Presently, power management must be set up by by the Power Management team working in conjunction with a certified electrician that is installing your EV chargers. Power management is not enabled by default when deploying a new EV charging site
How It Works
Accessing power management is straightforward via the “Power” tab on the navigation sidebar of the dashboard. The electrical infrastructure is comprehensively represented, including:
- All main panels and any sub-panels for a circuit with chargers, complete with their names/labels, breaker ratings, and maximum continuous load.
- Charger phase wiring, which is crucial for understanding and managing power distribution.
- Other power-consuming devices sharing a circuit with chargers, referred to as “unmanaged loads” in the dashboard. This inclusion provides a full picture of power usage on a given circuit.
The dashboard highlights the amount of power allocated to individual chargers and power management groups. This detailed view helps users understand how power is being distributed at any given time.
Set Up Power Management
Follow the steps outlined below to set up your Power Management system:
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1. Prepare and Submit Your Power Managed Location Details
It's best if you can provide site electrical drawings. If these are not available (e.g., for very old buildings), the installer should give all details about the site's electrical setup.
The Power Management team needs the following information:
- Main panel at the point of grid interconnection, and any sub-panels below the main panel to which EV chargers are connected
- Rating of the panels’ breakers (in amperage)
- Panel names/identifiers
- Site power supply type (3-phase, split-phase) and voltage
- List of loads with the following information for each:
- Load type: Managed charger or Unmanaged load
- Load identifier (serial number or unmanaged load name)
- Whether the load is connected to a dedicated breaker (and that breaker’s amps rating)
- For unmanaged loads, the maximum continuous capable current (amps)
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2. Load Detail Form
Complete the attached CL Power Management Load Detail Form. This includes:
- Mapping of loads to the identifiers as shown in the electrical drawings
- Load phase wiring
- Breaker spaces used for each load
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3. Submit the Documentation
Once you have collected the Site Electrical Infrastructure Documentation and completed the Load Detail Form as attached to this article, send them to powermanagement@chargelab.atlassian.net. A member of the Power Management team will reach out to you.
Considerations
Several factors influence the amount of power allocated to chargers at any given moment, including:
- Power is allocated across phases, which may result in the sum of a group’s chargers' allocated amperage exceeding the breaker’s rating overall but not on a phase level. This is particularly relevant when chargers are not wired to the same phases.
- The power allocated to chargers typically includes a small buffer beyond the actual power consumed by the charger. This buffer allows for continuous monitoring of changes in power consumption, enabling the system to reallocate power as vehicles’ charging speeds change.
- Power is allocated proportionally based on the charger’s maximum output. For example, an 80A charger will be allocated more power than a 32A charger within the same group, ensuring fair and efficient distribution.
- If chargers lose internet connectivity, the system reserves the last allocated power for that charger until it comes back online. This feature ensures continuity and reliability in power management.