Electricity grid: relief through e-cars
FUTURE More and more Swiss are switching to electrically powered cars. As a study by TCS shows, the growing number of electric vehicles offers the opportunity to relieve the burden on the power grid.
Renewable energies such as solar cells on the roofs of single-family and multi-family homes, in industrial plants and commercial properties are playing an increasingly important role in local power supply in Switzerland. However, this type of energy production is dependent on the respective meteorological conditions, which leads to strong fluctuations in electricity production. During winter, electricity production from renewables is seasonally low, and at the same time electricity demand is high, especially in the morning and evening.
Fluctuations according to time of day
Switzerland is therefore dependent on importing electricity from abroad to meet the increased demand. Electric vehicles can help to balance out the fluctuations in the grid caused by the time of day by shifting the charging processes over time. Instead of charging the vehicle in the morning or evening, this can be done during the day or night. As analyses show, 95 percent of electric vehicles are parked during the day. They are hardly used during office hours and at night.
Power shortage at peak times
Bidirectional charging offers another way to reduce the shortage of electricity at peak times. Electric cars capable of this are already available on the market. In the future, this technology will be standard for most electric cars. Both unidirectional and bidirectionally controlled charging help to increase the stability of the power grid.
The TCS study showsthat with a 20 percent share of bidirectional models among electric vehicles, peak loads on the power grid will be reduced by five percent in 2025. By 2030, this figure could rise to eleven percent.
