Wireless Charging as seen on Ask This Old House

[mdolan92869]

I was watching Ask This Old House yesterday and they showed off an inductive wireless charging system that can be retrofitted to existing cars, in the demo they used a Mustang Mach-e. Looks pretty cool except for the need to attach a 2nd display. But they said that the system is really for future OEM integration and the display would be built into the existing display.

If they can get this to go mass market, it would be nice to see it rolled out to hotels, restaurants, etc.

The show clip is here:
And the PR for the episode is here: https://witricity.com/newsroom/press-releases/witricity-brings-new-technology-to-ask-this-old-house/

Edit: After reading some of the posts, I thought I'd update the title to describe this so that a software engineer like me can better understand it. I think wireless makes it easier to grasp.

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[HuntingPudel]

I have been following WiTricity for the last couple of years. Their progress on this has been really incredible.

I am not a fan of where they mounted that secondary display for their charge location system, but the idea of their retrofit kit is petty neat.

 

[AKgrampy]

This will be interesting to follow. Questions I have is this an either or option to L2 plug in or will you be able to do both and would think there would have to be some additional losses involved but not sure about that?

 

[kindofblue]

Very cool indeed.

 

[roguemustang]

This. Is. Awesome. This will be the standard within 20 years. Cars will have it much sooner, but I think it will take longer for places to install it. I would love to have it in my garage now, but it still has a tether cord to trip on and I have hydronic heat so I can't chip out the flooring. I will have to consider it down the road with a full floor mat to keep the rest of the floor at the same height as the charger....oh, the possibilities.

thanks for posting!!!

 

[mdolan92869]

This will be interesting to follow. Questions I have is this an either or option to L2 plug in or will you be able to do both and would think there would have to be some additional losses involved but not sure about that?

If it doesn’t support plugging in and wireless charging simultaneously then that will probably be the first hack someone tries to do.

 

[AKgrampy]

If it doesn’t support plugging in and wireless charging simultaneously then that will probably be the first hack someone tries to do.

What I really meant was will a car have the choice to wirelessly charge or plug in or will you have to choose one option when you make a purchase. I doubt it would be able to do both at the same time but who knows.

 

[Guss-E 2021]

I believe the YouTube channels, Undecided with Matt Ferrell and Just Have A Think, both covered this technology. It does look very promising.

The possibilities here are really pretty great. With this in your garage, you'd never forget to plug in. Charging in inclement weather would be much nicer provided plug n charge is an option. And no more CCS vs Tesla charge port bantering. Once cost comes down, you could build this technology into parking spaces everywhere.

When I think of solving off street charging for apartment dwellers, this is always where my head goes. The future looks bright

 

[Guss-E 2021]

What I really meant was will a car have the choice to wirelessly charge or plug in or will you have to choose one option when you make a purchase. I doubt it would be able to do both at the same time but who knows.

Very good question. If it is an either/or choice, you are not going to want wireless unless it truly pervasive.

 

[OH2AZ2OH]

They claim pretty impressive efficiency with their system, well above what is seen when wireless phone charging is monitored. Promising, but I'd really like to see some real world numbers. For phones, wireless charging takes between 35 - 90% more electricity than wired charging, along with increased vampire losses for wireless charging pads. Phone charging gets really bad if the coils are even slightly misaligned, and aligning is going to be easier on a phone than in a car.

 

[Maquis]

What I really meant was will a car have the choice to wirelessly charge or plug in or will you have to choose one option when you make a purchase. I doubt it would be able to do both at the same time but who knows.

There is no technical reason not to have both capabilities. It‘s only $$$.

 

[Jppumper]

I see where Sweden is working to electrify a road.

Electrified Highways That Charge EVs Are Officially Happening | CarBuzz

 

[mdolan92869]

What I really meant was will a car have the choice to wirelessly charge or plug in or will you have to choose one option when you make a purchase. I doubt it would be able to do both at the same time but who knows.

Oh, I would think that you'd get both because of DCFC needing the plug, and to me that means you'd still have plug-in L2 charging.

 

[RickMachE]

I see where Sweden is working to electrify a road.

Electrified Highways That Charge EVs Are Officially Happening | CarBuzz

As is Michigan, a 1 mile test stretch. First in the world. https://www.michigan.gov/whitmer/ne...tric-vehicle-charging-road-system-contract-aw

 

[AKgrampy]

As is Michigan, a 1 mile test stretch. First in the world. https://www.michigan.gov/whitmer/ne...tric-vehicle-charging-road-system-contract-aw

I do not want to bring out the tin foil hats ( had to deal with many when I was working at the utility) but I am not too sure I want to be subjected to the amount of EMF that would need to take place for inductive charging. No problem if I am not in the car, and maybe no problem in any case, but I would chose not to be exposed.

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