IoT-based Net Meter for Vehicle-to-Grid Application with Time-of-Use

The adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) has recently become an essential subject of interest. It significantly changes the smart grid’s advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) and traditional EV functionality. EVs are expected as a prospective energy source in the smart grid, leading to the concept of emerging vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology. The paper describes a system framework that restructures the distribution network for efficient V2G operations using aggregators (AG). Specifically, the paper proposes an IoT-based Net Meter as a data source and recipient of information for big data technology in V2G. Bi-directional communication is enabled between EVs, electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), and grid operators for controlled EV charging-discharging operations. In the design, the IoT platform enables wireless data transmission over the network through Net Meters, and RS485 is configured to fetch the battery status from the battery management system (BMS) of the battery. The prototype is embedded with a time-of-use (ToU) attribute for dynamic billing and a simplified software 2-point calibration is introduced to improve accuracy and reduce human interventions. The developed IoT-based Net Meter has shown an acceptable performance on a real-time 15 kW charger. The performance is validated using a test bench that assures class 1 accuracy. An experimental setup uses a 15 kW charger with a 17.28 kWh battery to verify the prototype’s viability and perform satisfactorily.