Mesh network design for smart charging infrastructure and electric vehicle remote monitoring

Plug-In Electric Vehicle (PEV) charging today happens with little knowledge of the state of the vehicle being charged. In order to implement smart charging algorithms and other capabilities of the future smart grid, provisions for remote PEV monitoring will have to be developed and tested. The UCLA Smart-grid Energy Research Center (SMERC) is working on a smart charging research platform that includes data acquired in real time from PEVs being charged in order to investigate smart charging algorithms and demand response (DR) strategies for PEVs in large parking garage settings. The system outlined in this work allows PEVs to be remotely monitored throughout the charging process by a smart-charging controller communicating through a mesh network of charging stations and in-vehicle monitoring devices. The approach may be used for Vehicle to Grid (V2G) communication as well as PEV monitoring.