Unidirectional EV Charging Control for Grid Regulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing approaches to bidirectional energy management in electric vehicles face challenges such as infrastructure requirements, increased battery wear, and consumer resistance, making unidirectional control more practical and desirable for efficient energy aggregation.
Innovation Solution
Methods and systems for unidirectional control of electric vehicles, allowing energy aggregators to modulate power draws based on state of charge and charging time, optimizing energy distribution and profit maximization without significant infrastructure changes, using algorithms to determine scheduled and dispatched power draws.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If bidirectional control of electric vehicles is implemented, then energy aggregators can both consume and provide energy to the electrical grid, but significant infrastructure modifications, anti-islanding protection, and interconnection issues arise
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the power flow control capability from the bidirectional scenario and applies it unidirectionally to charging vehicles. The energy aggregator controls the power draw during charging without requiring the vehicle to discharge back to the grid, thereby achieving energy aggregation while eliminating the need for complex bidirectional infrastructure modifications and anti-islanding protection systems
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of allowing power to flow bidirectionally (grid to vehicle and vehicle to grid), the patent inverts the approach by controlling only the charging power flow (grid to vehicle). This unidirectional control achieves the energy aggregation objective while avoiding all the infrastructure complexity associated with bidirectional power flow
2Productivity
If bidirectional power flow is implemented, then energy can be pumped back into the electrical grid, but increased cycling wear on batteries and decreased battery lifetimes occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the energy provision function from the bidirectional scenario and achieves it through unidirectional charging control. By optimizing the power draw during charging based on state of charge and charging time, the system can aggregate energy effectively without requiring battery discharge cycles, thereby eliminating the wear and lifetime degradation associated with bidirectional power flow
3Device complexity
If unidirectional control of electric vehicles is implemented, then significant infrastructure modifications are avoided, but the ability to provide energy back to the grid is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamic control to the unidirectional charging process by continuously adjusting the power draw based on real-time state of charge measurements and charging time. This dynamic optimization enables the energy aggregator to effectively aggregate energy from multiple vehicles and provide regulation services to the grid, achieving adaptability and versatility without bidirectional power flow or complex infrastructure
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein are methods, systems, and devices that may be implemented by an energy aggregator to control, or regulate, the electric load placed on an electric grid by an aggregation of electrical devices, such as electric vehicles. Generally, the disclosed methods, and systems may provide for the modulation of the power draw of each electric vehicle around a first power draw, or scheduled power draw. Further, the disclosed methods and systems provide for the determination of a desirable scheduled power draw for a given electric vehicle. In one example, the scheduled power draw may be determined based on, among other things, the amount of time left in a given charging scenario and the state of charge of the given electric vehicle. In another example, the scheduled power draw may be determined based on, among other considerations, a maximization of the profit derived by the energy aggregator for both providing power to an aggregation of electric vehicles and for providing a regulation function to the electrical grid (at the request, for example, of an electrical-system operator).