Analyzing distribution transformers at city scale and the impact of EVs and storage

Abstract

Electric vehicles (EV) are rapidly increasing in popularity, which is signicantly increasing demand on the distribution infrastructure in the electric grid. This poses a serious problem for the grid, as most distribution transformers were installed during the pre-EV era, and thus were not sized to handle large loads from EVs. In parallel, smart grid technologies have emerged that actively regulate demand to prevent overloading the grid’s infrastructure, in particular by optimizing the use of grid-scale energy storage. In this paper, we rst analyze the load on distribution transformers across a small city and study the potential impact of EVs as their penetration levels increase. Our real-world dataset includes the energy demand from 1,353 transformers and charging proles from 91 EVs over a 1 year period, and thus provides an accurate snapshot of the grid’s current state, and allows us to examine the potential impact of increasing EV penetrations. We then evaluate the benets of using smart grid technologies, such as smart EV charging and energy storage, to mitigate the eects of increasing the EV-based load.