An Implementation of Solar PV Array Based Multifunctional EV Charger

In this article, an implementation of solar photovoltaic (PV) array powered grid-connected residential electric vehicle (EV) charger is presented, which caters the need of an EV, household loads, and the grid. The charger is enabled to operate autonomously using a PV array for providing an uninterruptible charging and power to household loads. However, in the absence of the PV array or insufficient PV array generation, the grid-connected mode of operation is presented. Moreover, the charger is supported with the synchronization and seamless mode switching control, so that the charger automatically connects/disconnects from the grid without disturbing the EV charging and household supply. The charger is also enabled with the vehicle-to-grid active/reactive power support to the grid and vehicle-to-home power transfer for supporting the local loads in an islanded condition. The charger is also controlled to operate as an active power filter for achieving the unity power factor operation and total harmonic distortion of the grid current within 5%. Moreover, for achieving energy management, a dc-link voltage regulation based energy management strategy is used and a sliding mode control is used for regulating the dc-link voltage. For satisfactory operation under distorted voltage condition, a second-order generalized integrator frequency-locked loop with dc offset rejection is used to generate the sinusoidal reference grid current. The charger is designed for a single-phase 230-V, 50-Hz grid and it is experimentally validated in the laboratory.