One of the largest obstacles to introducing plug-in and electric vehicles to American consumers has been how to make them compatible with people’s lifestyle expectations. Will they work seamlessly in our lives? This is why Ford is working not just on electric vehicle technology, but on how to make these new cars communicate with the electrical grid that supplies them power.
Ford and its utility partners are developing vehicle-to-grid communications that will allow drivers to choose how to charge their cars in the most optimal, convenient and cheap way possible.
The idea is that as soon as you plug in your car, the battery systems talk directly to the grid through the utility companies’ smart meters, which will have wireless networking. You, the owner, can then use the in-dash touch-screen computer to choose when your car should recharge, which will also change the utility rate, depending on how much electricity costs at a given time.
Ideally, you’ll choose to charge during off-peak hours (typically after midnight and before 6 a.m.) when rates are cheapest. As renewable energy becomes a larger part of each utility’s portfolio, you will also be able to choose to use only renewable sources, like wind and solar power.
What’s most exciting about Ford’s technology (which basically takes the kinds of ideas that environmentalists and renewable-energy proponents have been talking about for more than a decade and prepares them for true commercialization), is that it’s not all that far away from being a reality.
Ford’s Transit Connect all-electric commercial van is due in 2010, the electric Focus in 2011, and a plug-in hybrid-electric vehicle and next-generation hybrid are both due in 2012.
