Honda will Pay EV Owners to Charge when Energy Demand is Low

Everyone accepts that electric vehicles are better than conventional vehicles for the environment, but where does the electricity needed to recharge the cars come from. This electricity might not always come from renewable sources.

Honda has launched a new program that will encourage customers to reduce their carbon footprint by recharging when the demand on the electric grid is low. Normally, customers are likely to recharge their cars when they return home after work. At this time however, the demand on the grid is at its peak.

Honda’s new SmartCharge beta program uses cloud-to-cloud communication to get instant information from the grid about the load status. This information is then used to notify its customers though the HondaLink EV app to start charging when the demand is low and the availability of renewable energy is high.

SmartCharge also has the ability to take the schedules of the customers into account so that they can charge at the optimal time for each individual. Customers need to give details of their daily schedule through the app. This data as well as the amount of renewable energy generated and the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by power plants for the electricity grid is taken into account before recharge timings are suggested to the customer.

Initially, the beta program will be available to select Fit EV customers in California, and based on the results of the pilot program, Honda will roll out the program to cover more markets and more models like the Honda Clarity.

Customers who sign up for the program will get rewards after five charging sessions specified by the app. Any additional reward will be based on how often they follow SmartCharge’s recommendations within a two-month period.