With tens of thousands of new electric vehicles expected to hit the roads in a few years, comes a challenge. How do we find a place for them on the electric grid?
Imagine all those EV drivers coming home from work, about the same time of day, and plugging in their cars at about same time. It could put quite a strain on the power system.
Helping manage that demand is one of the goals of a project at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, WA. They call it the Smart Charger.
Michael Kintner-Meyer and colleagues with the Smart Charger. Courtesy Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
The Smart Charger is a device that decides when it’s the best time to charge your electric car. It communicates via wireless technology with the grid, making decisions based how much electricity costs at any given moment, and the current demand on the power grid.
If the charger notices more power is needed in the grid, it will stop charging the EV. It will resume charging when overall demand is down and electricity is cheaper. The idea is to even out peaks for demand, easing strain on the system, and saving money.
“Using the device could save up to $150 a year for electric vehicle owners who pay based on when they charge their vehicle,” according to Michael Kintner-Meyer, one of the engineers who developed the Smart Charger.
The Obama Administration wants one million new electric vehicles on the road by 2015. This kind of “smart” technology could play a huge role in helping our grid system accomodate all those new EVs. Earlier research by PNNL shows we could replace 70% of light trucks and cars with EVs, and not put extra demand on the system, if they’re connected via smart technology.
VIDEO: Using The Smart Charger Controller. Courtesy PNNL.
