Optimal Charge Control of Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles in Deregulated Electricity Markets

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles are a midterm solution to reduce the transportation sector's dependency on oil. However, if implemented in a large scale without control, peak load increases significantly and the grid may be overloaded. Two algorithms to address this problem are proposed and analyzed. Both are based on a forecast of future electricity prices and use dynamic programming to find the economically optimal solution for the vehicle owner. The first optimizes the charging time and energy flows. It reduces daily electricity cost substantially without increasing battery degradation. The latter also takes into account vehicle to grid support as a means of generating additional profits by participating…