IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0316677.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Optimizing power grids: A valley-filling heuristic for energy-efficient electric vehicle charging

Author

Listed:
  • Guilherme Gloriano de Souza
  • Ricardo Ribeiro dos Santos
  • Ruben Barros Godoy

Abstract

The expansion of electric vehicles (EVs) challenges electricity grids by increasing charging demand, thereby making Demand-Side Management (DSM) strategies essential to maintaining balance between supply and demand. Among these strategies, the Valley-Filling approach has emerged as a promising method to optimize renewable energy utilization and alleviate grid stress. This study introduces a novel heuristic, Load Conservation Valley-Filling (LCVF), which builds on the Classical and Optimistic Valley-Filling approaches by incorporating dynamic load conservation principles, enabling better alignment of EV charging with grid capacity. We conducted a comprehensive analysis of the heuristic across five EV charging scenarios. In both the Original and Flexible scenarios, LCVF reduced energy demand by up to 10.65%, demonstrating its adaptability and effectiveness. Notably, in the 24-hour Availability scenario, LCVF achieved a reduction of over 20% in energy demand compared to CVF. These findings indicate that LCVF could play a crucial role in enhancing real-world EV charging infrastructure, boosting energy efficiency and grid stability. By integrating DSM strategies like LCVF, energy grids can better accommodate renewable energy sources, promoting more sustainable operations.

Suggested Citation

  • Guilherme Gloriano de Souza & Ricardo Ribeiro dos Santos & Ruben Barros Godoy, 2025. "Optimizing power grids: A valley-filling heuristic for energy-efficient electric vehicle charging," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 20(1), pages 1-36, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0316677
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0316677
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0316677
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0316677&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0316677?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Meng, Fanyue & Lu, Zhaoyuan & Li, Xiang & Han, Wei & Peng, Jieyang & Liu, Xiufeng & Niu, Zhibin, 2024. "Demand-side energy management reimagined: A comprehensive literature analysis leveraging large language models," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 291(C).
    2. Abdelfattah, Wael & Abdelhamid, Ahmed Sayed & Hasanien, Hany M. & Rashad, Basem Abd-Elhamed, 2024. "Smart vehicle-to-grid integration strategy for enhancing distribution system performance and electric vehicle profitability," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 302(C).
    3. Sai Sudharshan Ravi & Muhammad Aziz, 2022. "Utilization of Electric Vehicles for Vehicle-to-Grid Services: Progress and Perspectives," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-27, January.
    4. Hussein Jumma Jabir & Jiashen Teh & Dahaman Ishak & Hamza Abunima, 2018. "Impacts of Demand-Side Management on Electrical Power Systems: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-19, April.
    5. Saad Ullah Khan & Khawaja Khalid Mehmood & Zunaib Maqsood Haider & Muhammad Kashif Rafique & Muhammad Omer Khan & Chul-Hwan Kim, 2021. "Coordination of Multiple Electric Vehicle Aggregators for Peak Shaving and Valley Filling in Distribution Feeders," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-16, January.
    6. Ma, Shao-Chao & Yi, Bo-Wen & Fan, Ying, 2022. "Research on the valley-filling pricing for EV charging considering renewable power generation," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    7. Tehreem Nasir & Syed Sabir Hussain Bukhari & Safdar Raza & Hafiz Mudassir Munir & Muhammad Abrar & Hafiz Abd ul Muqeet & Kamran Liaquat Bhatti & Jong-Suk Ro & Rooha Masroor, 2021. "Recent Challenges and Methodologies in Smart Grid Demand Side Management: State-of-the-Art Literature Review," Mathematical Problems in Engineering, Hindawi, vol. 2021, pages 1-16, August.
    8. Jian, Linni & Zheng, Yanchong & Shao, Ziyun, 2017. "High efficient valley-filling strategy for centralized coordinated charging of large-scale electric vehicles," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 186(P1), pages 46-55.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Baxter Williams & Daniel Bishop & Patricio Gallardo & J. Geoffrey Chase, 2023. "Demand Side Management in Industrial, Commercial, and Residential Sectors: A Review of Constraints and Considerations," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-28, July.
    2. Dingyi Lu & Yunqian Lu & Kexin Zhang & Chuyuan Zhang & Shao-Chao Ma, 2023. "An Application Designed for Guiding the Coordinated Charging of Electric Vehicles," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-16, July.
    3. Chen-Yu Chang & Pei-Fang Tsai, 2022. "Multiobjective Decision-Making Model for Power Scheduling Problem in Smart Homes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-13, September.
    4. Yu, Hang & Niu, Songyan & Shang, Yitong & Shao, Ziyun & Jia, Youwei & Jian, Linni, 2022. "Electric vehicles integration and vehicle-to-grid operation in active distribution grids: A comprehensive review on power architectures, grid connection standards and typical applications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    5. Saleh Aghajan-Eshkevari & Sasan Azad & Morteza Nazari-Heris & Mohammad Taghi Ameli & Somayeh Asadi, 2022. "Charging and Discharging of Electric Vehicles in Power Systems: An Updated and Detailed Review of Methods, Control Structures, Objectives, and Optimization Methodologies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-31, February.
    6. Robert Pietracho & Christoph Wenge & Przemyslaw Komarnicki & Leszek Kasprzyk, 2022. "Multi-Criterial Assessment of Electric Vehicle Integration into the Commercial Sector—A Case Study," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-29, December.
    7. Zhang, Chengquan & Kitamura, Hiroshi & Goto, Mika, 2024. "Feasibility of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) implementation in Japan: A regional analysis of the electricity supply and demand adjustment market," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 311(C).
    8. Bernadeta Gołębiowska & Anna Bartczak & Mikołaj Czajkowski, 2020. "Energy Demand Management and Social Norms," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-20, July.
    9. Hafize Nurgul Durmus Senyapar & Ramazan Bayindir, 2023. "The Research Agenda on Smart Grids: Foresights for Social Acceptance," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-31, September.
    10. Arjuna Nebel & Christine Krüger & Tomke Janßen & Mathieu Saurat & Sebastian Kiefer & Karin Arnold, 2020. "Comparison of the Effects of Industrial Demand Side Management and Other Flexibilities on the Performance of the Energy System," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-20, August.
    11. Lingling Hu & Junming Zhou & Feng Jiang & Guangming Xie & Jie Hu & Qinglie Mo, 2023. "Research on Optimization of Valley-Filling Charging for Vehicle Network System Based on Multi-Objective Optimization," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-25, December.
    12. Mehrdad Tarafdar-Hagh & Kamran Taghizad-Tavana & Mohsen Ghanbari-Ghalehjoughi & Sayyad Nojavan & Parisa Jafari & Amin Mohammadpour Shotorbani, 2023. "Optimizing Electric Vehicle Operations for a Smart Environment: A Comprehensive Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(11), pages 1-21, May.
    13. Luo, Qingsong & Zhou, Yimin & Hou, Weicheng & Peng, Lei, 2022. "A hierarchical blockchain architecture based V2G market trading system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 307(C).
    14. Zang, Xingyu & Li, Hangxin & Wang, Shengwei, 2025. "Levelized cost quantification of energy flexibility in high-density cities and evaluation of demand-side technologies for providing grid services," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 211(C).
    15. Alexandre F. M. Correia & Pedro Moura & Aníbal T. de Almeida, 2022. "Technical and Economic Assessment of Battery Storage and Vehicle-to-Grid Systems in Building Microgrids," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(23), pages 1-23, November.
    16. Ma, Runzhuo & Bu, Siqi, 2025. "Evaluation and mitigation of carbon emissions in energy industry," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 212(C).
    17. Pinto, Giuseppe & Deltetto, Davide & Capozzoli, Alfonso, 2021. "Data-driven district energy management with surrogate models and deep reinforcement learning," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 304(C).
    18. Mingyu Kang & Bosung Lee & Younsoo Lee, 2025. "A Robust Optimization Approach for E-Bus Charging and Discharging Scheduling with Vehicle-to-Grid Integration," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-25, April.
    19. Jiewei Li & Ling Jin & Han Deng & Lin Yang, 2023. "Review on Decarbonizing the Transportation Sector in China: Overview, Analysis, and Perspectives," Papers 2310.00613, arXiv.org.
    20. Agnieszka Sobianowska-Turek & Amelia Zielińska & Weronika Urbańska & Anna Mielniczek & Agnieszka Fornalczyk & Szymon Pawlak & Tomasz Małysa & Janusz Cebulski, 2025. "Optimizing Acidic Reductive Leaching for Lithium Recovery: Enhancing Sustainable Lithium Supply for Energy Markets," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(2), pages 1-17, January.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0316677. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.