A digital testbed for a PHEV/PEV enabled parking lot in a Smart Grid environment

The anticipation of a large penetration of Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) and Plug-in Electric Vehicles (PEVs) into the market brings up many technical problems that need to be addressed within the next 10 years. In the future, electric-powered vehicles would be plugged into the grid, and their onboard energy storage systems would be recharged using clean, renewable electricity. One of the key missions is to facilitate the smooth interaction between the plug-in vehicle and the power grid. This paper presents a digital testbed for a PHEV/PEV enabled parking lot in a Smart Grid environment. This digital testbed allows us to evaluate a wide range of PHEV/PEV charging scenarios and the corresponding control strategies. In addition, this digital testbed allows us to explore a variety of communication technologies for a PHEV/PEV charging facility such as a parking lot. Moreover, this digital testbed offers more flexibility to prepare for the emergence of new technologies (e.g., Vehicle-to-Grid, Vehicle-to-Building, and Smart Charging), which will become a reality in the near future.