The more strain there is on the system, the more it can drive up costs. Much of the price volatility for utilities comes down to simple supply and demand. It Reduces Energy Costs and Price VolatilityĪll of the above benefits lead to another: cost stability. Expanded storage through connected EV batteries provides more room to capture this valuable energy. While existing systems can store up renewable energy as it comes in, a surge in energy - say, high winds - can mean that the system storage capacity maxes out, thus missing out on valuable energy. An efficient power grid must be able to capture energy from them when it’s available and store it for distribution when it’s needed. However, these sources are intermittent and inconsistent. Renewable energy sources such as wind and solar play a critical role in a sustainable economy. It Expands Capacity for Renewable Energy Storage With V2G in place, that reduction would increase to 50%. For instance, one study found that without any V2G infrastructure, introducing 1 million EVs in the Guangzhou region in China would reduce the difference between peak and valley load times by 43%. This expanded, bidirectional grid offers a more efficient model for power distribution. With V2G technology, though, companies can expand their capacity to meet peak demand. This balances out demand and eases the strain on the system.
#Smart utility vehicle drivers
If most EV drivers are plugged in during work hours - the same time when energy demands for heating and cooling, business needs, and more are at their highest - the system can easily get overloaded.Īs mentioned before, one solution for this issue has been for power companies to incentivize customers with lower rates for using power at off-peak times.
It Makes Power Distribution More EfficientĪlthough the increased electrical demand generated by EVs is an issue, the real challenge lies in how that demand ebbs and flows throughout the day. There are many benefits to implementing vehicle-to-grid technology, but let’s look at the three most significant ones. Pecan Street, a transportation electrification and V2G research organization that works with power companies to implement this technology, estimates that one plug-in electric vehicle can power a single home for two to five hours, or five homes for around an hour. But V2G tech moves beyond merely assessing peak demand and encouraging consumption at off-peak hours to actually pulling in additional energy from connected vehicles when needed.
#Smart utility vehicle software
That software is based on simple technology that has been around for a while now - think about the power companies that have been offering off-peak usage rates for years. Charging stationsmust be equipped with software that communicates with the central grid to assess overall system demand at any given time. This extra energy can be used to power houses, buildings and ultimately anything connected to the power grid.Īlthough the basic concept of V2G charging sounds simple enough, implementing it requires a complex suite of smart technology. It’s part of a larger initiative known as vehicle-grid integration. This type of setup uses bidirectional charging stations to push and pull energy to and from connected vehicles based on the demand for electricity at any given time. In essence, it treats these high-capacity batteries as not only tools to power EVs but backup storage cells for the electrical grid. Vehicle-to-grid, or V2G, technology is smart charging tech that allows car batteries to give back to the power grid. Power companies and government agencies are working hard to meet this demand, but it’s a challenging task.īut what if electric vehicles can be part of the solution to this problem? That’s exactly the idea behind vehicle-to-grid technology, which is an important component of our transition to a fully electric transportation sector. Department of Energy (DOE), the growing demand from plug-in electric vehicles and many other technologies that require electricity could increase the load on our power grids by up to 38% by 2050. home for a day.Īccording to a study by the U.S. Just to drive 100 miles, the average electric vehicle (EV) uses the same amount of electricity that it takes to power a typical U.S.
Yet it places unprecedented demand on our electrical grid. Transitioning our transportation infrastructure to a fully electric model is an urgent task.
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