Impact of Electric Vehicles on Energy Efficiency with Energy Boosters in Coordination for Sustainable Energy in Smart Cities

Abstract

The use of electric vehicles (EVs) has recently increased in a smart city environment. With this, the optimal location of the charging station is a great challenge and, hence, the energy efficiency performance (EEP) of an electrical system is important. Ideally, the EEP is realized through passive energy boosters (PEBs) and active energy boosters (AEBs). PEBs require no external resources, and EEP is achieved through altering the network topology and loading patterns, whereas, in AEBs, integrating external energy resources is a must. The EEP has also become dynamic with the integration of an energy storage system (ESS) in a deregulated environment. Customer energy requirement varies daily, weekly, and seasonally. In this scenario, the frequent change in network topology requires modifying the size and location of AEBs. It alters the customers’ voltage profile, loadability margin, and supply reliability when the EV works differently as a load or source. Therefore, a comprehensive EEP analysis with different probabilistic loading patterns, including ESS, must be performed at the planning stage. This work uses a harmony search algorithm to evaluate EEP for AEBs and PEBs, in coordination, when ESS works as a load or source, at four locations, for customers’ and utilities’ benefits.