![Report: Ford dealers say Kuga should be named Escape in U.S. - Do you agree? [w/POLL]](http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/12/630kuga_143x85.jpg)
CES 2009 preview: Panasonic connects your electric car to your house
Panasonic first showed off its HD-PLC system at CES in 2004 and, being car nuts, we totally ignored it. Other than letting all our gadgets talk to each other over a house's electrical lines, it did nothing for what we drive.Now, Panasonic is announcing the ability of its PLC system to also communicate with that electric car charging in your garage. Officially, Panasonic is touting the technology in the name of security. The company claims that electric car owners can view video from an in-car camera to make sure their EV is charging safe and sound, while keeping tabs on the charging status of their cars from inside their home.
Unofficially, The Earth Times speculates that the system could also transfer music to the car's stereo, along with sending travel routes and movies to the in-car entertainment system. The setup could also include a command to adjust the seats for individual drivers.
HD-PLC Magazine says Panasonic's PLC has the potential to make electric cars lighter, replacing looms of wiring with a smaller, simpler, PLC-linked wiring system. We'll have to wait until Panasonic's press conference this week at CES for the official announcement.
[Source: The Earth Times]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
firstplace 6:40PM (1/06/2009)
Great Idea how about making it run on a regular wifi network so it can work with non Panasonic equipment...
Reply
Red 6:54PM (1/06/2009)
Transferring information and files to the vehicle (and vice versa) would be interesting, but I just don't see much of a point in this product as is. Maybe if it could send diagnostic codes or something to your service department via automatic email when in range of the system, then the dealer could notify you of any problems before you sit there wasting your entire day at the dealership.
Then again...the dealership wouldn't make much money having you come in and charging you for the service just to tell you, "we didn't find anything wrong". But at least you'd have a record of the codes thrown or something so they couldn't say, "there's nothing wrong with it, it's your imagination". Or something to that effect...
Reply
Paul 7:30PM (1/06/2009)
Check the source!
The Earth Times credit Gizmag.com as their source!
Reply
Chidfreegearhead 9:12PM (1/06/2009)
I guess I'll never buy any Panasonic crap. F*** THE ENVIRONMENT!
Reply
500 9:50PM (1/06/2009)
"The company claims that electric car owners can view video from an in-car camera to make sure their EV is charging safe and sound..."
Translation: make sure your EV isn't burning down your garage and house.
http://eddriscoll.com/archives/004550.php
Reply
inteller 10:17PM (1/06/2009)
sweet, I already use HD-PLC in my house, so this will be an easy add!
Reply
John D 5:28AM (1/07/2009)
From the title I thought this story was going to be about V2G. This is just a waste of time
Reply
hans 9:25AM (1/07/2009)
You guys have missed the best application for this. If you can monitor what your charging system is doing, you could provide that information to the electric system as well. What if you used it to charge your battery only when energy prices are low, and discharged it when prices were high? In some control areas, hourly energy prices vary from nearly zero at 4 AM to up to 20 cents/kwh (or more) during high use hours. You could discharge at work or even at home in the early evening. You could easily end up with negative fuel costs for commuting if you had enough battery capacity.
Reply