How it works - Load-balancing enables an EV to charge at the maximum rate when the household or business loads are low. This feature is available on most smart chargers and is particularly useful for households with a limited grid supply or businesses with multiple EV chargers installed. Fortunately, this is where load-balancing can help. Learn more about home solar EV charging here.ĮV chargers use a lot of power which can cause issues for some homes or businesses if too much power is drawn from the grid. In most cases, the CT meter must be connected to the charger via a communication cable (CAT5/6), but CT meters from a select few brands can be wirelessly connected. To operate, smart chargers require a CT meter to measure energy flow and enable advanced features such as solar-only charging and load balancing. Unlike regular EV chargers, which are set at a fixed charge level, Smart EV chargers can adjust the charge rate to match your solar generation. Luckily, this is where smart EV chargers can help. For example, many level-2 home chargers have a maximum charging rate of 7kW, but most residential solar inverters are rated at 5kW, and the amount of solar may be far less, especially during poor weather. However, this is difficult if you cannot optimise the charging rate to match your solar generation. We’ll explain this in more detail later.ĮV charging using a home solar system appeals to many people as it dramatically reduces the vehicle's operating cost and increases self-sufficiency. External meters are not required if all the equipment is compatible with OCPP. Alternatively, EV chargers that are OCPP (Open Charge Point Protocol) compliant can be configured for remote control using external software such as Charge HQ. Generally, to monitor the solar and loads, external sensors or CT meters are needed to gather and transmit the data back to the charger. Smart charging modes can only be enabled if the EV charger can obtain data about solar generation or other electricity-consuming loads. Is extra hardware needed for smart charging? Load-balancing is very important if more than one EV charger is installed or the electricity supply is limited. Another very useful smart charging mode is Load Balancing this is where the charge rate is dynamically adjusted to ensure the charger doesn’t overload and trip off the electric supply when other high-power appliances (loads) are running. The most common feature is solar EV charging and charge scheduling using cheaper off-peak electricity. Smart EV chargers have numerous options to optimise charging, reduce charging costs and increase self-sufficiency using solar. In addition to helping optimise EV charging, most smart chargers now have Wifi and Bluetooth as standard to enable easy setup and monitoring using a mobile app. Regular home chargers can draw a lot of power, so intelligent monitoring and controls help prevent overloading the grid supply. Smart EV chargers allow automatic charging to occur when electricity prices are low or when solar power is being generated. Electric vehicle chargers are becoming more sophisticated as manufacturers seek to make EV charging easier and more cost-effective for homes and businesses.
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