Novel Decentralized Voltage-Centered EV Charging Control Algorithm Using DSRC System in Low Voltage Distribution Networks

Currently, all major vehicle manufacturers agree that the future of mobility is electric. All of them began selling electric vehicles (EVs). These types of vehicles require charging, which in turn will have an impact on power distribution systems. All the studies show that the impact on power systems will be significant and may be disastrous if there will be no investments. Unmanaged EV charging can lead to a significant increase in energy costs due to increased level of investment in energy infrastructure. This paper proposes a decentralized EV charging control (DEV-CC) system that can be executed by the existing on-board electronic control units (ECUs) and uses dedicated short-range communication (DSRC) to establish communication between EVs. The proposed DEV-CC adapts the EV charging power depending on the low-voltage distribution network (LVDN) voltage levels measured by the EVs themselves. The main purpose of the proposed DEV-CC is to charge all the EVs connected to the LVDN without allowing the voltage to drop below the imposed limit. As the results show, the proposed DEV-CC manages to charge all EVs while maintaining the voltage levels within the LVDN above the allowable limits. The proposed DEV-CC does not require any investments from the distribution system operator (DSO), can be implemented on EVs with minimal costs and is a viable solution to expensive smart grid systems.