Influence of electric vehicle charging rates on transformer derating in harmonic-rich battery charger applications

A study on plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) charging load and its impacts on distribution transformers loss-of-life, is presented in this paper. The assessment is based on residential PEV battery charging. As the exact forecasting of the charging load is not possible, the method for predicting the electric vehicle (EV) charging load is stochastically formulated. With the help of the stochastic model, the effect of fixed, time of use, and real-time charging rates on the charging load and the resultant impact on transformer derating is investigated. A 38-bus test system is adopted as the test system including industrial harmonic sources. Test results demonstrate that uncontrolled EV charging might causes a noticeable change in the K-factor of the transformer, emerging the need for derating, while applying real-time rates for battery charging loads conquers this problem even in case of harmonic-rich chargers.