Virily Editor
In recent times and with the added conversation of climate change, Electric vehicles (EVs) are fast becoming one of the most attractive travel choices. With the ever-increasing cost of electricity, EVs are becoming more and more efficient. If you own an EV then you should compare electricity plans to choose the cheapest plan, as you will be consuming more electricity when you start charging your EV. At the same time try to buy the most efficient electric vehicle in the market.
According to an estimate, in 2019, about 10 million electric cars were being used in the world [1] and this number is expected to be 145 million in the next 10 years. With innovative technologies, these vehicles are getting efficient day by day.
Vehicle to Grid charging
With the increasing number of electric vehicles on roads, smart charging options are also becoming popular. Now, charging electric vehicles at home is a possibility thanks to home charging systems. Using your home photovoltaic solar system and the public grid, they channel those sources intelligently into powering your home and charging your car. These allow the drivers to manage the rate of charge and time for their charging needs and it also helps to stabilize the grid. An innovation that will further lead the way in the future is vehicle to grid charging (V2G). With the help of this technology, in a time of high demand, the EV drivers will be able to export the energy stored in their battery to the grid and get rewards. Drivers will be able to have full autonomy as to when they will do so. As we do today when we compare electricity plans for the best rates on home electricity and gas plans, similarly as an owner of smart EV we will be able to choose the best plan to connect with a grid in the future.
Wireless Charging
We have seen wireless charging for mobile phones and now think of it in a similar way for your EVs. By using the inductive charge technique [2] where electricity from the magnetic coil of the charger hidden under the road surface gets transferred to the charger fitted under the car. A major advantage of wireless charging is that you can recharge multiple vehicles simultaneously. It will also speed up the charging process and be helpful for people without driveways.
Lamp Post and Pop-up chargers
Another disadvantage of increasing EV charging points on the roads is that it will clutter the space on streets and pavements. Companies working in this direction have created pop-up chargers and lamp post chargers. Pop-up chargers when installed, retract into the ground, when not in use. These can be activated with a smartphone app. They have also installed plug-in points in the lamp post for easy charging. These lamps posts use LED bulbs and will have around 24amps of excess electricity that can charge your car to go an extra 30 km with one hour of charging. These innovations are not only impressive but can be very helpful to keep streets and pavements free from excess charging points for EVs.
Overhead power lines
Using overhead power lines on electrified roads is a great option for large electric vehicles like Lorries and trucks. Long-range trucks and other similar vehicles can be charged using overhead power cables across the country. The truck owners or companies can compare electricity plans offered and choose the right plan while on the go. They can choose if they want to consume 100% green energy or a mix. With such flexibility, it will be possible for heavy vehicles to move freely across the nation without burning fossil fuel.
Great information to think about. Thank you for sharing