Understanding parasitic energy costs for PHEV conversion packs as we move toward V2G

Abstract

Building practical plug-in electric vehicles is under way at many car companies around the world, though it is expected that they will not be widely available in the USA for quite some time. The ultimate vehicle cost is controlled substantially by the battery storage capacity required and this, in turn, is governed by the vehicle size and performance expected by consumers. The present paper examines the specific situation where existing hybrid vehicles might be converted to plug-in functionality by adding a supplementary battery pack to extend the driving range while keeping the electric/gasoline hybrid drive-train intact. We examine fuel efficiency from the standpoint of vehicle weight to extract system parameters that quantify the extra fuel consumption associated with driving a slightly heavier vehicle after plug-in conversion has been effected. We show that only modest additional battery capacity is required to meet most commuter needs in a cost-effective manner. , III (2011) 'Understanding parasitic energy costs for PHEV conversion packs as we move toward V2G', Int.

The University as EV Ecosystem Hub - Education and Outreach to Accelerate EV Adoption

“…The V2G valuation is increased when the battery size in the vehicle is increased because it becomes possible to buy (at night) and sell (during the day) larger quantities of electricity; and, it is possible with a larger battery to provide a larger power input/output to the grid for frequency regulation. However, it has also been pointed out that these larger batteries also necessitate the use of heavier cars than we might otherwise need -and that driving these heavier cars requires more energy as well -essentially taxing the energy storage buy/sell profits that might be possible when using a stationary battery (Shiau, Samaras et al 2009;Viezbicke and Birnie 2011). The optimization of V2G ultimately requires a large population of vehicles plugged-in, infrastructure that is able to monitor and control bidirectional power connection to the grid, and smart algorithms that can reduce overall cost and lower carbon-footprint system wide.…”