Smart electric vehicle charging
Electric vehicles are becoming increasingly more commonplace and are used to contribute to the reduction of carbon emissions, which will increase the quality of life in cities. To be able to have a big impact, these electric cars have to be charged via renewable energy and as many fossil fuel vehicles as possible have to be replaced by electric vehicles. An evolution that comes with its own challenges: uncontrolled charging may lead to peak consumption. That is why we have to use available infrastructure more effectively, offer a better service to car owners, and lower energy costs. Or as we call it: introduce optimal EV charging.
Charging electric vehicles on demand unnecessarily adds to your peak demand, putting additional pressure on your energy capacity, and increasing your energy bills.
An optimal EV charging plan ensures:
- Charging within the available capacity
- Fully charged vehicles when needed
The Smart Electric Vehicle Charging plan developed by VITO/Energyville works by analysing internal and external data sources, such as weather forecasts and building energy management system data. These insights are combined with your preferences for a fixed connection capacity or a dynamic time-varying grid capacity, and the estimated departure time given by electric car owners. The result is a more optimal use of your energy capacity.
Advantages of smart electric vehicle charging
- Optimal charging of electric vehicles
- Reduces peak energy demands
- Cost efficient
- Leverages the availability of local generation
Smart charging in practice: the EnergyVille car park
Smart electric vehicle charging is now operational on the EnergyVille car park for testing purposes. The EnergyVille 1 building currently has 28 charging points for electric vehicles, a large number of which can be controlled intelligently. The entire system of charging points is integrated with the EnergyVille cloud platform. This makes it possible to combine information such as weather forecasts and energy markets with real-time measurements. Combined with the platform’s mail and web service functionality allows us for targeted communication in order to create maximum flexibility for the users. These solutions can be relevant for various providers and users of energy services such as building managers, operators of charging stations and energy management platforms, home automation systems, etc.
More information on our smart charging research
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