Charge Control is a technology that lets an electric utility

Electric utility

An electric utility is a company that engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity for sale generally in a regulated market. The electrical utility industry is a major provider of energy in most countries. It is indispensable to factories, commercial establishments,...

 control, in real time, the charging of a gridable (plug-in) vehicle, such as a Plug-in hybrid (PHEV) or a Battery electric vehicle

Battery electric vehicle

A battery electric vehicle, or BEV, is a type of electric vehicle that uses chemical energy stored in rechargeable battery packs. BEVs use electric motors and motor controllers instead of, or in addition to, internal combustion engines for propulsion.A battery-only electric vehicle or...

 (BEV). Through Charge Control, the utility is able to postpone charging of the vehicle during time of peak demand

Peak demand

Peak demand is used to refer to a historically high point in the sales record of a particular product. In terms of energy use, peak demand describes a period of strong consumer demand.- Peak load :...

. 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

Battery charger

A battery charger is a device used to put energy into a secondary cell or rechargeable battery by forcing an electric current through it.The charge current depends upon the technology and capacity of the battery being charged...

.

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
  Power station
  A power station is an industrial facility for the generation of electric energy....
  
  . In places that subscribe to Smart Power Grid
  Smart Power Grid
  A smart grid is a digitally enabled electrical grid that gathers, distributes, and acts on information about the behavior of all participants in order to improve the efficiency, reliability, economics, and sustainability of electricity services.Smart grid policy is organized in Europe as Smart...
  
   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

Electric utility

An electric utility is a company that engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity for sale generally in a regulated market. The electrical utility industry is a major provider of energy in most countries. It is indispensable to factories, commercial establishments,...

 new ways to provide regulation services (keeping voltage and frequency stable).

External links

• V2Green, supplies hardware for Charge Control and V2G, and the web services required to monitor and control equipped vehicles
• Hybrids Plus, installs Charge Control on PHEV conversions
• XCEL Energy, first electric utility with a fleet of Charge Control vehicles