Finding where to re-charge an electric car is one of the big issues for new drivers of environmentally friendly vehicles.
Why not look up for the answer. No, not the sun, just a bit lower. That’s right, the answer to our recharging problems could lie with the good, old-fashioned street lights.
The boffins at BMW think that street lighting could be the solution for topping up electric cars away from home. They have come up with the idea of Light and Charge LED street lighting that could be used as charging points for electric vehicles in the future.
This would allow existing infrastructures across the world to be used instead of dedicated vehicle charging stations having to be set up. This means that it would be a lot cheaper to set up. If the system ever gets off the ground then you could park anywhere and have you car’s electric battery topped up while you head off to do some shopping, go to work or have a bite to eat.
Not Just for BMW Vehicles
Another piece of good news is that their plan isn’t solely restricted to BMW vehicles. No matter what brand of electric car you drive, you would be able to use the BMW street lighting scheme to re-charge it wherever you go.
Other people have tried to produce ways of topping up car batteries with light in the past, notably the Intelligent firm. Having said that, it appears that BMW may well be the first company to put this project into practise. They are currently planning a pilot project in Munich in 2015.
Do you think that this could be the perfect solution for charging electric vehicles?
Sounds like a great idea, except the ICE cars would always want to park under the street light for
visability safety.
Wait for the city to start charging $150 an hour to park. For 'safety' of course.