Rechargeable cars are to be released by automakers like General Motors, Toyoto Motor and Nissan at the market as early as 2010. This is great news for the public but it has become a threat to the power station authorities. Consider a scenario where a million users with rechargeable cars recharge at the same time, this could lead to a major drop in the power from the power grid.
To avoid this, the researchers at the Pacific North West National Laboratory in Washington have found an alternative. The principle used is time sharing. The smart car chargers are programmed to charge after contacting the power grid. The charging stops when the charger senses a strain in the power grid. This is possible for the charger to perform by constantly communication with the power grid. The users can even program the time in which they can charge the car. Also if there is a price for power, the charger automatically gets the prices from the wireless connection and the user can charge accordingly. This feature also prevents the user to charge the car at a peak time which the power station may charge more money and allows the user to charge at a less peak time like mid night when there is no strain in the power grid. Ultimately it reduces the cost of charging. It is estimated that a user can save up to 100 dollars a year.