Effects of V2G reactive power compensation on the component selection in an EV or PHEV bidirectional charger

Electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) are becoming a part of the electric grid day by day. Chargers for these vehicles have the ability to make this interaction better for the consumer and for the grid. Vehicle to grid (V2G) power transfer has been under research for more than a decade because of the large energy reserve of an electric vehicle battery and the potential of thousands of these connected to the grid. Rather than discharging the vehicle batteries, reactive power compensation in particular is beneficial for both consumers and for the utility. However, certain adverse effects or requirements of reactive power transfer should be defined before a design stage. To understand the dynamics of this operation, this study investigates the effect of reactive power transfer on the charger system components, especially on the dc-link capacitor and the battery.