Smart load management: how companies optimize their charging infrastructure without expensive grid upgrades
E-mobility is steadily gaining importance, and companies face the challenge of expanding their charging infrastructure. However, they often encounter a hurdle: the grid capacity is insufficient to support additional charging stations. Upgrading the power grid seems necessary, but it is expensive and time-consuming. This is where smart load management comes into play. In this blog article, we will show you how companies can take cost-effective measures to expand their charging infrastructure with this technology – without the need for costly grid upgrades.
Many companies want to expand their charging infrastructure but run into limits with the available grid capacity. The concern about overloading the grid is valid: with too many vehicles charging simultaneously, charging speeds might decrease and even charging could be completely blocked. The traditional solution – upgrading the grid - comes with very high costs and long waiting times. Additionally, any required construction work can disrupt ongoing operations.
Instead of investing in expensive grid upgrades, companies can rely on efficient load management. But what exactly is load management, you ask?
What is load management?
Load management involves grouping charging stations into so-called load groups, allowing the electricity consumption within these groups to be regulated dynamically. This enables a flexible distribution of available energy, preventing grid overload even with multiple charging stations. Companies can prioritize individual stations and allocate more power as needed. At the same time, energy consumption and load limits can be monitored and automatically adjusted – a significantly more efficient and cost-effective solution compared to grid upgrades.
Keeping electricity costs low and preventing grid overload
Lowering electricity costs and avoiding peak demand
Companies are often bound by electricity contracts where annual costs depend on the highest 15-minute power average. A single peak in consumption can unnecessarily drive electricity costs up for the entire year. Intelligent load management continuously monitors electricity consumption and keeps it below a set threshold to avoid peak demands and associated additional costs.
Ensuring grid stability
When grid capacity is limited (for example, due to constraints like long delivery and connection times for transformers or other limitations in the local power installation) exceeding this limit can lead to grid overloads. Here, load management intervenes by dynamically adjusting power consumption and preventing grid overloads. This keeps the charging infrastructure stable and operational even under high demand.
To limit the power consumption of a station, a fixed consumption limit can be set during initial installation. However, doing this for each individual station is cumbersome and requires an electrician for every change in limits. The load management function provides an easy way to allocate the available static power budget uniformly or reactively across the charging stations in the group, ensuring that these do not exceed the set power limits.
The perfect solution: Elli Load Management
With Elli Load Management, Elli makes Volkswagen Group the first automaker to offer a cross-manufacturer, fully digital load management solution. It is activated and managed remotely, eliminating the need for physical installations or local work. This significantly reduces costs and time requirements and increases flexibility, such as for expanding charging parks.
Additional advantages at a glance:
Automated load management
While manual intervention was often necessary to repair tripped fuses, Elli’s load management system automates this task. The available power is distributed automatically, ensuring smooth operation.
Compatibility and rapid integration
Elli’s solution is manufacturer-independent and can be used with any charging hardware operated and certified by Elli. This makes it highly versatile and enables quick and easy integration into existing systems. The setup process is straightforward and can be completed in minutes, either on-site or remotely – without time-consuming preparations or construction work.
Financial and operational benefits
With our remote load management feature, companies can make optimal use of their grid capacity, allowing more vehicles to charge simultaneously. This increases efficiency and avoids costly penalties for grid overloads.
Case study: cost-effective electrification of large parking areas with Compleo
Compleo’s charging technology, a partner of Elli, demonstrates how large-scale electrification projects can be realized. The DUO fleet charging station from the German manufacturer allows for the installation of up to 30 charging stations, saving up to 50% in installation costs. This is made possible by Power-Rail technology, where charging stations are connected in series—a significant improvement over the traditional and costly star wiring.
Thanks to this technology, companies can flexibly expand their charging infrastructure and later add more charging stations if needed without overloading the grid. Intelligent load management ensures that available energy is used optimally.
Timo Krüger, Head of Mobility at Compleo Charging Solutions GmbH & Co. KG, says: “Elli and Compleo share the vision of advancing electromobility as the most sustainable form of mobility. We are pleased that together, we can make the transition for business customers particularly easy through our products.”
Elli Load Management – the smart solution for sustainable electrification
Elli’s innovative load management function provides companies with the ability to expand their charging infrastructure without the usual challenges and costs of grid upgrades. It offers a seamless, cost-effective, and reliable solution that allows companies to manage their grid capacity digitally and in real-time.
Elli and Compleo make the transition to electromobility as simple as possible – for a sustainable and efficient future.
For more information about Elli Load Management and our other products, visit our website. We are happy to support you on your journey to an electric future!
Looking to Electrify Large Parking Areas?
The Compleo DUO fleet offers an innovative and cost-effective solution for large installations, ideal in combination with Elli Load Management.