Method for providing power consumption data to an electrical energy distribution system

Abstract

A method for providing power consumption data to an electrical energy distribution system is disclosed. The method comprises: receiving, from an energy storage system comprising a charger and at least one energy storage device, first data corresponding to a charging power at a first time; determining, based on the first data and a power profile of the energy storage system, second data corresponding to a charging power at a second time; and providing the second data to the electrical energy distribution system. Also disclosed is an energy flexibility management system comprising: an electrical energy distribution system; and an energy storage system; and a processing system in communication with the electrical energy distribution system and the energy storage system, wherein the processing system is configured to implement the method.

Description

[0001] METHOD FOR PROVIDING POWER CONSUMPTION DATA TO AN ELECTRICAL ENERGY DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

[0002] FIELD OF INVENTION

[0003] The present disclosure is in the field of energy flexibility management systems, and relates in particular to a computer-implemented method for providing power consumption data to an electrical energy distribution system that may be configured to implement a scheme to adapt the provision of electrical power.

[0004] BACKGROUND TO INVENTION

[0005] Electrical energy distribution systems, which may for example comprise electricity generation, electricity transportation and transformation (and may collectively be referred to herein as the ‘electrical grid’), may need to be adapted to continuously match supply to demand. Energy system flexibility may refer to an ability to adjust supply and / or demand to achieve a necessary balance within such electrical energy distribution systems, and to maintain flows of electrical energy through the grid to within safe limits. A flexible electrical grid is capable of managing volatility in supply and / or demand to achieve a sustainable balance, providing many benefits.

[0006] In a practical situation, instantaneous electricity supply and electricity demand do not exactly match one another, and this may have detrimental effects on the supply of electrical energy.

[0007] For example, when the electrical grid is in a balanced condition, an alternating current frequency of electrical power transferred via the grid may remain at a nominal frequency, e.g. typically 50 Hz or 60Hz. However, an imbalance between supply and demand may result in a deviation from the nominal system frequency. If demand, e.g. load, exceeds supply then the AC frequency in the grid may drop below the nominal frequency. If supply exceeds demand then the AC frequency in the grid may increase above the nominal frequency.

[0008] Exact balancing of instantaneous supply and demand in an electrical grid may be difficult to achieve in practice, and therefore minor deviations between the nominal frequency and the actual AC frequency of the grid may be tolerable, e.g. between 49.9 Hz and 50.1 Hz. To balance the electrical grid, short-term power balancing reserves may be implemented by the Transmission System Operator (TSO) of the electrical grid to increase or decrease a power supply demand from the electrical grid in relation to the AC frequency of the electrical grid.

[0009] One such example of a power balancing reserve is a Frequency Containment Reserve (FCR), which may also be known in the art as a primary reserve. An FCR may be configured to intervene automatically and with low latency to restore a balance between supply and demand and thus maintain the AC frequency of the electrical grid at the nominal frequency.

[0010] Loads participating in a FCR scheme may increase or decrease their demand at short notice, for example in response to requests from the TSO or DSO indicating variations in the AC frequency of the electrical supply. In such schemes, providers of flexibility may be financially rewarded.

[0011] Notably, use of an FCR may require real-time responses from loads, and a low- latency response to a request to adapt a level of demand may be of paramount importance to the successful operation of the FCR. Existing schemes may require substantial amounts of data relating to operation of loads to be provided with low latency to a flexibility management system, such as a system operating an FCR. Indeed, the data required may be sufficient to excessively load software APIs associated with the loads.

[0012] It is therefore desirable to provide low latency and reliable data indicative of power consumption by a load to flexibility management system, such as a system controlling an FCR, without excessively loading an API associated with the load.

[0013] It is therefore an aim of at least one embodiment of at least one aspect of the present disclosure to obviate or at least mitigate at least one of the above identified shortcomings of the prior art.

[0014] SUMMARY OF INVENTION

[0015] The present disclosure is in the field of energy flexibility management systems, and relates in particular to a computer-implemented method for providing power consumption data to an electrical energy distribution system that may be configured to implement a scheme to adapt the provision of electrical power.

[0016] According to a first aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a method for providing power consumption data to an electrical energy distribution system. The method comprises receiving, from an energy storage system comprising a charger and at least one energy storage device, first data corresponding to a charging power at a first time. The method comprises determining, based on the first data and a power profile of the energy storage system, second data corresponding to a charging power at a second time. The method comprises providing the second data to the electrical energy distribution system.

[0017] Advantageously, such a method enables provision of reliable data indicative of an instantaneous power consumption, without requiring actual measured data to be transmitted, thereby avoiding overloading APIs associated with the load.

[0018] The power consumption data may correspond to absolute values, of may correspond to relative values, e.g. an increase or decrease relative to previously provided data.

[0019] The at least one energy storage device may be configured for charging by the charger.

[0020] The first and / or second data may be packetized, i.e. provided in a packet such as with a header and data payload, or the like. The first and / or second data may be encoded and / or encrypted.

[0021] The at least one energy storage device may comprise an electric vehicle. The at least one energy storage device may comprise a plurality of electric vehicles. The energy storage system may comprise a plurality of chargers and a plurality of energy storage devices, each energy storage device associated with a respective charger.

[0022] The method may comprise determining, based on the first data and the power profile, further data corresponding to a charging power at one or more further times before and / or after the first time.

[0023] The method may comprise providing the further data to the electrical energy distribution system.

[0024] The second data and / or further data may be provided by transmitting, such as wirelessly or via a wired / optical connection, the data to the electrical energy distribution system. Transmission may be via one or more routers, servers, remote devices, or the like.

[0025] The power profile may be selected based on a type of the at least one energy storage device in combination with a type of the charger.

[0026] The power profile may be derived from historical charging data corresponding to the type of the charger when used to charge the type of the at least one energy storage device. Said historical charging data may be obtained during a ramp-up and / or a ramp-down of a charging process. The second data may be determined using a first-order system with delay to calculate an instantaneous power during a / the ramp-up of the charging process. The power profile may correspond to parameters of the first-order system.

[0027] The second data may be determined using a linear system to calculate an instantaneous power during a ramp-down of the charging process.

[0028] The first-order system with delay may be described by Equation (1 ): Equation 1 wherein the power profile of the energy storage system may comprise: the delay time parameter (9); the time constant parameter (T) and / or the process gain parameter (K).

[0029] The power profile may be obtained using a least squares optimization function.

[0030] An instantaneous power consumption at one or more times during a regulation process may be determined using Equation (1 ) and based upon a start command time. Optionally, the determined instantaneous power consumption may be further adjusted based on one or more actual status responses provided from the energy storage system.

[0031] The regulation process may be for regulating use of a Frequency Containment Reserve (FCR) by the electrical energy distribution system.

[0032] A rate of providing the second data to the electrical energy distribution system may be relatively low when the at least one energy storage device is in a fully-charging state or not-charging state.

[0033] A rate of providing the second data to the electrical energy distribution system may be relatively high during a / the ramp-up and / or a / the ramp-down of the charging process.

[0034] According to a second aspect of the disclosure, there is provided an energy flexibility management system.

[0035] The system may comprise an electrical energy distribution system.

[0036] The system may comprise an energy storage system comprising a charger and at least one energy storage device and configured to receive energy from the electrical energy distribution system.

[0037] The system may comprise a processing system in communication with the electrical energy distribution system and the energy storage system. The processing system may be configured to: receive, from the energy storage system, first data corresponding to a charging power at a first time; determine, based on the first data and a power profile of the energy storage system, second data corresponding to a charging power at a second time; and provide the second data to the electrical energy distribution system.

[0038] In response to receiving at least the second data, the electrical energy distribution system may be configured to adapt a provision of electrical power to one or more loads.

[0039] The electrical energy distribution system may be configured to implement a scheme to adapt the provision of electrical power to the one or more loads to contain a supply frequency of the electrical power to within a targeted frequency range.

[0040] The processing system may comprise a user equipment configured to selectively enable participation in the scheme by the at least one energy storage device.

[0041] The processing system may comprise a server in communication with the user equipment and the electrical energy distribution system and configured to receive the first data, determine the second data and provide the second data to the electrical energy distribution system.

[0042] According to a third embodiment of the disclosure, there is provided a computer-implemented method of: receiving, from an energy storage system comprising a charger and at least one energy storage device, first data corresponding to a charging power at a first time; determining, based on the first data and a power profile of the energy storage system, second data corresponding to a charging power at a second time; and providing the second data to the electrical energy distribution system.

[0043] According to a fourth embodiment of the disclosure, there is provided a computer program product comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer, cause the computer to carry out the steps of the method of the first aspect.

[0044] The above summary is intended to be merely exemplary and non-limiting. The disclosure includes one or more corresponding aspects, embodiments or features in isolation or in various combinations whether or not specifically stated (including claimed) in that combination or in isolation. It should be understood that features defined above in accordance with any aspect of the present disclosure or below relating to any specific embodiment of the disclosure may be utilized, either alone or in combination with any other defined feature, in any other aspect or embodiment or to form a further aspect or embodiment of the disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0045] These and other aspects of the present disclosure will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0046] Figure 1 depicts an example of an energy flexibility management system, according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

[0047] Figure 2 depicts an example of a power profile of a ramp-up process, including original data points and an obtained first-order curve, according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

[0048] Figure s depicts a further example of a power profile of a ramp-up process, including original data points and an obtained first-order curve, according to an embodiment of the disclosure; and

[0049] Figure 4 depicts an example of a method for calculating an instantaneous electrical power consumption of an electric vehicle 120 at a nominal time ‘X’, according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0050] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0051] Figure 1 depicts an example of an energy flexibility management system 100, according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0052] The energy flexibility management system 100 comprises an electrical energy distribution system 105. The electrical energy distribution system 105 may comprise local and regional energy distribution networks which may be operated and / or managed by a Distribution System Operator (DSO). The electrical energy distribution system 105 may also comprise means for transmission of electricity from generation plants via the electrical grid 140, e.g. as managed by a Transmission System Operator (TSO).

[0053] The example electrical energy distribution system 105 is configured to provide electrical energy to an energy storage system 110.

[0054] In the example, only a single energy storage system 110 is depicted, but it will be appreciated that many more than a single energy storage system 110 may be implemented in practice.

[0055] The example energy storage system 110 comprises a charger 115. In the depicted example, the charger 115 is for an electric vehicle 120, which is also depicted. The charger 115 is configured to receive electrical energy from the electrical energy distribution system 105. The electric vehicle 120 is configured to receive electrical energy from the charger 115, e.g. to charge an internal battery of the electric vehicle 120.

[0056] In some embodiments, the electric vehicle 120 may additionally be configured to provide electrical energy to the electrical energy distribution system 105, via the charger 115.

[0057] Also depicted is a processing system 125 in communication with the electrical energy distribution system 105 and the energy storage system 110. The processing system 125 may, for example, comprise one or more servers configured to receive, from the energy storage system 105, first data corresponding to a charging power at a first time; determine, based on the first data and a power profile of the energy storage system 105, second data corresponding to a charging power at a second time; and provide the second data to the electrical energy distribution system 105, as described in more detail below.

[0058] The processing system 125 may comprise, for example, one or more servers 130. In an example, the one or more servers 130 may comprise an OEM-server associated with a manufacture, e.g. OEM, of the electric vehicle 120. Such an OEM- server may communicate with the electric vehicle 120 and / or the charger 115. Such communication may be over wired and / or wireless communication.

[0059] In examples, the processing system 125 may comprise, for example, a further- server associated with a tool for management of the energy flexibility management system 105 of the electric vehicle 120. Such a further server may, for example administer participation of the energy storage system 110 in a flexibility scheme, such as by providing the energy storage system 110 as part of a Frequency Containment Reserve (FCR).

[0060] It will be appreciated that such a configuration of the processing system 125 is provided as an example, and in other embodiments such functionality may be implemented on a single device / server and / or may be implemented over two or more such servers which may be remote from one another.

[0061] In examples, the processing system 125 may comprises a user equipment 135. The user equipment 135 may be, for example, a cellular telephone, tablet device or other smart / connected device.

[0062] The user equipment 135 may run a program, e.g. an application or “App” for administering and / or selectively enabling participation in a flexibility scheme by the energy storage system 110. The user equipment 135 may be in communication with the one or more servers 130 and / or the electrical energy distribution system 105 may be and configured to receive the first data, determine the second data and provide the second data to the electrical energy distribution system 105. Although not depicted in Figure 1 , in some embodiment the user equipment 135 may be in communication with the electric vehicle 120 and / or the charger 115.

[0063] In use, the processing system 125 may be configured to power consumption data of the energy storage device 110 to the electrical energy distribution system 105, thereby enabling implementation of a flexibility scheme such as use of an FCR, by the electrical energy distribution system 105, as described in more detail below

[0064] Electric vehicles are, in general terms, an emerging technology. The high electrical power usage associated with charging electric vehicles, together with the relatively high storage capacity of such vehicles, makes them good candidates for participation in electrical grid flexibility programmes.

[0065] For example, electric vehicles (and more generally chagrin systems such as the energy storage system 110 comprising a charger 115 and an electric vehicle 120) are particularly suitable for contributing to a Frequency Containment Reserve.

[0066] As described above, use of an FCR may require real-time responses from loads, and a low-latency response to a request to adapt a level of demand may be of paramount importance to the successful operation of the FCR.

[0067] However, there exist challenges relating to the response times of electric vehicles, including a total latency of network transmission and hardware components.

[0068] In the case of real-time programmes like FCR, a rate of obtaining power-usage updates and reactions to commands, e.g. start / stop charging is paramount. As a nonlimiting use-case example, FCR participation rules in certain regions require the regulation system to deliver a status of the instantaneous power usage by the controlled assets, e.g. the electric vehicle, with a resolution of 1 second.

[0069] As such, the disclosed method and systems directly addresses this problem. That is, the disclosed method and systems provide a means to satisfy the aforementioned 1 second resolution with electric vehicles that have different reaction times, wherein reliable power consumption information may only be obtain at a lower rate, e.g. once every 10 seconds, or the like.

[0070] In examples, the disclosed method may comprise receiving, by the processing system 120 and from the energy storage system 110, first data corresponding to a charging power at a first time. The method may further comprise determining, by the processing system 120 and based on the first data and a power profile of the energy storage system 120, second data corresponding to a charging power at a second time.

[0071] That is, the second data may be calculated, such as by a method of calculation, interpolation, extrapolation, or the like. The calculated second data may then be provided to the electrical energy distribution system 105, thereby enabling the electrical energy distribution system 105 to use the data to control a balancing of electrical supply and demand.

[0072] The second data may comprise one or more further data points, each one or more further data points corresponding a charging power at a respective time.

[0073] The power profile may be selected based on a type of the electric vehicle 120 in combination with a type of the charger 115.

[0074] In practice, the processing system 125 may have access to historical data about power consumption during the electric vehicle charging process. Said historical data may be used to create general power profiles for known electric vehicle and charger combinations. The historical charging data may have been obtained during a ramp-up and / or a ramp-down of a charging process.

[0075] In a non-limiting example use case, during a ‘normal’ charging operation wherein the charger 115 is providing electrical energy to the electric vehicle 120, data indicative of a charging power may be received by the processing system 125 approximately every 2 minutes. However, a ramp-up of the charging operation (upon starting charging) and a ramp-down of the charging operation (when charging is stopped) may take less than a minute. As such, a framework to adjust (or interpolate) the data is required. As described herein, by use of a sufficiently large data pool of historical charging data, power profiles may be created that can be used to effectively adjust the data, as described in more detail below.

[0076] Since electric vehicles may be polled for charging statuses (e.g. instantaneous charging powers) at different times, and commands to commence or cease charging may be sent to electric vehicles in temporally unrelated processes, data points can be obtained at different positions along the ramp-up and / or ramp-down curve.

[0077] From the control theory point of view, the electric vehicle charging process behaves as a first-order system with delay for the ramp-up and a linear system for the ramp-down. This is depicted in Figures 2 and 3, which provide example of a power profile of a ramp-up process, including original data points and an obtained first-order curve for electric vehicle and charger combinations.

[0078] For purposes of example only, in Figure 2 an “Easee” type charger is used in combination with a “Ford” type electric vehicle. For purposes of example only, in Figure 3 an “Easee” type charger is used in combination with a “Kia” type electric vehicle. Equation 1 describes the ramp-up process depicted in Figures 2 and 3: Equation 1 wherein there are 3 parameters: delay time (9), time constant (T) and process gain (K). In the Example of Figure 2, the delay time (9) is 13.8, the time constant (i) is 50 and the process gain (K) is 2.76. In the example of Figure 3, the delay time (9) is 4.66, the time constant (T) is 2.52 and the process gain (K) is 1 .

[0079] An inverted equation, Equation 2, may also be useful to calculate a time since a change based upon a current power consumption. t(y) = loge(1 - - r) Equation 2

[0080] As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the powers are normalized to account for the different maximum powers for different electric vehicle and charger combinations.

[0081] That is, a set of three parameters (9, T and K) can be obtained from the historical data, wherein the three parameters are necessary to draw the first order time response curve depicted in Figures 2 and 3. Those 3 parameters constitute the “power profile” of the electric vehicle and charger combination. In some examples, the power profile parameters may be obtained using a least squares optimization function.

[0082] Using the power profiles, and during the FCR regulation process, an instantaneous power consumption of EVs can be estimated based on a time of a start command, e.g. a command to start a charging process. In some examples, the estimate may be further adjusted based on the actual status response from the EVs, i.e. a measured charging power.

[0083] In some examples, a Request-Response communication protocol may be implemented by the processing system 125 to obtain status updates from the energy storage system 110. A status update may be indicative of an instantaneous charging power. IN such examples, a cadence of obtaining status updates may be changed during an FCR regulation period in order not to avoid induce too heavy load on an electric vehicle manufacturers APIs that may be executed by the reprocessing system , e.g. the aforementioned OEM-server.

[0084] In a non-limiting example, a normal cadence of 2 minutes may be maintained whenever the car is in a “stable” state - either fully charging or fully stopped. The smaller cadence of 10 seconds may be used only in “transition” states, such as when the electric vehicle is starting or stopping charging. When the electric vehicle reaches the expected full power or fully stops charging, the normal cadence may be resumed again.

[0085] That is, a rate of providing the second data to the electrical energy distribution system 105 may be relatively low when the electric vehicle 120 is in a fully-charging state or not-charging state, and the rate of providing the second data to the electrical energy distribution system 105 is relatively high during a / the ramp-up and / or a / the ramp-down of the charging process.

[0086] Figure 4 depicts an example of a method for calculating an instantaneous electrical power consumption of an electric vehicle 120 at a nominal time ‘X’.

[0087] In a first step 405, an instantaneous electrical power consumption of an electric vehicle 120 at a nominal time ‘X’ is requested. The request may be from the processing system 125 to the energy storage system 110. The request may be from the electrical energy distribution system 105, via the processing system 125, to the energy storage system 110.

[0088] In a second step 410, a power profile is retrieved. As described above, the power profile may comprise parameters that are derived from historical data based on a particular combination of the charger 115 and the electric vehicle 120. The power profile may be retrieved (and / or generated by) the processing system 125, and in particular may be retrieved (and / or generated by) the above-described further-server associated with a tool for management of the energy flexibility management system 105.

[0089] In a third step 415 a status update is requested, by the processing system 125, from the energy storage system 110. In this step, data corresponding to an instantaneous power consumption P at a first time T1 is provided to the processing system 125.

[0090] In a fourth step 420, a time TO at which the energy storage system 110 changed state, e.g. the electric vehicle 120 commenced charging, and the latest update can be calculated by the processing system 125 by using the power profile and the instantaneous power consumption P. That is, the inverted equation of the first order system with delay, e.g. Equation 2, may be used to calculate the initial time TO.

[0091] In a fifth step 425, a time T3 since the last update until a present time is calculated by the processing system 125. Said time T3 may correspond to the present time minus T1 . As such, in a sixth step 430, a time T4 since the car changed state until the present time may be calculated.

[0092] As such, in a sixth step 430, a power at a time T4 + nominal time ‘X’ may be calculated using the power profile, using the above-described equation of a firt order system with delay, e.g. Equation 1.

[0093] Although the disclosure has been described in terms of particular embodiments as set forth above, it should be understood that these embodiments are illustrative only and that the claims are not limited to those embodiments. Those skilled in the art will be able to make modifications and alternatives in view of the disclosure, which are contemplated as falling within the scope of the appended claims. Each feature disclosed or illustrated in the present specification may be incorporated in any embodiments, whether alone or in any appropriate combination with any other feature disclosed or illustrated herein.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A method for providing power consumption data to an electrical energy distribution system, the method comprising: receiving, from an energy storage system comprising a charger and at least one energy storage device, first data corresponding to a charging power at a first time; determining, based on the first data and a power profile of the energy storage system, second data corresponding to a charging power at a second time; and providing the second data to the electrical energy distribution system.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one energy storage device comprises an electric vehicle.

3. The method of claim 1 , or 2, comprising: determining, based on the first data and the power profile, further data corresponding to a charging power at one or more further times before and / or after the first time; and providing the further data to the electrical energy distribution system.

4. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the power profile is selected based on a type of the at least one energy storage device in combination with a type of the charger.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the power profile is derived from historical charging data corresponding to the type of the charger when used to charge the type of the at least one energy storage device, said historical charging data obtained during a ramp-up and / or a ramp-down of a charging process.

6. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the second data is determined using at least one of: a first-order system with delay to calculate an instantaneous power during a / the ramp-up of the charging process, wherein the power profile corresponds to parameters of the first-order system; anda linear system to calculate an instantaneous power during a ramp-down of the charging process.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the first-order system with delay is described by an equation:wherein the power profile of the energy storage system comprises: the delay time parameter (6); the time constant parameter (T) and the process gain parameter (K), and optionally wherein the power profile is obtained using a least squares optimization function.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein an instantaneous power consumption at one or more times during a regulation process is determined using the equation and based upon a start command time, and optionally where the determined instantaneous power consumption is further adjusted based on one or more actual status responses provided from the energy storage system.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the regulation process is for regulating use of a Frequency Containment Reserve (FCR) by the electrical energy distribution system.

10. The method of any preceding claim, wherein: a rate of providing the second data to the electrical energy distribution system is relatively low when the at least one energy storage device is in a fully- charging state or not-charging state; and a rate of providing the second data to the electrical energy distribution system is relatively high during a / the ramp-up and / or a / the ramp-down of the charging process.11 . An energy flexibility management system comprising: an electrical energy distribution system; an energy storage system comprising a charger and at least one energy storage device and configured to receive energy from the electrical energy distribution system; anda processing system in communication with the electrical energy distribution system and the energy storage system, wherein the processing system is configured to: receive, from the energy storage system, first data corresponding to a charging power at a first time; determine, based on the first data and a power profile of the energy storage system, second data corresponding to a charging power at a second time; and provide the second data to the electrical energy distribution system.

12. The energy flexibility management system of claim 11 , wherein in response to receiving at least the second data, the electrical energy distribution system is configured to adapt a provision of electrical power to one or more loads.

13. The energy flexibility management system of claim 12, wherein the electrical energy distribution system is configured to implement a scheme to adapt the provision of electrical power to the one or more loads to contain a supply frequency of the electrical power to within a targeted frequency range.

14. The energy flexibility management system of claim any of claims 11 to 13, wherein the processing system comprises: a user equipment configured to selectively enable participation in the scheme by the at least one energy storage device; and a server in communication with the user equipment and the electrical energy distribution system and configured to receive the first data, determine the second data and provide the second data to the electrical energy distribution system.

15. A computer-implemented method of: receiving, from an energy storage system comprising a charger and at least one energy storage device, first data corresponding to a charging power at a first time;determining, based on the first data and a power profile of the energy storage system, second data corresponding to a charging power at a second time; and providing the second data to the electrical energy distribution system.

16. A computer program product comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer, cause the computer to carry out the steps of the method of claim 1 .

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