Last year, Americans bought almost 100,000 cars that plug into the wall. That is a drop in the bucket in the overall auto market, but the number of electric cars is growing rapidly year-by-year. People are starting to wonder what might happen when a huge number of cars need to share the power grid.
Large numbers of plugged-in cars will be quite a strain on a grid that is aging and struggling to meet demand at peak times. A way to tackle this potential problem has been proposed by a team of scientists at the University of Vermont.
The idea is to use smart meters, which allow two-way communication between customers and utilities. During times of high electrical demand, the charge management system could schedule the charging of vehicles and only let cars charge for 5 to 10 minutes before having to get back in line for more available power. By segmenting charging into packets much as information is broken up on the Internet, the grid can share power among its users and avoid being overtaxed.
Cars won’t mind being charged in an intermittent way. Most of the time, it will be done overnight anyway. The Vermont team’s system protects owners’ privacy while managing the distribution of power across the grid. If the need for charging is urgent, users can pay higher rates for immediate access. As smart meters become increasingly common, the electric grid can develop ways to cope with the changing needs of electricity customers.
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How smart meters could be the key to the electric vehicle market
Photo, taken on May 15, 2011, courtesy of Einstraus via Flickr.
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Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Support for Earth Wise comes from the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, NY.