Charging Management Systems Empower Fleetwide EV Adoption

About Edison Energy’s Transportation Electrification Internship Program:

The Transportation Electrification summer 2023 internship program focused on education, technical skills, and professional development. Over the past 12 weeks, Jessica and Zach received hands-on experience with Energy, Sustainability, Business Development, Project Management, and Consulting. Our team of experts have enjoyed watching them grow this summer, accepting new challenges, cultivating fresh ideas, and bolstering their confidence. We wish Jessica and Zach the best of luck in all future endeavors!

Transportation operators nationwide are rapidly adding electric vehicles to their fleets as EV technology improves, battery reliability climbs, and operating costs fall.

Experience shows that a Charging Management System (CMS) can optimize EV charging, yielding tangible benefits to fleet owners, charging station operators, the grid, and the environment.

Fleet charging operations that operate without a CMS typically face greater uncertainty and risk. First, they lack visibility into whether vehicle charging levels are even being achieved. In addition, their costs may rise if charging occurs during times of peak electricity demand when costs are highest. And problems with charging equipment can go undetected without the kind of active monitoring offered by a CMS.

All of these factors can harm EV fleet reliability and impact bottom-line cost metrics.

At its core, a CMS uses machine intelligence to optimize EV charging schedules, enhancing charging infrastructure efficiency and enabling cost-effective charging. As a trusted energy partner, Edison Energy works to understand fleet operators’ business needs, bottom-line cost goals, and risk-mitigation objectives as we assess the best CMS solution to meet the customer’s needs.

A fleet-tailored CMS uses multiple inputs to maximize EV charging performance:

• Data integration: The CMS combines fleet operational goals with individual vehicle data to create a real-time charging plan that ensures business needs are met.
• Charger interoperability: The CMS maximizes flexibility and scalability by using open charge point protocols. These allow fleet operators to charge their EVs using different charger types and vendors. The CMS also readily accepts charging software and hardware updates to keep the charging infrastructure operating at peak performance.
• Real-time monitoring and reports: Messages and alarms quickly alert operators to charger malfunctions and misconnections, enabling fast action to avoid or minimize costly downtime. The CMS also captures data for reports that assess overall EV charging operations and costs, as well as ongoing environmental benefits.
• Site and grid awareness: The CMS provides insight into both site capacity limitations and real-time utility rates to minimize charging costs.

Together, these features ensure that EV charging operations meet broad business goals, reduce operating costs, and mitigate risks. Edison Energy’s approach aims to give operators confidence in knowing that their EV fleet is optimally charged, delivering on:

Business Continuity

The CMS considers schedule and range requirements in determining how much energy each EV needs so that it is ready for dispatch.

The CMS optimizes this task by comparing real-time vehicle data against vehicle operational requirements, along with the vehicle’s upcoming schedule and route. This allows the largest number of vehicles to be charged while still being mindful of potential site capacity limitations.

The CMS enables EV fleet growth by making use of industry-standard open charge point protocols that maximize flexibility and adaptability.

Cost Reductions

As part of the charging infrastructure selection process, the CMS helps decisionmakers manage upfront costs by pinpointing the optimal charger to meet their charging needs.

Once the charging infrastructure is in place, the CMS offers cost reduction benefits by integrating utility time-of-use rates to make sure vehicle charging occurs during low-cost periods, whenever feasible. This approach helps avoid utility demand charges, enables participation in utility off-peak demand response programs, and makes use of onsite energy sources such as rooftop solar and batteries during peak times.

Risk Mitigation

The CMS helps identify issues such as faulty connections or EV service equipment problems that can impact charging operations. It then rapidly notifies operators that action is required.

Left unaddressed, such disruptions can snowball and impact critical business operations and operations and maintenance budgets. What’s more, as distributed generating resources like rooftop solar and batteries expand, the CMS can switch operations to these assets if the grid goes down. Self-healing capabilities add still more value to the CMS, as it detects and repairs any internal errors.

Confidence

Given the rapid growth of fleet electrification, a CMS can offer significant benefits by reducing costs while ensuring smooth operations. Edison Energy is committed to tailoring a CMS that meets your business needs today and that offers the flexibility to scale and grow with your electric fleet. Our deep expertise will help you discover just how powerful a CMS is, and how it can empower your organization to confidently pursue a fleetwide EV transition.

Let us meet you where you are in your Transportation Electrification journey. Click here to learn more about our Transportation expertise.