So I've been thinking, so I've invented the following:
There is a most efficient time to use electricity, and that's when the least efficient power plants are not in operation. Generally, that's overnight, when demand is low. At that time, most of the lowest-efficiency power plants are off-line, and only the highest efficiency plants (those that run 24 hours a day) are in operation.
In my neck of the woods, I feel that's roughly 1 AM to 5 AM, but there is likely some variability to that based on the details of the local electricity supplier.
Given that situation, I figure that there is a best time of day to charge electronic devices, and that's generally very late at night.
Therefore, it seems reasonable to put a control (manually or with AI and/or algorithmic decision making) into battery charging devices so that the bulk of their charging is done during the "most efficient" hours. This time-to-charge feature could use local knowledge of electricity generation, your personal calendar, and your historic usage at specific hours... or it could use "rules of thumb".
For example, let's say that you go to bed at 10 PM and wake up at 6 AM. To be most efficient, your smartphone's charging system should start to seriously charge your phone from, say, 2 AM until 5 AM, when grid efficiency is at its highest.
Although waiting to charge up likely only saves a tiny amount of power, if you multiply it out by, say, 500 million smartphones, laptops, and tablets, the energy savings would be very significant.
Say each charger runs at 10 watts. 200 million chargers would be 2 Gigawatts. Let's say off-peak power is 50% more efficient than otherwise, and that's a tremendous 1 Gigawatt savings.
There is a most efficient time to use electricity, and that's when the least efficient power plants are not in operation. Generally, that's overnight, when demand is low. At that time, most of the lowest-efficiency power plants are off-line, and only the highest efficiency plants (those that run 24 hours a day) are in operation.
In my neck of the woods, I feel that's roughly 1 AM to 5 AM, but there is likely some variability to that based on the details of the local electricity supplier.
Given that situation, I figure that there is a best time of day to charge electronic devices, and that's generally very late at night.
Therefore, it seems reasonable to put a control (manually or with AI and/or algorithmic decision making) into battery charging devices so that the bulk of their charging is done during the "most efficient" hours. This time-to-charge feature could use local knowledge of electricity generation, your personal calendar, and your historic usage at specific hours... or it could use "rules of thumb".
For example, let's say that you go to bed at 10 PM and wake up at 6 AM. To be most efficient, your smartphone's charging system should start to seriously charge your phone from, say, 2 AM until 5 AM, when grid efficiency is at its highest.
Although waiting to charge up likely only saves a tiny amount of power, if you multiply it out by, say, 500 million smartphones, laptops, and tablets, the energy savings would be very significant.
Say each charger runs at 10 watts. 200 million chargers would be 2 Gigawatts. Let's say off-peak power is 50% more efficient than otherwise, and that's a tremendous 1 Gigawatt savings.