Most consumers have pre-conceived notions about hybrid cars. They think they’re expensive go-carts driven by smug vegans on their way to Whole Foods. However, hybrid cars are starting to evolve. They’re becoming faster, cheaper, and more stylish. Let’s debunk a few myths in hopes of improving their reputation. Myth #1: Hybrid Cars Don’t Have the… Keep reading →
Green History Without fanfare or an exact date, a collective automotive epiphany took place a decade ago. Nearly every major carmaker was in on it, except for Toyota. The Japanese manufacturer had its own environmental awakening 17 years ago when it introduced its first hybrid car. Toyota unveiled its gas-electric engine in Japan in 1997,… Keep reading →
Toyota has followed Nissan with the announcement of a vehicle-to-home (V2H) system that can supply electricity from the car battery to a residence for backup or peak power, according to a story from the Green Car Congress. The program will start testing at the end of this year with about 10 households that will have Prius plug-in hybrid vehicles. An onboard inverter converts stored power into AC for home use.
The idea is to store low-cost, off-peak electricity in the vehicle’s battery and for use by the home during peak consumption times. The power flow is controlled via communication between vehicle, charging stand and a home energy management (HEM) system. The HEM system would need some kind of schedule or signal from the utility to know when to charge and when to send power back. Keep reading →
Clean Cities TV is the educational internet TV channel of the US Department of Energy’s Clean Cities Program, which is dedicated to reducing US petroleum consumption in the transportation sector.
The channel was launched in 2011 with contributions from Clean Cities coalitions and stakeholders throughout the US. This video is a retrospective highlighting some of the successful petroleum consumption mitigation initiatives that various communities, corporations and organizations kicked off in 2011. Keep reading →
