Honda Cars : Honda Announces Leviton as Preferred Electric Vehicle Charging Solution | 2013 New Honda Car Reviews 0

04/23/2012 - TORRANCE, Calif.

American Honda Motor Co., Inc. today announced that Leviton Manufacturing Company, the global leader in connectivity solutions, has been selected as Honda's preferred Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment provider for customer and dealer EV charging.

"As leaders in the fields of advanced technology for mobility and energy solutions, Leviton and Honda both have unique missions to create a more sustainable future," said Steven Center, vice president of the Environmental Business Development Office at American Honda. "Pairing Leviton's EV charging solutions with Honda's advanced Fit EV and Accord Plug-In Hybrid Sedan electric vehicles will enable a more convenient and seamless ownership experience for our customers."

Honda will be introducing two battery-electric vehicles beginning with the 2013 Honda Fit EV this summer, and the Honda Accord Plug-In Hybrid Sedan next winter. The 2013 Honda Fit EV battery-electric commuter car, based on the popular Fit, targets an estimated 123 city-mile range per charge (76 mile range combined adjusted city/highway)1 and can fully recharge its battery in as little as three hours when connected to a 240-volt circuit. The Honda Plug-In Hybrid Sedan uses an all-new, two-motor hybrid system which continuously moves through three different modes - all-electric, with up to a 15 mile per charge range; gasoline-electric; and direct-drive - to maximize driving and fuel efficiency, especially during city driving.

"Leviton is excited to work with American Honda as they launch their electric vehicle program here in America. At a high level we share a very similar overall mission; to supply products of the highest quality at a reasonable price for complete customer satisfaction," said Michael Mattei, Vice President and General Manager for Leviton's Commercial and Industrial Business Unit. "In addition, we hope to continue to enable the electric and hybrid electric industry through simple, easy to purchase, easy to install and easy to use products, while providing the highest level of consumer safety."

About Honda
Honda offers a diverse range of cars and trucks that include the mid-sized Accord, the compact Civic line-up with seven individual trim-levels, CR-V crossover SUV and Odyssey minivan. Honda also includes a wide range of fuel-efficient and low-emission vehicles such as the Insight hybrid, Civic Natural Gas (compressed natural gas-powered vehicle), Civic Hybrid, CR-Z (sport hybrid coupe), FCX Clarity (fuel cell-electric vehicle) and the soon-to-be-released Fit EV (electric vehicle). Honda's 2013 Fit EV battery-electric commuter car, based on the popular Fit, targets an estimated 123 city mile range per charge (76 mile range combined adjusted city/highway)1 and can fully recharge its battery in as little as three hours when connected to a 240-volt circuit. For more information about the Honda Fit EV battery-electric vehicle and to sign up to become a potential Honda lessee, please visit Honda's Fit EV consumer page at http://automobiles.honda.com/fit-ev/.

About Leviton
Leviton Manufacturing Company is the largest privately held global provider of electrical wiring devices, data center connectivity solutions and lighting energy management systems. Founded at the turn of the 20th century in America, Leviton has grown to become one of the preeminent leaders in the electrical industry. Today Leviton's product portfolio consists of more than 25,000 devices and systems used in homes, businesses and industry. Proven to be a smart choice, nine out of 10 homes throughout North America have Leviton products installed in them. Builders, electrical contractors and other industry professionals rank Leviton products No. 1 in brand preference. To request more information about Leviton, please visit http://www.leviton.com/.

Source;
http://www.hondanews.com/channels/corporate-headlines/releases/honda-announces-leviton-as-preferred-electric-vehicle-charging-solution

Honda Cars : IBM, Honda, PG&E Launch Smart EV Charging Project | 2013 New Honda Car Reviews 0

IBM, Honda’s American arm and Pacific Gas and Electric will collaborate on a pilot project to allow communication between electric vehicles and the power grid, the companies have announced.

The project aims to demonstrate and test an electric vehicle’s ability to receive and respond to charge instructions based on the grid condition and the vehicle’s battery state. With visibility into charging patterns, energy providers will have the ability to more effectively manage charging during peak hours and create consumer-friendly programs to encourage adoption, the companies hope.

During the pilot, Honda Fit EVs (pictured) will initiate a charge request once plugged into a charge post. This request gets sent to IBM’s Electric Vehicle Enablement Platform, where vehicle data such as battery state is combined with grid data received from PG&E to create an optimized charge schedule, which is then communicated back to the vehicle. Using this aggregated data, the vehicle has the intelligence to charge to the level that is needed while factoring in any current grid constraints, IBM says.

The energy requirements for electric vehicles will challenge the current power grid as plug-in vehicle counts continue to grow to an expected 2.9 million worldwide by 2017, IBM says. If successful, the project has the potential to ease the infrastructure and consumer concerns associated with the mass adoption of EVs, by adding another layer of agility to the EV charging process, IBM says.

This is not PG&E’s first foray into electric vehicles. In January, the company unveiled an extended-range electric pickup truck designed especially for utilities, jointly developed with VIA Motors. The eREVs run their first 40 miles on electricity, before switching to gasoline, and can provide on-site power to shorten small outages, eliminate some planned outages, and boost the electric grid when needed.

In October last year, GE and Nissan launched a two-year collaboration to develop smart charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. The effort is focusing on the integration of electric vehicles with homes and buildings and on the future impact on the electric grid once millions of EVs are on the road.

Source;
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/04/12/ibm-honda-pge-launch-smart-ev-charging-project/

Honda Cars : Honda trials solar-powered EV charging station in Japan | 2013 New Honda Car Reviews 0

One of the main problems that electric vehicles (EVs) face is that lack of support infrastructure. You wouldn’t want to drive interstate only to find that there isn’t a charging station for your EV in the area. Honda’s vision for a solar-powered home-based hydrogen production station is an effort to ease the transition from fossil to alternative fuels. The company has since revealed plans to trial a solar-powered public EV charging station. The program will be tested over in Japan and the ultimate goal of it is to achieve what Honda calls Total Energy Management, which is a system that supplies households and communities with energy for personal use, while supporting a comfortable low-carbon lifestyle.

Source;
http://ubergizmo.com/2010/12/honda-trials-solar-powered-ev-charging-station-in-japan/