Charge control is a technology that lets an
electric utility
An electric utility is a company in the electric power industry (often a public utility) that engages in electricity generation and distribution of electricity for sale generally in a regulated market. The electrical utility industry is a major pr ...
control, in real time, the charging of a ''gridable'' (plug-in) vehicle, such as a
plug-in hybrid (PHEV) or a
battery electric vehicle
A battery electric vehicle (BEV), pure electric vehicle, only-electric vehicle, fully electric vehicle or all-electric vehicle is a type of electric vehicle (EV) that exclusively uses chemical energy stored in rechargeable battery packs, ...
(BEV). Through charge control, the utility is able to postpone charging of the vehicle during time of
peak demand
Peak demand on an electrical grid is simply the highest electrical power demand that has occurred over a specified time period (Gönen 2008). Peak demand is typically characterized as annual, daily or seasonal and has the unit of power.
Peak dem ...
. Additionally, this technology may enable the owner and the power company to track the vehicle's usage and performance, while on the road and while
charging Charging may refer to:
* Charging (ice hockey), when a player takes more than three steps before checking an opposing player
* Battery charger, a device used to put energy into a rechargeable battery
* Charging station, a device used for recharging ...
.
Charge control advantages
* During times of peak demand, the electric utility prefers to reduce the demand, rather than turning on additional (dirtier and more expensive) power plants. In places that subscribe to
smart power grid
A smart grid is an electrical grid which includes a variety of operation and energy measures including:
*Advanced metering infrastructure (of which smart meters are a generic name for any utility side device even if it is more capable e.g. a f ...
services, the electric utility shuts off appliances such as air conditioners until the peak demand is over. Similarly, charge control allows the electric utility to postpone charging until the peak demand is over. Charge control is not as far reaching as
V2G (a technology that allows the power company to buy energy back from a plug-in car) but is very effective because it is less expensive to implement than V2G.
* The hardware used in charge control also monitors the vehicle (when driving or when plugged-in). As a side benefit, that information is available, through the web, to both the electric utility and the owner, for the purpose of tracking and optimizing the performance of the vehicle.
* Eventually, the electric utility may offer better pricing to owners of charge control equipped vehicles.
Comparison to V2G
In both V2G and charge control, the electric utility can control the power flow between a plug-in vehicle and the power grid. However, in charge control power only flows from the grid to the vehicle, while in
V2G power can flow in both directions.
Peak load leveling
Disabling charging in charge control vehicles helps balance the loading on the power grid by "valley filling" (charging at night when demand is low) and "peak shaving" (not charging when demand is high). It can enable
utilities
A public utility company (usually just utility) is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service (often also providing a service using that infrastructure). Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and ...
new ways to provide
regulation services (keeping voltage and frequency stable).
See also
*
Vehicle-to-grid
Vehicle-to-grid (V2G), also known as Vehicle-to-home (V2H) or Vehicle-to-load (V2L) describes a system in which plug-in electric vehicles (PEV) sell demand response services to the grid. Demand services are either delivering electricity or by red ...
*
Distributed generation
Distributed generation, also distributed energy, on-site generation (OSG), or district/decentralized energy, is electrical generation and storage performed by a variety of small, grid-connected or distribution system-connected devices referred to ...
References
AC Propulsion eBox specifications
Electric vehicle technologies
Green vehicles