Chapter 3Why Batteries Matter
Today, most of us are passive consumers of energy produced in large power plants. In the very near future, however, most of us will also become energy producers. The traditional one-to-many model of energy distribution will evolve rapidly into a many-to-many network of users and suppliers.
Imagine this scenario: when you arrive home, you plug your electric vehicle (EV) into your home battery storage system. Your home system will read the status of the battery in your EV and determine if it needs additional charging or if it has more energy than you're likely to need in the next couple of hours.
Your home system is connected to a large network of providers and consumers. If your system detects that you have more energy in your car battery than you need, it will reach out to the network and find out if there's any demand for your excess power. It will also check the price that buyers are willing to pay. If the price is right, it will sell your power and your account will be credited automatically. Voila, you've made money by simply plugging your EV into a wall socket in your garage!
Similar to how the internet enabled anyone to become a publisher, this new internet of electricity will enable anyone to become a power supplier.
Battery Culture
Without much fanfare, a battery culture is emerging. Some of what's driving the battery culture are globally popular consumer products such as smartphones, laptops, and electric vehicles, all of which run ...
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