Plug-In Vehicles and the Smart Grid

1 / 2
Transportation accounts for about a third of all carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S., and there is a powerful case to be made for cleaner cars. In “High Voltage,” science and energy writer Jim Motavalli gives a behind-the-scenes narrative of the robustly competitive market for electric cars.
Transportation accounts for about a third of all carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S., and there is a powerful case to be made for cleaner cars. In “High Voltage,” science and energy writer Jim Motavalli gives a behind-the-scenes narrative of the robustly competitive market for electric cars.
2 / 2
 Tesla’s Model S electric sports car combines luxury and sustainability.  
 Tesla’s Model S electric sports car combines luxury and sustainability.  

Plug-in charging stations and smart grids seem like something still far off in the future, but by 2020, the auto industry will look very different from today’s field of troubled auto giants. In High Voltage(Rodale Books, 2011), Jim Motavalli captures this period of unprecedented change, documenting the evolution from internal combustion engines to electric power. The following is excerpted from the beginning of Chapter 6, “The Smart Grid.”

As the huge piles of snow from a record 2011 winter finally melted, my local utility came by and installed a smart meter on the side of my house, replacing one whose design had changed little for a half century. It’s great that this state of affairs employed thousands of meter readers, but there was no reason for them in the modern era–my meter should be readable from the billing office. And now it is.

A smart meter not only enables the utility to measure my electric usage and note the bump when I plug in my EV, but also empowers me. On my computer, I can now dial up software that shows me exactly how much juice each of my appliances is using, and choose to shut some of them harmlessly down during peak power demand times (heat waves, for instance).

Smart meters are a huge advance and are fortunately going mainstream at the same time that electric cars are hitting the road. The two can work together closely. When it’s plugged in, your electric car is just another household load–and a pretty big one, sometimes doubling electricity consumption. If we get really smart about this, we can create home networks that empower consumers to manage and reduce their power needs–and save money in the process. The smart home is finally coming to America, and it’s also making huge strides in Japan.

The car I saw parked in the garage at Panasonic’s Eco Ideas House in downtown Tokyo was a plug-in hybrid Toyota Prius, and it’s part of a singularly green home energy management system. The house, presided over by a poised tour guide with a sing-songy delivery, combines a five-kilowatt solar panel on the roof and a one-kilowatt hydrogen fuel cell in the backyard to generate electricity, and a stationary five-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery to store it. The net result: zero carbon emissions.

  • Published on Apr 23, 2012
Comments (0) Join others in the discussion!
    Online Store Logo
    Need Help? Call 1-800-234-3368