Methods and systems for efficient battery charging and usage

A system for charging a battery associated with a device, wherein the device is configured to draw power from either one of a battery or an external power source, the system comprising:

• one or more processors;
• one or more memories;
• instructions stored in at least one of the memories, which, when executed by at least one of the processors, causes the system to perform the operations of:
• receiving a signal from an external information service, the signal including power rate data reflecting a value at which power is purchasable at a particular time;
• determining a usage threshold and a charge threshold corresponding to the power rate data in response to receiving the signal;
• and
• enabling the device to draw power from the battery as a function of whether a charge level associated with the battery exceeds the usage threshold, and enabling the device to charge the battery with power drawn from the external power source as a function of whether the charge level is below the charge threshold and whether the external power source is available.

A tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform a method for charging a battery associated with a device, wherein the device is configured to draw power from either one of a battery or an external power source, comprising:

• receiving a signal from an external information service, the signal including power rate data reflecting a value at which power is purchasable at a particular time;
• determining a usage threshold and a charge threshold corresponding to the power rate data in response to receiving the signal;
• and
• enabling the device to draw power from the battery as a function of whether a charge level associated with the battery exceeds the usage threshold, and enabling the device to charge the battery with power drawn from the external power source as a function of whether the charge level is below the charge threshold and whether the external power source is available.