Right now, Qualcomm in San Diego is out in front with their wireless charging system. We'll see if Toyota is smart enough to license it.
This is cool. Better if people without driveways or garages could some how charge from our houses to the street. Guess I'm asking for too much though.
^ This would fry anyone crossing the path of energy transfer. Hopefully in the future, wireless charging will be built into the road you're traveling on. Kind of like in a video game...
I could be wrong. But I think it is much safer than that. You don't get shocked by the new wireless chargers for phones.
Wireless charging uses electromagnetic fields in one device to induce an electric current in a metal coil inside another device. That current powers the battery, and because the electricity is created inside the device being charged there are no safety issues to consider or exciting sparks to look at or frighten your pets with. It can be slower and less energy efficient than traditional cabled charging, and that comparative lack of efficiency can mean that wireless charging wastes more energy by emitting it in the form of heat. Wireless charging can cost a little more to implement, and there are engineering challenges - especially if you’re trying to put wireless charging circuitry into a phone so slim it can only be seen by ants.
The best inductive chargers for cars right now loose about 25% compared to wired chargers. Charging would take longer too if the limiting factor is the service rating of the circuit. 25% loss is not worth it to me, along with the huge price premium just to save 2 seconds every time I have to drive. Perhaps efficiency can be increased with better designs. Home electrical power is delivered by stepping down the voltage of the power lines using a inductive transformer, and those are 95% or more efficient.
It often takes me 0 seconds, as my wife handles it when we drive together. My EVSE is mounted to the ceiling, and I have a bungee hanging down right near the power port on the car. I hang the plug from the bungee and it's a very quick operation.
