Ford Announces Intelligent System For Hybrid Re-charging

August 20th, 2009

Ford Motor Co., and its partners have unveiled that they are testing one of the industry’s first vehicle-to-electric grid communications and control systems, which enables electric vehicles to interface with the grid for optimal recharging.

What this means is that instead of just plugging your car in when you pop in the house after work, you will be able to set it to a timer (if you aren’t a dork liek that already with a plug timer, which most aren’t) to charge at any time you want. This is expect to allow you to connect to the power grid and have it charge during off-peak hours at a lower rate than you may get when you normally charge your hybrid.

This new technology – which builds on Ford’s advancements such as SYNC , SmartGauge(TM) with EcoGuide and Ford Work Solutions(TM) – allows the vehicle operator to program when to recharge the vehicle, for how long and at what utility rate.

“Electric vehicles are an important element of our strategy for improving fuel economy and reducing CO2 emissions,” said Bill Ford, Ford’s executive chairman. “This vehicle-to-grid communication technology is an important step in the journey toward the widespread commercialization of electric vehicles.”

So if you are a retired fella who needs a Medicare supplement to get by, this may help the cost a bit when you get that next hybrid you wanted.