Toyota Motor North America recently entered into an agreement with environmental tech nonprofit WattTime to provide certain health and environmental impact data to Toyota and Lexus customers with eligible vehicles to enable them to find ideal charging times to reduce emissions when charging at home. By using this data to make more informed decisions on charging times, customers are empowered to do their part to help reduce power plant emissions.

Leveraging the power of the Remote Connect feature within the Toyota and Lexus apps, Toyota and Lexus BEV and PHEV customers will be able to manage their home charging experience, via the ECO Charging feature, to select the most efficient times to charge their vehicles.

WattTime, founded in 2014, provides information to everyone from power utilities to individual users on the best forecasted times to pull electricity from the grid for the smallest carbon footprint. As part of its agreement, Toyota will be the exclusive automotive manufacturer to also provide customers with WattTime data related to human health.

Using that data, customers will be presented with recommended charging schedules that, if used, can potentially reduce the health impact of the electricity being pulled from the local utility.

Customers who own eligible vehicles can download the Toyota or Lexus app and register their vehicle, and then they can choose to opt-in to the Remote Connect service through the app. The Toyota and Lexus apps will take the electricity forecast data from WattTime and combine it with the customer’s own charging and mobility requirements to propose a charging schedule through the ECO Charging feature.

The optional schedule will be presented to them through the customer’s existing account on their app. Customers may use the data to align their charging schedule with the times of day that will offer the best potential for a reduced carbon footprint and impact on health.

The ECO Charging feature is available now on the Toyota and Lexus apps, both of which are available for download for iPhone or Android smartphones.

Last year Toyota launched the all-new BEV crossover, the bZ4X. Toyota also offers PHEV vehicle options with the Prius Prime and RAV4 Prime. Lexus’ all-new RZ 450e BEV will go on sale early this year. In addition, Lexus offers PHEV options in the NX 450h+ and the forthcoming RX 450h+.