Dynamic scheduling of electricity demand for decentralized EV charging systems

Abstract

The rapid growth of electric vehicles (EVs) has brought forth new challenges to the power grid. Further, the simultaneous charging of EVs could lead to peak demand, potentially causing overloading, voltage swings, and other grid-related problems. To address these issues and lower the high energy costs faced by EV owners and grid operators, EV charging must be optimized. The study proposes an innovative strategy that utilizes decentralized charging systems to lessen the impact of EVs on the grid. A decentralized EV scheduling strategy offers scalability. Thus, making it suitable for a large EV population and it remains resilient to the dynamic arrivals of the EVs. The approach aims to balance the load on the grid and improve the effectiveness of charging operations. To achieve this, a convex optimization problem has been developed to effectively regulate the charging procedure, taking into account the distinct attributes of each EV. The mechanism operates by dividing time into several intervals. Each electric vehicle in the system autonomously adjusts its charging rate during the assigned time slots, with the goal of minimizing individual charging expenses. Moreover, the system demonstrates flexibility in deciding when to charge and discharge, allowing prioritization based on individual EV battery levels and power grid conditions. As a result, the cost analysis was conducted using the number of EVs and the average group size. A comparison of computational times between centralized and decentralized systems was undertaken to demonstrate the efficacy of the system.