EVs could one day power your entire house — here’s how
We could power up to 5.5 million households in the UK
How do we make it happen?
In order to allow cars to power the grid on a technical level, three things need to happen. First, a two-way transfer of power from the car to its charging point should be made possible. This system is known as vehicle-to-grid and was firstintroduced in Japanafter the Fukushima disaster and the following power shortage.
But there are more areas of development needed to roll out the technology. These include vehicle-to-grid charging hardware installation at home, vehicle compatibility, and energy market changes. There are also two competing types of rapid charging equipment, which will need to be addressed, perhaps with units that have both types of connectors.
The third part of the technical puzzle is ensuring support from the power distribution networks. Some parts of the grid are incapable of having a significant amount of power being dumped back through the connections at the same time so local networks need to ensure they can cope.
Engaging drivers
Once the technology is all in place, how do we make sure that people engage in the scheme?We are researchingconsumer acceptance and knowledge of vehicle-to-grid systems, with a view to show drivers how the technology works and prevent their batteries from being flat when they’re needed.
At the moment, most trials are undertaken by energy companies or power distribution companies, who want to figure out how the technology works commercially and to help balance the power grid. But we believe focus should also be directed to cost benefits, eco-credentials, and convenience for drivers.
Charging electric vehicles with the cheapest energy and selling energy back to the grid at the peak time could enable customers to earn as much as£725 a year. This is in addition to thefuel cost savings: an EV costs on average £500 a year to run versus £1,435 a year for a petrol or diesel.
Reducing the impact on the environment, saving on fuel costs, and powering your house on cheap, clean energy, are all great benefits, but instances of low car battery could lead to a lot of disgruntled owners.
Other concernsalso include the potential costs of installing compatible V2G chargers at home; impacts on lifestyle, and inconveniences of delayed plug-in electric vehicle charging (if the car is powering the house); and the fear of battery degradation (which some research indicatesis justified, but outweighed by the potential benefits).
The UK’s electricity and gas regulator, Ofgem, intends to investmillions of poundsin creating a more flexible energy system to support the electrification of vehicles and the generation of renewable energy and to make the transition to a low-carbon economy more fair, inclusive, and affordable.
If enough drivers were to take advantage of the vehicle-to-grid technology, the UK could gain power generation capacity of up to ten large nuclear power stations and reinvest the saving cost in developing clean energy and flexible energy system.
The process won’t be smooth. Solutions are numerous but will need support from power companies, and even car manufacturers and finance companies. There are lots of parts of the puzzle to solve, but as the average car is unused 95% of the time, chances that its power source could be used for greener and cheaper living are enormous.
Article byTom Stacey, Senior Lecturer in Operations and Supply Chain Management,Anglia Ruskin UniversityandYing Xie, Professor in Supply Chain Management,Anglia Ruskin University
This article is republished fromThe Conversationunder a Creative Commons license. Read theoriginal article.
Story byThe Conversation
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