Denso and Nagoya University have developed an in-vehicle battery-based energy management system (EMS), which uses forecasting models of household electricity demand and vehicle use to reduce electricity costs. The EMS coordinates with batteries used in electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles to use their stored electricity to help keep down electricity bills. The system measures power consumption, the amount of power generated by solar panels, vehicle use, and other household characteristics to construct models for forecasting household electricity demand and vehicle use. Based on these estimates, the system controls the charging and discharging of the in-vehicle battery in real time, reducing the amount of power purchased when the rates are high while increasing it when the rates are low to save money on electricity.
The two organizations will start to evaluate the performance of the system in October this year under the Toyota City Low-carbon Society Verification Project, one of the Next-Generation Energy and Social System Demonstration Projects in Japan led by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). Based on the results of the field test that will be held from October 2013 to March 2014, DENSO and Nagoya University will consider commercializing this system.
