Impact of residential charging of electric vehicles on distribution networks, a probabilistic approach

An increase in the penetration level of EVs will increase the power demand in distribution networks. This is due to the charging of the batteries of these vehicles. This may cause thermal overloads, voltage drops and an increase in losses. These impacts will be affected by the behaviour of the owners of EVs. The impacts of EVs on a typical LV network were investigated. A probabilistic approach was used to model uncertainties associated with the ownership of EVs, the rating of charging equipment, charging times, and the duration of charging. Two penetration levels of EVs were used. Typical winter and summer weekdays were examined for each level. Sequential power flows were run for half-hourly time steps for each of the four cases. Thermal overloads, voltage drops, and losses associated with each case were reported.