article thumbnail

The Birthplace of the AC Grid

Cars That Think

The turbines were powered by river water that flowed through four 2.4-meter The generators' voltage output was increased from 800 volts to 11,000 by recently invented Stanley transformers. Louis Bell , chief engineer of the power transmission department at GE. Huntington, Hopkins Hardware , formed the Folsom Water Power Co.

Grid 106
article thumbnail

What Is Bidirectional Charging? Understanding the Benefits for Both Drivers and Businesses

EV Connect

Through a converter that’s usually present in the charger, it allows vehicles to send energy directly back to the grid. This can facilitate more energy efficiency for a local power grid and lead to cost savings by enabling charger owners to get paid for helping maintain grid reliability — something we will discuss more below.

article thumbnail

US National Research Council Report Finds Plug-in Hybrid Costs Likely to Remain High; Fleet Fuel Consumption and Carbon Emissions Benefits Will Be Modest for Decades

Green Car Congress

NRC projections of number of PHEVs in the US light-duty fleet. Costs of light-duty plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) are high—largely due to their lithium-ion batteries—and unlikely to drastically decrease in the near future, according to a new report from the National Research Council (NRC). Click to enlarge.

Plug-in 186
article thumbnail

Lean Software, Power Electronics, and the Return of Optical Storage

Cars That Think

The standard rule is you can’t really do anything that’s smaller than the wavelength of the light you’re using to read or write. So I actually find power electronics really fascinating because most of the history of transistors, right, is about making them use ever smaller amounts of electricity—5-volt logic used to be pretty common; now 3.3

Power 73
article thumbnail

How 14 Microgrids Set Off a Chain Reaction in A Himalayan Village

Cars That Think

Each microgrid includes a 250-watt photovoltaic panel, a pair of 12-volt lead-acid deep-discharge tubular batteries designed for solar systems, and about 30 3-W LEDs, according to Jean Kumagi 's article in IEEE Spectrum about the expedition, in which she gave her first-hand account.

Solar 144
article thumbnail

Audi introducing electric 1+1 urban concept at Frankfurt with support for wireless charging; more detail on electric A2 concept

Green Car Congress

Manufactured using cladding technology, the 21-inch wheels are very light and feature a variant of the blade design from the Audi e-tron models. The battery recharges completely in about 20 minutes with 400 volt three-phase current, and in approximately one hour with 230 volt household current. Audi Wireless Charging.

Concept 210
article thumbnail

Volkswagen intends sales of 150K e-cars by 2020; 100K ID, ID SUV; >1M in 2025; more on MEB

Green Car Congress

The power electronics convert the direct current (DC) stored in the battery into alternating current (AC). Meanwhile, a DC/DC converter supplies the onboard electronics with 12-volt power. The single-speed gearbox transfers the power from the motor to the rear axle. model itself.

2020 287