One of the most vexing challenges surrounding EV ownership is how apartment- and condominium-dwellers will pay for the power they use to charge their cars. Starting later this year, EVs will be able to send billing information over a power line or via wireless communications to avoid this problem.
As we wrote at the end of 2011, the HomePlug Green PHY standard enables data, such as a vehicle identification number, to be sent over a power line. The low power communications channel can send messages about the vehicle, account information, and the amount of power consumed to smart meters or to other home energy equipment.
Multi-unit dwellings are particularly challenging environments for EVs, because several customers can share a single parking spot, and the meters to account for the power consumption are often far from the charging spot and out of range for wireless communications. Sending billing data over the power line also avoids the problem of having to set up additional meters or managing sub-metering.
New Models Coming
Qualcomm Atheros was the first to market with a Green PHY chip, and startup Greenvity Community is the first with a hybrid chip that can process both power line and Zigbee communications. At the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this month, Hung Nguyen, president and CEO of Greenvity Communications, told me that multiple automakers offering EVs will launch models later this year with the company’s chips embedded. Greenvity is also working with EV charging equipment companies to similarly embed the chips in their products.
Greenvity Communications is partnering with Mitsumi Electric to create modules with the integrated Green PHY and Zigbee chips that can be incorporated into home gateways or home area networks. Nguyen said that initially smart meter companies that are using Zigbee for communications can purchase a standalone box to bridge communications between power line and Zigbee. The data would be sent from the point of charging, which could contain EV charging equipment or a simple 110-volt outlet, over the power line and then converted to Zigbee wireless data close to the meter. Nguyen expects smart meter companies to embed the hybrid chips in the future.
In the future, during overnight charging, the power line could be used to send content to a vehicle, such as maps, directions, updates of applications, or even music or videos. Utilities could send price or demand signals to smart meters, which would pass them along to EVs to instantly react to changing conditions on the grid.
Solving the billing challenge for multi-dwelling units will encourage property owners to support rather than avoid EV charging, as it can create another revenue stream while reducing the technical requirements and cost.
Zigbee is the wrong way ahead.. Too many people have been complaining about headaches and plants dying around clusters of the smart meters.. They are simply too high a power level microwave for safety around humans. Besides the fact *NOT* being UL Listed, and many of them exploding, catching fire. Of course both the meter manufacturers and the utility say it couldn't possibly be their fault, but hard to deny when there are YouTube vids of them burning/exploding. Be sure your meter trough is mounted on Brick or Masonry and NOT on Wood. A utility in Pennsylvania just put on hold a smart meter program due to the bad publicity, and fires.. More and more people are demanding their smart meters be removed, seeing as they don't decrease rates.
My own home has a 1st generation Centron which just blabs out the acct# and reading 20 times per minute and is one way only. Its not considered a smart meter. I just am having trouble how this units microwave energy compares with one of the second generation smart 2 way zigbee meters.. Anyone know? Neither Itron nor National Grid are saying anything.
Hialeah meter (which is selling used mechanical revenue meters) is doing a booming business.