An Austin, Texas community is participating in a study by
University of Texas to discover the impact of a larger concentration of
electric cars on the electric grid. The 5,700 family Mueller community already
has almost 60 Chevy Volt drivers. The study provides incentives to the
community, as well as a $7,500 cash contribution to purchase a Volt, but the
car remains the property of the residents. No instructions have been given
about how to use the cars or when to charge them, so as better to understand
how things change when electric vehicle technology is introduced into a
neighborhood on a larger scale.
Based on preliminary studies, if every owner in a
neighborhood were to try to charge his or her vehicle at the same time, such as
upon returning home from work, it could put quite a strain on the electric
grid. Therefore, GM is considering a program that could reduce the amount of
electricity each car's battery pack consumes during peak hours, when
electricity is in high demand. For example, during a time when air conditioning
is running in most homes, the system might drop the amount of power going into
an individual car from 3.3 kW, to 1.2 kW or less. This technology would operate
through the OnStar technology that is in GM cars, including the Volt and the
new Chevy Spark subcompact. GM's global manager of Electric Vehicle and Smart
Grid Services, Paul Pebble, assures customers that the program would be opt-in
and that they are still working out how to make giving up precise charging
control valuable to the consumer.
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