Why is conformity with Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP) charging profiles important? The reason is hardware agnostic load balancing. Some sites with charge points have a limited electricity supply, and load balancing can alleviate these problems by actively controlling the charging current for charge points on a site. Let’s look at how load balancing works. Static load balancing means that each charge point is assigned a fixed maximum current. For a 48-amp installation, six charge points could be installed being 48/6 = 8 amps for each charge point. But what if only four cars are charging? It would make sense if the current could be changed according to the number of cars charging. Dynamic load balancing assigns each charge point a maximum current continuously based on how many cars are charging. If four cars were charging in the example before, each charge point would be assigned 12 amps, meaning a better charging experience for the end user. This allows for a greater number of charge points per site without reduced level of service during non-busy hours. In practice How is dynamic load balancing implemented in practice? Some manufacturers implement their own load balancing solution within the charge point software; i.e. using a web interface, app, etc. Dynamic load balancing requires constant communication: What communication needs to happen when doing load balancing? User plugs car into charge point Charge points tells the system that a car has connected System recalculates the available current for the site System assigns new charging current to each charge point The system also continuously recalculates the available current based on data from each charge point, with these available states: 1. Charging 2. Waiting to charge (Smart charging or delayed charging) 3. Finished charging 4. Not charging Smart charging However, not all manufacturers implement built-in load balancing using their own software. This is where Monta’s software comes into play. So how does Monta 18 AFTERMARKET OCTOBER 2023 BUSINESS www.aftermarketonline.net YOU DOWN WITH OCPP? For garages with EV charge points, a look at why conformity with Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP) is so important BY Brian Estrada, Engineering Director at Monta
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