The number of people purchasing electric vehicles has been rising at a fast rate. Electric vehicles (EVs) are now available pretty much anywhere a conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) car would be expected to be due to advancements in charging technology that allow for quicker charging and simpler access to charging stations. Batteries that contain significant quantities of energy are housed into each of these EVs. Even while the electricity that is being stored here is primarily intended to provide the vehicle forward motion, there are a number of scenarios in which it would be beneficial to send this energy back into the grid or to other pieces of machinery.
The BCV200-350-8 combination battery charger from Bel is comprised of a bi-directional battery charger as well as two separate down converters. This charger was designed to broaden the applicability of electric vehicles (EVs) and enable them to make alternative use of their batteries.
Bel’s BCV200-350-8
The electricity can only go in one way when using a conventional charger, and that is from the power supply to the battery. Using passive rectifiers, these chargers take alternating current (AC) from the grid and convert it to direct current (DC). Bi-directional chargers make use of active rectifiers, which are able to convert the direct current (dc) battery power back into alternating current (ac) so that it may be sent back to the grid. There are a variety of circumstances in which it might be to the vehicle’s and the grid’s mutual benefit to engage in power export (V2G).
Managing peak loads is one of the key benefits offered by V2G. The electricity grid has a poor response time to load transients, which may result in voltage drops and brownouts. Whenever there is a surplus of energy generated by the grid, that energy is normally discharged and lost. EV batteries have the potential to serve as grid storage if they are capable of bi-directional charging.
During periods of low demand, the EV is able to charge its batteries, and during times of high demand, the EV is able to supply electricity back to the grid. This contributes to an increase in grid stability, reduces voltage fluctuations, and reduces the amount of energy that is squandered. This is particularly helpful when dealing with sources that are renewable. For instance, using solar power sources, the additional energy that is created while the sun is shining may be utilized to charge the battery, and then the battery can deliver this energy to the grid after the sun has set. It is also possible for it to assist cut utility costs by exporting energy during periods when the cost of that energy is high and charging during times when the cost of that energy is low.
Charging from one car to another, often known as “vehicle-to-vehicle” or “V2V” charging, is another method. Bi-directional charging enables one electric car’s battery to charge the batteries of another electric vehicle in a manner that is analogous to jumping an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle. Because of this, people have come up with the concept of mobile chargers, which are basically automobiles equipped with batteries that are far larger than average and that other electric cars may use to charge up in areas where there is limited access to the grid.
The sole method to make use of the energy storage in an electric vehicle is to send excess power back to the grid, but there are other possibilities as well. A broad variety of devices may be operated and charged by the electric vehicle’s battery thanks to the BCV200’s inclusion of dc down converters with capacities of 1 kW 24 V and 4 kW 12 V. Large pieces of machinery that are located at distant construction sites and that are typically powered by emission heavy gas generators may now be powered alternatively by emission-free electric vehicles.
Creating these voltage rails may be done with the use of external converters, but the integrated converters in the BCV200 remove the need for the cabling that would link these converters, which reduces both the cost and the amount of space required.
Because there are now more electric vehicles on the road than ever before, there is now an ever-increasing quantity of energy storage that has the potential to be used.
Bidirectional chargers, such as the BCV200-350-8 manufactured by Bel, make it feasible to store, transfer, and provide electricity in novel and more efficient ways. Its adaptability has been further increased by the incorporation of inbuilt down converters, which transforms it into something much more than a battery charger and enables it to meet a variety of power requirements.
