EV Charging Power Reservation for Grid-Constrained Sites
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electric vehicle charging systems face power constraints due to grid capacity limitations, leading to reduced power delivery and extended charging times, and there is a need for users to reserve peak power or energy to meet specific charging demands.
Innovation Solution
A power and energy reservation system (PERS) that allows users to reserve a minimum peak power or energy threshold at electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) through a computer-based architecture, enabling secure reservations and managing grid capacity by assigning available couplers and communicating electronic tokens.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If multiple EVs charge at a single EVSE installation, then more vehicles can be served, but power derating occurs resulting in lower than rated power delivery and extended charging time
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by allowing users to reserve charging sessions in advance with guaranteed minimum power levels. The reservation system pre-allocates power capacity before actual charging occurs, enabling the EVSE to prepare and prioritize reserved vehicles, thus maintaining rated power delivery for reserved users even when multiple vehicles are present at the installation.
2Reliability
If power derating is deployed to manage grid capacity, then grid constraints are respected, but charging time increases beyond user expectations
Solution Approach 1:
The system allows users to make preliminary reservations with specified minimum power requirements and expected arrival times. By processing reservations in advance, the system can proactively manage grid capacity allocation, identifying potential derating scenarios before they occur and implementing mitigation strategies such as load shifting or prioritization of reserved vehicles, thereby reducing unexpected charging time extensions.
Solution Approach 2:
The reservation system incorporates feedback mechanisms that monitor actual charging performance against reserved parameters. When derating is detected or anticipated, the system provides feedback to users about potential delays and can dynamically adjust charging schedules or notify users of power availability, enabling better time management and user decision-making.
3Ease of operation
If users are willing to pay premium for reserved peak power, then user charging demands are met, but system complexity increases to manage reservations and pricing
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces an intermediary reservation management layer between users and EVSE operations. This intermediary handles the complexity of reservation scheduling, power allocation, and premium pricing calculations, while presenting a simplified interface to users. The intermediary translates user charging demands into technical parameters for the EVSE system, managing the complexity internally without burdening users with system operational details.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed are embodiments of a power and energy reservation system (PERS) enabling a user to reserve energy or minimum peak power at electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) having electric vehicle (EV) charging couplers to enable charging of an EV. One embodiment, among others, is a method that can be broadly summarized by the following steps: enabling the user to reserve (a) a charging event at a specific site having a plurality of EVSEs during a specified time window and (b) a charging process that exceeds a predetermined minimum threshold; determining availability of site couplers at the site based upon the predetermined minimum threshold; and communicating a reserved site coupler identification to the user based upon the availability. Another embodiment, among others, is a reservation system that has a computer-based architecture and that is programmed to perform the aforementioned steps and communicate with computer-based client devices.