Practical Limitations of Vehicle to Grid (V2G)
Infrastructure
Savious Mkhize
Centre for Power and Enegy Studies
University of KwaZulu-Natal
Westville Campus
Durban, South Africa
saviousukzn@gmail.com
Abstract—To reduce global warming and dependency to oil,
the need for carbon free cars has brought electric vehicles to
the fore. The main aim of this work is to investigate, analyze
and propose solutions to the impact of electric vehicles on a
smart grid. Before investigating the impacts of electric vehicles
to smart grid, it is important to have a clear understanding of
these vehicles first. In this paper, the background of EVs and it
main components are discussed, the electric vehicle is modelled
and the simulation diagram is implemented and simulated using
EV parameters. The aim of simulating the EV and their effects
on the grid is to understand vehicle energy requirements and
also charging requirements.
Index Terms—Electric vehicles, smart grids, charging
I. I NTRODUCTION
Electric Vehicles (EVs) are designed to limit the use of inter-
nal combustion engine vehicles (ICEV). They are designed to
limit dependency on oil as energy source. For EVs, the energy
is stored in batteries, fuel cells (FCs), and or ultra-capacitors
(UCs) instead of fosil fuels. The major components of an
electric vehicle system are the motor, controller, power supply,
charger and drive train. The advantages of V2G includes
efficiency, quite operation, clean fuel, peak load shaving,
reduction of grid infrastructure requirements, provision of
mobile distributed generation or electric power, and several
others. V2G technology has a variety of disadvantages includ-
ing limited vehicle range, long charging time, requirement for
new infrastructure, adverse battery effects, and more. World
supplied of fossil fuels will become more limited which will
be the end the of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles
as mass transport. ICE vehicles produce carbon dioxide and
carbon monoxide which causes global warming and pollution
to the environment. In ICE vehicles, most of fuel energy is
converted to heat, noise and vibration, causing the vehicle
to be inefficient. EVs are designed to overcome challenges
associated with ICE vehicles by shifting from oil to clean
energy-sourced electricity as the main energy source, using
efficient power electronic drivers and efficient electric motors.
The advantage of moving to electricity as the main energy
source is that the developing smart grid technology is also
The authors are grateful for the Eskom EPPEI programme and National
Research Foundation, South Africa, for partial funding of this work
l-)))
David G. Dorrell
School of Engineering
University of KwaZulu-Natal
Howard College Campus
Durban, South Africa
dorrelld@ukzn.ac.za
moving from using coal, oil (diesel generators), fission (ura-
nium fission), etc. to cleaner, safer, environmentally friendly
and abundant energy sources such as hydro, wind, solar, fusion
(deuterium and trillium fusion), etc. The world will never run
out of these energy sources. EVs are used for transportation but
can also be used for excess energy storage from the smart grid.
EVs are much more efficient, quite, and cheaper to maintain
compared to internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. They
also provide auxiliary services to a smart grid that might also
benefit the owner of the EV.
EV technology is still under development; existing EV
standards might change in future and a number of challenges
still need to be addressed including the limited range problem
(small energy capacity) and low performance (low power
limits). Other challenges come when charging EVs from a
smart grid (G2V) (such as long charging time) and discharging
back to the grid (V2G) (such as reverse power flow causing
the network to be unstable). More challenges include a battery
disposal management system. Commonly G2V and V2G are
combined and called V2G technology.
The main aim of this research is to address the impact of
EVs on a smart grid. In this paper, the background on EVs is
provided to familiarize the reader with EV technology, and an
EV structure/system is explained. An EV model is developed,
simulated and discussed to understand it constraints and or
requirements such as electric motor and battery requirements.
Once an understanding of these requirements is obtained,
it is possible to determine the charger/charging station/point
requirements then determine a number of EVs that can be
connected to the grid at the same time and solve/propose
solutions to the existing issues/impacts on the smart grid. This
is a wide set of solutions and this paper discusses some aspects
of the study.
A. Literature Review
Researchers from different countries are contributing in
developing and stabilizing EV technologies. Several studies
that address the integration of EVs into grids are given in
[1] to [11] The most challenging issue that will unlock the
future of EVs is battery cell price and their improved perfor-
mance. Leading countries includes China, USA and Germany.

In these countries, EVs are already being used mainly for
transportation. Other existing research in the field of EVs
includes developing high speed/performance electric motors
for EVs, and high energy capacity battery system and more.
Different EV topologies/configurations are being researched,
tested and compared to find better EV systems.
B. EV Charging components
D. Energy Sources for Electric Vehicles
Fig. 2 shows carbon free energy storage elements: fuel cells,
batteries and supercapacitors used by EVs. While batteries are
currently popular, supercapacitors are appearing on vehicles.
These are low energy but high power units so that they can
be used during braking to harvest more regenerative energy,
and used in hard accelerations.

There are several component to an EV charging system. The

major components of an EVGrid System are shown in Fig. 1.

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Fig. 2. Comparison between various energy storage units in terms of power

Fig. 1. Major components of EVGrid System. and energy density [12].

Table I shows the battery capacities for various vehicles.

II. T YPES OF E LECTRIC V EHICLES
They are three common types of electric vehicles, battery
electric vehicle (BEV), hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) and
fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV). These types of vehicles are
explained in the sections.
A. Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs)
BEVs use the battery as the main power source. However,
some BEVs use extra systems to support the batteries, such
Some vehicles rely on full electric propulsion and hence re-
quire high energy capacity whereas some hybrid vehicles have
low energy storage. These are often simply using regenerative
braking to charge the batteries and are not capably of running
for long on a charge; they also do not plug into the grid for
charging.
TABLE I
BATTERY CAPACITY AND TECHNOLOGIES BY VARIOUS EV
MANUFACTURERS

as the ultra-capacitor. The BEV contains an electric motor, Capacity

batteries and power electronics. Several battery technologies Model EV Type Company Battery type
[kWh]
can be used providing different performances in the electric Model S BEV Tesla LMO 85
E6 BEV BYD LFP 75
vehicle. Controller is the heart of an electric vehicle, and it is
Leaf BEV Nissan LMO 24
the key for the realization of a high-performance electric vehi- Fiat 500e BEV Chrysler LFP 24
cle with an optimal balance of maximum speed, acceleration Chevy Spark BEV GM LFP 21.3
performance, and traveling range per charge. iMiEV BEV Mitsubishi LMO 16
Chevy Volt PHEV GM LMO 16.5
Accord PHEV Honda LMO-NMC 6.7
B. Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) Prius ZVW35 PHEV Toyota NCA 4.4
A hybrid electric vehicle uses two or more energy sup- Prius Alpha PHEV Toyota NiMH 1.3
LMO - Lithium manganese oxide
plies/sources to propel the vehicle (such as an ICE and a LFP - Lithium iron phosphate
battery supplied electric motor). The concept of the PHEV LMO spinel - Lithium manganese oxide spinal polymer
emerges when a model similar to the HEV is developed, with LMO-NMC - LMO-nickel-manganese-cobalt
NCA - Lithium nickel cobalt aluminium oxide
the possibility of connecting it to the electric network.

C. Fuel Cell Vehicles (FCVs)

A fuel cell unit is used to generate power, either to supply
the electric motor or to store energy in the battery. FCVs are
less likely to be competitive in a near future when compared
to the BEV and PHEV because fuel cell units are currently
very expensive. In this paper, the term EV refers to both BEV
and PHEV vehicles; the FCV is not considered.
III. E LECTRIC V EHICLE S UPPLY E QUIPMENT
Electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) provides for the
safe transfer of energy between the electric utility and the EV.
EVSE includes EV charge cords, charge stands (residential or
public), attachment plugs, vehicle connectors, and protection.
Adoption of EVSE is critical to the success of electric vehicles


 Fig. 3. EV service equipment (EVSE) installation process.
in South Africa. Level 1 and Level 2 EVSE convert the utility
AC power into DC power through the EV on-board charger.
The levels are given in [3]. It can be noted that:
• EV manufacturers provide the Level 1 EVSE consisting
of a power supply cable with a standard 3-prong plug
(NEMA 5-15P/20P, limited to 20 A) and a charge current
interrupting device (CCID) located in the cable within 12
in. of the plug.
• Level 2 EVSE typically operate with a peak current of
32 A AC with a branch circuit breaker rated at 40 A.
The vehicle charger communicates with the EVSE to identify
the circuit rating (voltage and current) and adjust the charge to
the battery accordingly. Level 3 provides electricity through an
off-board charger, delivering DC power directly to the vehicle.
Fig. 3 shows the requirements and decision making when
installing EVSE equipment. The different types of charging
systems are listed in Table II.
A. PV Energy Usage
If PV is to be used to supplement the energy required to
charge the batteries, and, conversely, if the batteries are to
be used to assist a smart grid, with cheap energy used to
charge the car batteries, then consideration has to be made
with regards to typical loading and PV generation. This is

seasonal and varies though the day as illustrated in Fig. 4. This
is typical for South Africa. The highest load is in the evening
in Winter when heating is required and this also corresponds
to the least PV energy availability.
IV. S IMULATIONS
A. Background
In this study, it is assumed that the potential or majority
of EV customers are working people who leaves their houses
early in the morning and come back in the late afternoon.
Fig. 5 shows the Vista Travel Survey conducted in 2009 by the
Victoria Department of Transport [13]. In this survey, 13000
records of 24-hour vehicle travel profiles were recorded. In
this survey, daily distances travelled by working class people
versus the percentage of total number of records were taken
(Fig. 5). This survey shows that most people are working close
to where they live to minimize travel expenses and the graph
decreases almost linearly as the travel distance increases. From
this survey results it is good to assume that people may be
travelling up 100 km every day although the majority of them
are travelling between 10 km to 50 km.
 TABLE II
S TANDARD FOR EV C HARGERS - SAE C HARGING C ONFIGURATIONS AND
R ATINGS T ERMINOLOGY

*DC Level EVSE

AC PEV included *DC
includes an off-board
Level 1 on-board charger Level 1
charge
120 V, 1.4 kW @ 12 200 - 450 V up to 36
A kW (80 A)
Est. charge time (20
120 V 1.9 kW @ 16
kW off-board
A
charger):
PHEV: 22 m (SOC -
Est. charge time:
0 to 80 %);
PEV: 7 hrs (SOC - 0 BEV: 1.2 hrs. (SOC -
% to full); 20 to 100 %)
BEV: 17 hrs (SOC -
20 % to full)
AC PEV includes
Level 2 on-board charger (see *DC EVSE includes an
(SAE below for different Level 2 off-board charger
J1772) types)
240 V up to 19.2 kW 200 - 450 V up to 90
(80 A) kW (200 A)
Est. Charge time (3.3 Estimated charge
kW on-board time (45 kW
charger): off-board charger):
PEV: 3 hrs (SOC - 0 PHEV: 10 min. (SOC
% to full) - 0 to 80 %) Fig. 4. Scaled Daily Load for summer and winter typical for South Africa.
BEV: 7 hrs (SOC - BEV: 20 min. (SOC
20 % to full) - 20 to 80 %)
Est. charge time for
7 kW on-board
charger:
PEV: 1.5 hrs (SOC -
0 % to full)
BEV: 3.5 hrs (SOC -
20 % to full)
Est. charge time for
20 kW on-board
charger:
PEV: 22 m (SOC - 0
% to full)
BEV: 1.2 hrs (SOC -
20 % to full)
AC Less than 20 kW *DC
EVSE includes an
Level 3 single phase and 3 Level 3
off-board charger Fig. 5. Average daily travel pattern of electricity customers [13].
(TBD) phase (TBD)
200 - 600 V DC
(proposed), up to 240
kW (400 A) An EV simulation diagram in shown in Fig. 6 while the
Est. charge time (45
kW off-board battery pack simulation network is shown in Fig. 7. These are
charger: used to simulate the vehicle. The whole network is simulated
BEV (only): less using Simulink/MATLAB. Further details can be found in
than 10 m (SOC - 0
to 80 %) [14]. Space constraints prevents full details being given here.

B. Simulink/MATLAB Model
The physical model of the vehicle system is developed
based on the applied load during motion. The characteristics
of the vehicle and the parameter coefficients that concern
the vehicle varies, depending on the vehicle design and the
movement situation. Forces that occur during the movement
of the vehicle, including the motor torque and speed, are
evaluated. The motor speed and torque are not directly linked
to the linear movement of the vehicle but instead through the
gear ratio and the radius of the vehicle drive wheel.
C. Results
The modeling was based on realistic assumptions and
parameters and these were used in the simulation of an EV,
and the road, electric motor, battery pack, traveling cost and
smart grid specifications all accounted for. These are listed in
[14]; however, space constraints prevents extensive reporting
of these assumptions and parameters. A basic set of results
are given in Table III. Costings are couched in terms of Rand
since this is where the study is taking place. In the study
different road slopes were used to represent more arduous
vehicle loadings but here only flat terrain results are shown.
Obviously, as the charging system increases in capacity then


 Fig. 6. Simulink/MATLAB EV Model.

Fig. 7. Simulink/MATLAB Battery Pack Model.


 TABLE III
DAILY L IMITS FOR A 2000 KG EV

Range [km] Limits for home/AC Recharge time(min)/km for 0 % road slope Range limit per day [km]
charging levels 40 km/h 80 km/h 120 km/h 40 km/h 80 km/h 120 km/h
AC Level 2A 1.60 2.96 5.22 224.68 121.66 68.60
AC Level 2B 0.85 1.58 2.78 421.27 228.11 129.30
AC Level 2C 0.53 0.99 1.74 679.25 363.64 206.90
kW-h limits for home/AC charging kW/km for a 0 % road slope Energy limit per day [kW-h]
levels 40 km/h 80 km/h 120 km/h 40 km/h 80 km/h 120 km/h
AC Level 2A 0.087 0.160 0.282 19.475 19.475 19.475
AC Level 2B 0.087 0.160 0.282 36.515 36.515 36.515
AC Level 2C 0.087 0.160 0.282 58.876 58.210 58.429
Rand Limits for Home/AC Charging Rand/km for a 0 % road slope Cost limit per day [Rand]
levels 40 km/h 80 km/h 120 km/h 40 km/h 80 km/h 120 km/h
AC Level 2A 0.130 0.240 0.424 29.21 29.21 29.21
AC Level 2B 0.13 0.24 0.42 54.77 54.77 54.77
AC Level 2C 0.13 0.24 0.42 88.31 87.31 87.64

the range will increase. Further results address the use of
overnight battery charging to address energy storage for use
during peak time and this is addressed in the next section.
D. Summary
The most suitable charging times for EVs is from 22h30
to 04h30 for a network feeding domestic load. An overnight
charging duration of 6 hours is available to home charged
EVs. Daily average travelling speed is observed to have a huge
impact to daily range limit. The daily range limit of a 2000
kg EV home charged with AC level 2B is expected to be 130
km to 230 km depending to the average speed of an EV.
V. O FF -P EAK E NERGY S TORAGE
V2G technology seeks to use PEVs as distributed bat-
tery storage systems mainly for peak shaving purpose. The
advantage of this technology is that EV owner can make
profit by charging at night/off-peak and selling electricity
back to the utility during peak-times. The disadvantage is
multiple charging cycles which is reducing battery life due to
parasite (electrode-electrolyte) reactions during charging and
discharging of the battery. The battery is the most expensive
part of an EV so good care should be taken of it.
An AC Level 2A or 2B system is recommended for home
charging. AC Level 2C may only be recommended if EV
owner has a dedicated distribution transformer. Controlled
optimistic charging may be used for charging EVs during the
day. Statistical data from various networks (feeding domestic
load) was collected, scaled, and analyzed to find best charging
times. Over 90 % of them have a similar daily load character-
istic which simplifies analysis. For all distribution transformers
feeding a load, the best times for charging EVs is found to be
from 22h30 to 04h30 which is a duration of 6 hours.
VI. C ONCLUSIONS
This study is wide ranging in terms of looking at charging
requirements for vehicles in terms of their requirements and
also the standardaized charging systems. Also addressed is the
use of vehicle batteries within a Smart Grid to store energy
for use at peak times. The study in [14] details this, including
a complete system analysis including the charging system and
transformer feed. AC Level 2C is the fastest charging level for
the current South African grid (ESKOM), and is recommended
for EV users with private distribution transformers. AC Level
2B is the recommended charging level for most EVs.
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