Modeling photovoltaic optimized charging of electric vehicles

When charged with renewable energy, electric vehicles can reduce the CO₂ emissions of the transportation sector. As a result, the German government has set the target of one million electric vehicles by 2020. At the same time, it is predicted that renewable energies will contribute 35 % to the national energy consumption by 2020. Because photovoltaic systems can be connected to the same grid node as electric vehicles, they seem to be the first choice for charging electric vehicles with renewable energies. In this paper, the synergies between photovoltaic systems and electric vehicles will be analyzed from a technical as well as from an economic point of view. Specifically, a model has been developed in order to determine the amount of solar energy used by the electric vehicle, the grid load/feed-in and the cost savings for owners of an electric vehicle and a photovoltaic system.