What is the Toyota Smart Center?
Toyota Smart Center is a system developed by Toyota to link homes, vehicles, electric power companies and users to enable integrated control of energy consumption.
The Toyota Smart Center uses Plug-in Hybrid vehicles (PHVs) and electric vehicles (EVs)—both of which are expected to gain greater use—and Home Energy Management System (HEMS) equipped smart houses to control home electricity supply/demand, the electricity supplied by the power company, as well as the electricity generated by the houses, thus making external control possible.
For example, the system collates information transmitted from a household-linked PHV or EV regarding remaining vehicle battery charge, household power consumption information transmitted by the HEMS, weather forecast data and charge-rate information for specific time segments from the power company. Thereby coordinating vehicle recharging and household energy consumption with an aim to minimize CO2 emissions and reduce electricity costs.
Furthermore, with a smart phone, users can remotely monitor and adjust home power usage, control the air conditioning and hot water supply.
Smart House
A smart house is a residence with the capability of efficiently controlling generated solar energy and power consumption making it ideal for vehicle power supply and management.