Sustainable Futures (Dec 2024)
Techno economics and energy dynamics of a solar powered smart charging infrastructure for electric vehicles with advanced IoT based monitoring and RFID based security
Abstract
The widespread adoption of electrical vehicles (EVs) has led to an increased demand for charging stations which required an adequate charging infrastructure. However, this challenge brings substantial financial and ecological implications for the power grid and other major stakeholders such as EV users, system operators and policymakers. To resolve this issue, this work proposes a smart EV charging infrastructure that provides 1) effective load management of EVs, 2) real-time monitoring of charging slots at a charging station, 3) smart security system, and 4) integration of renewable energy resources (RERs) into charging stations. This is achieved by setting out how to incorporate photovoltaic (PV) system into charging station infrastructure while suggesting effective EV load management with optimal energy utilization and minimal energy costs. Also, the annual power production of PV systems and power sharing between different power resources has been investigated to enable effective decisions about EV scheduling. The proposed infrastructure also offers an internet-of-things (IoT)-based monitoring of fast/slow charging units with real-time slot tracking to the users and charging station operators. The security aspect of the charging station is covered by a sensor-driven radio frequency identification (RFID) system. Experimental results that the proposed system generates 1,055,326 kWh/year, reducing grid reliance by 50% (to 335,775 kWh) and lowering CO2 emissions from 425,326 kg to 212,210 kg. Moreover, energy costs drop from $0.30 to $0.13 per kWh and 270,567 kWh/year energy is sold back to the grid. The proposed system yields a net present revenue of $1,020,000 which demonstrates significant economic and environmental benefits.
