Revisiting static charge schedules for electric vehicles as temporary solution to low-voltage grid congestion with recent charging and grid data

Abstract

This paper uses agent-based modeling to quantify the effectiveness of static charge schedules for electric vehicles as a practical short-term solution to low-voltage grid congestion from charging electric vehicles. Static charge schedules are relatively easy to implement, and the results show that they can postpone, or even avoid, costly grid investments until further digitalization of the energy and mobility systems allows for more innovative solutions. The effectiveness of the charge schedules depends on several variables. If a low-voltage cable with a 200 A fuse would have 20 electric vehicles charging per day, 60 h of congestion is expected per year. A 7 kW step-wise charge power schedule reduces this to only 2 h per year, and a 5 kW step-wise charge power schedule results in 0 h of congestion per year.