Impact Analysis of EV Preconditioning on the Residential Distribution Network

Electric Vehicles (EV) are coming with a stupendous load demand that raises enough concerns for the power sector. The backlash of such increased demand is notable at the distribution side with different aspects of EV usage. During winter, EV users favor preconditioning their vehicles before leaving their houses, such as heating the cabin and battery compartment to make the operation of EVs more comfortable. Consequently, such behavior along with a higher penetration of level 2 smart chargers prompt the presence of a new peak in the residential load profile. This new unexpected peak that operators have to face can disturb the performance of the network. To forsee the impact of preconditioning, we simulate multiple scenarios to assess the network’s quality metrics (voltage level and power losses). We expose that preconditioning poses risks on the network in its current state. Furthermore, we evaluate the competencies of network reconfiguration to handle the new imposed preconditioning demand. We find out that reconfiguration will be able to aid the performance of the network to an average EV penetration rate.