Next Generation Grid Communications for Residential Plug-in Electric Vehicles

As residential plug-in electric vehicle charging loads increase, they represent significant contributions to local distribution circuits, and if not managed, can have negative effects on local electricity grid stability. For residential plug-in electric vehicle participation to be effective for grid stabilization, it is key to have detailed data collection, coordination at charging stations owned by different parties, sensitivity to each driver’s needs and preferences, and real-time understanding of each vehicle’s state of charge or charge necessary before the vehicle leaves. There are no adequate interfaces used that help communicate between utilities, charging stations, and residential plug-in electric vehicle customers. This limits the capability for aggregated commercial charging applications to interface with the electric grid.
Using the International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission 15118 standard, this project developed cloud-to-cloud Open Automated Demand Response 2.0b communication so the consumer can receive daily rate schedules from the utility. The team successfully used and tested the 15118 standard with a Daimler Smart Electric Drive vehicle.
The project also explored using control methods that do not require vehicle charging information. A pilot project was conducted with 30 ChargePoint Level 2 residential charging stations. The project results showed that electric vehicle charging loads are flexible. However, with some knowledge of driver behavior and utility tariffs, significant potential exists to realize cost savings for residential drivers without having to change driver behavior, while being responsive to grid needs.