Energy management strategy and optimal sizing of PV system for a residential grid-connected charging station

The increased integration of electric vehicles and electric vehicle charging stations into the electrical network represents a potential future problem for network stability. Therefore, integrating supportive mechanisms, such as control strategies and complementary energy sources, represents the best way to mitigate these problems. However, during the design of these supportive mechanisms, it is imperative to minimize the impact of their implementation on charging station customers or the electrical network. Thus, this paper presents the energy management strategy designed to optimally manage the energy flow among the energy sources connected to the electric vehicle charging station system and control the charging of connected electric vehicles. Additionally, an optimal sizing strategy for the photovoltaic system is proposed to emphasize the importance of optimal sizing of complementary energy sources connected to the charging station. The strategies presented in this paper are tested using a simulation model of the electric vehicle charging station system, considering multiple operational scenarios involving changes to the size of the photovoltaic system and the capacity of BESS. The simulation results are subsequently evaluated from two perspectives and compared to the baseline scenario to assess the functionality of the proposed strategies (energy management system, optimal photovoltaic system sizing).