Field Testing of Residential Bidirectional Electric Vehicle Charger for Power System Applications

Bidirectional electric vehicle (EV) charging is a technology that is gaining rapid popularity due to its ability to provide economic and environmental benefits to both EV owners and power system operators (PSOs). Using the EV as a flexible source of energy, an EV owner can provide power to homes/buildings, or even participate in grid services such as demand response and frequency regulation. However, there is a lack of real-world testing and validation for bidirectional charging technology, particularly in the residential segment. As such, this paper presents real-world field testing of a bidirectional EV charger deployed in a home. Control software is developed to dispatch the EV according to static setpoints, as well as automated load following, and its accuracy and responsiveness is reported on. The results of the testing with the charger and 2019 Nissan Leaf combination indicates a responsiveness of 6–8 seconds and accuracy of over 99%, which suggests feasible participation for applications such as load following, arbitrage, and demand response.