Electric Vehicles as a Flexibility Provider: Optimal Charging Schedules to Improve the Quality of Charging Service

Abstract

The sub-aggregation of electric vehicles provides significant potential to power systems in the form of ancillary services. This means with smart charging it is possible to shift loads from peak to off-peak hours. For the flexibility from privately owned electric vehicles to be offered to the electricity market, customer participation is crucial; however, the impacts of sub-aggregation on customers have not been studied thoroughly. In this paper, charging data covering over 80,000 real-world charging sessions from various commercial charging sites are introduced and the charging characteristics are analyzed. Importantly, a method for finding an optimal pattern for load reduction with the least impact on customers is presented. We suggest an optimal schedule for load reduction from the customer viewpoint at different types of charging sites, including public car parks, offices, residential sites, and shopping centers. The findings indicate that residential and office charging sites offer the greatest potential for load reduction with the least impact on customers. The most flexibility is available during peak charging hours, which on average are at 08:00 at car parks, 07:30 at office sites, 19:00 at residential sites, and 10:00 at shopping centers.

Quality of Service and Associated Communication Infrastructure for Electric Vehicles

“…In [58], over 80,000 real-time charging datapoints from different parts of the world were collected, and the charging characteristics were analyzed to manage the load balancing process and shift loads from peak to off-peak hours using smart charging technology. The findings identified the optimal charging pattern with the most negligible impact on the customers.…”

Planning of High-Power Charging Stations for Electric Vehicles: A Review

“…The authors of [57] take into account six real express bus routes and proceed with accurate simulations in order to quantify the charging demand and travel time. Recently, the authors of [120] studied real charging patterns from several categories of charging sites (residential, office, car parks, and shopping centres). More than 80,000 real charging sessions were analyzed to assess the potential of vehicle aggregation to participate in ancillary services.…”

Analyzing the Charging Flexibility Potential of Different Electric Vehicle Fleets Using Real-World Charging Data

“…Results show that there is a big charging flexibility in residential areas as long as private parking spaces are utilized with EV charge points. Rauma et al [17] analyze over 80,000 real-world charging sessions from various commercial charging sites. There findings indicate that residential and office charging sites offer a great potential for load reduction.…”