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Think Globally, Control Locally
Sticker shock is never a good thing, but it’s something that almost every electric vehicle fleet operator has experienced. The shock usually comes when the electricity bill for the first month of EV fleet operation arrives. The concern fleet managers feel in the pit of their stomachs is followed by despair. Then panic sets in. …
Does Smart Charging Require Telematics?
Telematic Systems Telematics is the technology of sending, receiving, and storing information using telecommunication devices with the objective of controlling remote objects. In English for all the non-engineers out there: a vehicle telematic system combines a cellular device installed in your vehicle that tracks location and operating information with back-end systems that analyze that data …
Fleet EV Demand Response
If you have spent any time in the south, you know Waffle House. The 24/7 chain has a loyal following. They also have a unique way of dealing with their popularity. When customer counts begin to exceed a restaurant’s capacity, Waffle House doesn’t enlarge that restaurant. Instead, they build another one. Across the street. Or …
Two Approaches to Smart EV Fleet Charging
Our experience working with a variety of electric vehicle fleets and Fleet Managers for more than 10 years has shown us that there are two fundamental rules of EV charging. These two rules apply regardless of the size of the fleet, the type of business, the type of electric vehicles in the fleet, or the …
Flexibility is Key
In Field of Dreams, James Earl Jones famously states that the one constant in America though all the years, is baseball. In the world of electric vehicle fleets, the one constant is change. The demands on your EV fleet change daily, if not hourly. Production changes, rush orders, urgent requests, driver availability, customer requests, weather …
The 3 Pillars of EV Fleet Smart Charging
Working with customers that deployed some of the earliest electric vehicle fleets and operated the first EV fleet depots was like a trip back in time to the wild west. The only rule was that there were no rules. Everybody did what they thought best, and no two fleet operators had the same idea of …
Emotions around V2G
I’m trying to understand the emotions around V2G (aka bi-directional charging). That’s not a typo. I wonder how would bi-directional charging make vehicle operators feel. Will cost savings override range anxiety? As an engineer, this question takes me into an area where I’m not well versed, but as an entrepreneur focused on EV Smart Charge …
Smart Charging for Fleet Managers
The move towards fleet electrification has led to a search for effective software solutions to enable Smart Charging for Fleet Managers. There are a large number of entrants creating charge management systems that offer tools intended only to save energy, but not to simplify the fleet manager’s job. Many of these systems rely on telematics …
Very Smart EV Fleet Charging
What is a “Smart” EV Fleet charging control system? While that seems like a simple question, the definition of “smart” varies depending who’s asking. To an energy manager a “smart” system is one that charges vehicles at the lowest cost. To a fleet operator, a “smart” Fleet Charge Control System ensures that all vehicles are …
Cloud versus Local
Fleet Adaptive Load Management systems that include an OCPP local controller deliver superior EV Fleet Charge Contro over cellular connected cloud platforms.
Smart Charge Control and Utility Tariffs
LED lighting and more efficient cooling systems have caused Electric Utilities to experience a drop in the sales growth of their core product: electricity. Therefore, utility companies are looking to grow their market share in the transportation sector. That said, EV customers are quickly learning that the cost for electrical energy can vary based on …
EV Fleet Energy Simulation
We’re pleased to offer free EV Fleet Energy Simulation using EVauto’s powerful smart load control system. This offer is available to qualified firms that want to better understand how adding an EV Fleet charging will impact their energy usage. The simulation will deliver estimated 15-minute interval data for kWh consumed by charging and trickling. This …
EVSE Open Control Technology vs. Closed Protocols
ClipperCreek EV Chargers deliver demand response, peak load management, off-peak charging.
As with any technology, there are two schools of thought in EV charge management – EVSE – open control technology vs closed protocol. A quick search will show that there are many complex…
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Location Location Location
Fleet EV Charger Installation – Location, Location, Location One of the first decisions that a new EV Fleet operator needs to make is where to install the charging infrastructure (a.k.a. electric vehicle supply equipment or EVSE). There are several factors to be weighed in order to determine the optimal fleet EV charger installation at each …
Limitations on Reducing Electric Fleet Charging Costs
Today, I’m going to add in a little real world complexity. My last post discussed two different methods for implementing fleet EV charge control to limit the kW load from charging multiple Fleet Electric Vehicles – either simultaneous or sequential charging. I hope that after reading that post you have a high-level understanding of the …
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EV Peak Load Management – PLM
EV PLM – One of these things is not like the other. Pop Quiz – The figure shows three different charge cycles: an unmanaged charge cycle plus 2 different peak load management (PLM) strategies – sequential and simultaneous – for charging electric vehicles (EVs). The sequential strategy charges the vehicles one at a time, and …
Every EV Driver is Afraid of Running Out of Charge – It’s Human Nature
At this time, Electric Vehicles (EVs) are a relatively new part of the transportation fleet. A small but growing group of people and businesses are trying EVs for a variety of reasons. For consumers, some want to reduce their carbon impact, others like new cool things, some want to save money and a few want …
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You Can Save Money Charging Your Electric Vehicle Fleet
This post is the first in a series explaining how fleet electric vehicle operators can save money charging their EVs. I’m breaking the concepts down into smaller pieces to introduce the concepts to both new and experienced energy managers. For some, these concepts will seem overly simplistic, but I hope to offer easy to understand …
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