Charging Up Electric Plug In Vehicles

August 25, 2008

With regular announcements from auto manufacturers large on small on the upcoming releases of a slew of new electric cars that will help drivers cut their carbon footprint, the question turns to how to charge all of those new electric cars. While electric cars are a great way to fight global warming, they are not of much use without the proper infrastructure.

The current electricity supply in America is probably enough to meet the needs of electric cars for their first few years while they gain popularity. However, if everyone gets home from work and plugs in their electric car at 6pm, roughly the same time everyone turns on their TV, their washing machine, and their oven, the electricity grid may not be able to handle it, ruining our efforts to reduce our carbon footprint.

The other problem is that although most home garages have a plug, many cars are kept outside or out on the side of the curb.

The next few years will be crucial in solving these problems in a way that helps drivers reduce their carbon footprint and fight global warming.

To handle a quick influx of electric cars two things must happen. First, the electricity grid needs an upgrade to function as a Smart Grid. Second, plugs need to be available everywhere from public garages and parking lots street curbs.

The Smart Grid will be able to decide when to charge a car and when to actually take energy from it, all logged on the drivers personal account. If the grid is running short of power at 7pm, it could take some energy from the plugged in cars that have excess energy and credit those accounts. Later in the night, all those cars could be re charged when the demand on the grid is far lower.

Some cities and small countries have already started developing the infrastructure for electric cars. An alliance led by the Nissan-Renault pair is bringing electric cars to Israel and Portugal, and there are rumors of a similar venture in San Francisco. As these small sites develop, they will be watched closely so as the technology is rolled out further it is done so in a manner that best helps drivers cut their carbon footprint and fight global warming.

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Comments:(593)

A smart grid sounds great. I think another important thing is going to be more electric cars that can be plugged into a standard outlet. (Even if they charge slower rate.)
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