Vehicle to Grid: electric cars as localized power station.
As per calculation privately-owned cars are in steady condition for approximately 23 hours a day, the same is true for electric cars. In this downtime, we can use the car’s battery as mobile storage? For example, the EV battery is charged at home overnight (when electricity is cheaper). In the morning, when energy use is more expensive, some of this battery energy is used to power hot water for a shower and boil the kettle.
In vehicle-to-grid technology, grid takes power from an electric vehicle (EV) and redistributes this energy back into the network. So, the EVs become micro-power stations and creating their own localized energy ecosystems.
Working of V2G?
It works more or less like this: While an electric car is stationary and plugged into a charging point, its battery can be used to extract any excess energy. When demand increased, or the supply is reduced, the saved energy can be fed back into the energy grid. The owner of the electric car is to be able to decide how long their vehicle is available as stationary energy storage and when they want to be able to use the car themselves.
What can V2G do?
V2G turns the national grid process into a two-way conversation, making it more ‘democratic’. For example, if the national grid is experiencing especially high demand, EV owners would have the option to sell spare electricity back to the network to help make up any shortfall.
Also, at Office, many car parks at work could be used to help power the office building itself and vice-versa. Or imagine for a moment the many car parks at the airport. If these cars were all EVs, their energy could be utilized to help power local grids while the owners are away. In return, the owners might receive a free parking or energy credits.
