reading it. It is basically identical to the prEN 15194:2005 with some minor modifications.

Per

[Perbear]

Link to a preview of the first seven pages of EN 15194:2009 http://www.bike-eu.com/public/file/archive/20090428-epac_standard_en-15194_preview.pdf

[Perbear]

A public standard you have to purchase??? Absurd! In fact all law making bodies should pass a law that requires them to publish every law, rule and regulation in the form of a checklist with mandatory updates when new variables are added by case law or new legislation.

That is simply not the way standardisation work is done. Sorry 

But you have the possiblity of becoming a member of your own Country's IEC standardisation comittee. That way you will help deciding future standards. In addition you will receive drafts and final standards you contribute to for free