Electrified Vehicle Charging Schedule Optimization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electrified vehicle charging systems do not efficiently prioritize charging at cost-effective locations along a drive route, leading to potential inefficiencies in energy management and increased costs.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle system and method that determine a drive route, identify available charging locations, assess charging costs, and create a scheduling strategy to prioritize charging at the most cost-effective locations, optimizing the state of charge and charging time based on historical data and real-time information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If charging is performed at any available location without prioritization, then charging flexibility is maintained, but charging costs increase and energy management efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary analysis of the drive route to identify all available charging locations and their associated costs before the vehicle needs charging. By pre-planning the charging schedule and prioritizing lower-cost locations, the system avoids last-minute expensive charging decisions while maintaining operational flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The charging schedule is dynamically adjusted based on real-time conditions such as current battery state of charge, time of day, and available charging locations along the route. The system continuously re-evaluates and optimizes the charging plan as the vehicle progresses, balancing cost efficiency with charging flexibility.
2Loss of energy
If charging is prioritized at the cheapest location regardless of timing, then charging cost is minimized, but charging time availability may be insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-identifies the cheapest charging locations along the drive route and calculates the optimal timing for charging there. By determining advance when the vehicle will be at these locations and whether sufficient charging time will be available, the system can prioritize cost-effective charging while avoiding situations where charging time is insufficient.
Solution Approach 2:
The system adjusts charging parameters such as state of charge targets and charging rates based on the specific characteristics of each charging location and the time available. This allows optimization of both cost and time utilization by adapting the charging strategy to match the available window at each location.
3Loss of energy
If charging is delayed to reach cheaper locations, then charging cost decreases, but vehicle operational flexibility is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-calculates the optimal charging schedule that balances cost savings with operational flexibility. By determining in advance which charging locations to use and when to charge, the system ensures that charging delays or route adjustments do not unexpectedly impact vehicle operations, maintaining flexibility while achieving cost efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
A method according to an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes, among other things, controlling charging of a battery pack of an electrified vehicle over a plurality of charging locations of a drive route, the controlling step including scheduling charging based at least on a cost to charge at each of the plurality of charging locations and an amount of charging time available at each of the plurality of charging locations.