What is smart charging and discharging?

Today we’re going to be looking at a concept known as smart charging and discharging. We’ll start with smart charging, which is about optimising charging times and rates based on grid demand, electricity prices and/or user preferences. Smart charging is becoming more and more common in our everyday lives – the first time I noticed it was when charging my phone at night.

Nowadays most recent phones use on-device machine learning to learn your daily charging routine so that ‘optimised battery charging’ activates only when your phone predicts it will be connected to a charger for an extended period of time. While my phone can fully charge itself in 2 hours when plugged in, this is not needed at night as there’s an 8 hour period where my phone will be plugged in and I won’t be using it. So in this case the algorithm would aim to ensure that my phone is fully charged when I wake up but uses a slower charging rate to preserve the battery and reduce my costs.

This example of smart charging can be applied to batteries, electric vehicles (EVs), and energy storage systems. The graphic below illustrates how energy consumption is distributed over a 24-hour period, comparing standard charging to the optimised patterns of smart charging.

So how does smart charging work?

Smart charging relies on real-time data and advanced algorithms in order to determine when and how to best charge assets. This means that instead of having something plugged in and it immediately charging whenever there’s a connection, smart charging systems take into account a variety of factors to decide the best times to charge, all with the goals of saving costs, protecting the grid, maximising use of renewable energy, and improving the efficiency and lifespan of the batteries in mind.

Let’s take a look at the key features and benefits of smart charging;

1. Dynamic scheduling: Charging is adjusted based on factors like electricity demand, price, and grid capacity. For instance, charging might be postponed to off-peak hours (e.g. late at night) when electricity rates are lower, which reduces costs and prevents overloading the grid. This is seen in the below graphic where the cost to charge a car is 34p/kWh during peak hours and 14p/kWh during off-peak hours, highlighting how using dynamic scheduling to charge your car can reduce your costs to more than half.

2. Demand response: Smart charging systems can respond to the grid, by reducing or pausing charging when the grid is under high demand and resume when demand falls. Amongst other things, this can help stabilise the grid and a more detailed view can be found in a previous blog post.

3. Renewable integration: Smart charging makes it easy to align EV charging with renewable energy availability. For example, you can prioritise charging during sunny days when solar power is abundant or windy periods with plenty of wind energy. Some systems even use weather forecasts to figure out the best times to charge, so you’re making the most of clean energy.

   Plus, charging during times of excess renewable generation helps avoid wasting wind or solar power when there’s too much to use—saving money for everyone in the process.

4. User preferences and predictive algorithms: Smart charging systems often allow users to set preferences (e.g., time by which the battery should be fully charged). Predictive algorithms can then optimise charging to ensure the battery is fully charged when needed whilst minimising costs and time spent on high charge rates (which can degrade the battery).

5. Bidirectional charging: EVs or battery systems can actually supply electricity back to the grid during peak demand times, which is known as Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G). Essentially when EVs or batteries aren’t needed, they can act as mini power plants and supply energy back to help stabilise the grid. This provides additional grid resilience, helps meet demand during peak hours, and offers potential financial benefits to EV owners.

The idea around bidirectional charging, leads nicely into talking about smart discharging. Smart discharging is the controlled release of stored energy from batteries or EVs back to the grid or home.

How does smart discharging work?

As the name implies, smart discharging uses intelligent management systems to ensure that discharging is efficient and aligns with the user, grid, or environmental needs. Some examples of this are:

1. Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) and Vehicle-to-Home (V2H): As mentioned above, in V2G, an EV battery discharges to provide energy back to the grid to help balance demand, while in V2H, the battery supplies power to a home during outages or to offset peak electricity rates—though V2H is more feasible for most homes, as it only depends on the EV and charger model, unlike V2G, which requires additional grid connection ratings and export registration that many properties lack.
2. Peak shaving: Discharging during peak demand periods helps reduce strain on the grid. While peak shaving is often seen as temporarily reducing energy consumption to reduce peaks, discharging energy back to the grid also helps reduce the mismatch between supply and demand, avoiding the need for additional grid infrastructure investments. Read more about peak shaving here.
3. Emergency power supply: To me, having a battery that can serve as backup power during grid outages is crucial. Growing up in a developing country where blackouts (load shedding) are frequent, I understand firsthand how vital it is to have a reliable backup system. The ability to maintain power during such interruptions cannot be overstated.
4. Battery health optimisation: Smart discharging algorithms can optimise the rate and timing of discharge to minimise stress on the battery, helping prolong its lifespan by reducing strain from charge/discharge cycles, which are key to maintaining battery capacity over time.
5. Revenue generation: Some systems allow users to earn revenue by discharging their battery storage back to the grid or participating in demand response programs.

Technologies enabling smart charging and discharging

Smart charging and discharging rely on several key technologies to make everything work efficiently. Here’s how each one contributes:

1. IoT sensors and data analytics

• Role: Sensors collect real-time data on grid conditions, energy prices, and battery status. Data analytics then processes this information to make predictions.

• Contribution: Data analytics processes the real-time data obtained by sensors to predict the best times to charge or discharge, ensuring that energy is used efficiently and cost-effectively.

2. Smart meters and connected chargers

• Role: Smart meters measure electricity usage, while connected chargers are charging stations connected to the grid.

• Contribution: They enable two-way communication with the grid, allowing charging and discharging schedules to be adjusted dynamically based on pricing or demand signals, making the system more flexible and cost-efficient.

3. Cloud computing and AI

• Many smart charging platforms operate in the cloud, which allows operators to monitor and control charging remotely.

• Role: Cloud computing platforms store and process large amounts of data over the internet, while Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms analyse that data to make decisions.

• Contribution: They balance energy demand and supply while considering user preferences, ensuring everything runs smoothly and adapts to changes in real-time.

Each of these technologies plays an important role in making smart charging and discharging possible.

Benefits of smart charging and discharging

Smart charging and discharging offer several significant benefits. First and foremost, charging when energy prices are low leads to cost savings. Additionally, the potential to earn by discharging during high demand periods adds to the financial advantages. Beyond financial benefits, these systems also promote battery health, grid stability, and have environmental benefits by optimising energy use and supporting the transition to renewable sources.

Challenges of smart charging and discharging

Despite the many benefits, there are challenges that need to be addressed. Infrastructure is a major hurdle, as smart charging requires compatible hardware, which can come with a high initial cost. Ensuring seamless communication between different EVs, chargers, and grid systems adds to the complexity. Lastly, there are regulatory and market challenges, as large-scale adoption requires supportive policies and market structures.

Key takeaways

In conclusion, smart charging and discharging are essential for creating a more resilient, efficient, and sustainable energy ecosystem. By managing energy flows in real-time, these technologies can lower costs, extend battery life, improve grid stability, and increase the use of renewable energy sources. They also help businesses and industries optimise charging in a way that is both cost-effective and environmentally friendly. However, to fully realise these benefits and see widespread adoption, supportive infrastructure, policies, and market structures need to be in place. It also highlights the importance of finding a tool that allows for seamless communication between the different EVs, chargers and grid systems.

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