Self-consumption and self-sufficiency for household solar producers when introducing an electric vehicle

Journal article, 2020

The aim of this study was to analyse how electric vehicles (EVs) affect the levels of electricity self-consumption and self-sufficiency in households that have in-house electricity generation from solar photovoltaics (PV). A model of the household electricity system was developed, in which real-time measurements of household electricity consumption and vehicle driving, together with modelled PV generation were used as inputs. The results show that using an EV for storage of in-house-generated PV electricity has the potential to achieve the same levels of self-consumption and self-sufficiency for households as could be obtained using a stationary battery. As an example, the level of self-sufficiency (21.4%) obtained for the households, with a median installed PV capacity of 8.7 kWp, was the same with an EV as with a stationary battery with a median capacity of 2.9 kWh. However, substantial variations (up to 50% points) were noted between households, primarily reflecting driving profiles.