Back to search

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Smart-receptacle infrastructure solution for 95% of daily passenger electric vehicle charging

Abstract

dc:description

As the United States transitions towards electric vehicles (EVs), the challenge of recharging this fleet is raised. We present a simple smart-meter design for conventional electrical receptacles to support sufficient energy transfer to meet the needs of 95% of passenger-vehicle daily driving. This finding is supported by federal-vehicle driving statistics that describe daily mileage behavior. By adapting basic smart metering technology and power electronic control, ubiquitous and affordable public charging can be supported. A primary goal of this work is to provide EV charging at a cost similar to the local electricity rate. Many fast EV charging stations must charge high energy premiums above the baseline cost to recover expensive investments. Although premium cost is probably acceptable for occasional long-distance travel when charging speed matters (the 5% case), it seems excessive to expect users to accept premium costs for everyday use. For daily operation, users are often willing to delay charging provided the vehicle is energized when they return. Since most cars only need to recharge for a few hours and will be parked for an extended time (overnight or all day), incentives can substantially influence behavior. The flexibility that slow-charging infrastructure enables can lower electricity costs for vehicle owners and creates new opportunities for grid regulation. The contribution of this work is a prototype design, and a feasibility analysis of how such a device can become a default widespread infrastructure solution. By incorporating design guidelines for utility-compatible metering systems and taking advantage of current grid infrastructure, this work can scale up.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
M.S.
Level thesis:degree_level
Thesis
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Electrical & Computer Engr
Grantor
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Year dc:date
2024

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Mahony, Raya
Contributors dc:contributor
  • Krein, Philip T

Subjects

dc:subject × 4

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • Copyright 2024 Raya Mahony
Language dc:language
en, eng

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Handle dc:identifier
https://hdl.handle.net/2142/125585

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
Base URL
www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh
Last updated
2026-07-22
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Mahony, Raya. Smart-receptacle infrastructure solution for 95% of daily passenger electric vehicle charging. Thesis thesis, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2024. https://hdl.handle.net/2142/125585