Smart Charging Best Practices
Julian Ares
Last Update il y a 7 mois
Keep in mind that charging behaviors can be unpredictable when transitioning from an inoperative to an operative state
If a vehicle is connected to a charger during this switch, the charger might enter Preparing state, Finishing state (if the session was ended), or Available mode (if it lost communication with the vehicle). This behavior can vary based on the charger manufacturer, whether a session was active, vehicle behavior, firmware, and other factors beyond software control. When in doubt, perform a soft reset. This function allows the charger to reconnect with the vehicle and return to Preparing state, ensuring the vehicle is ready to charge. This way, we can confidently send a start command, prioritizing safety.
Ensure that the State of Charge (SoC) target you set does not conflict with any existing rules
If you set a State of Charge (SoC) target at 80% while your site has a rule that activates above 85%, the rule will never trigger since the lower target will be reached first. It’s best practice to consider any existing smart charging or load management rules before setting target battery levels in InControl.
Give your charger time after a reset
If you plan a reset for 4 PM and a remote start for 4:01 PM, there’s a high likelihood that the charger won’t start because the start command is sent immediately after the reset while the charger is still rebooting. Soft resets on ICE DC units typically take just a couple of minutes, but occasionally they can take longer. Hard resets will take more time as the unit is power cycled and all systems need to reboot. As a best practice, we recommend allowing a 20-minute buffer between a hard reset and the start command.
Try to avoid remote starting a charger that is not in a Preparing state
We do not recommend this because if the charger is in Available or Reserved mode, the relay inside the connector may open without confirming that a vehicle is attached, which could allow for object or water intrusion. If you're uncertain, performing a soft reset will re-establish communication with the vehicle. If everything is in order, the charger will transition to Preparing mode.
Watch out for looping logic
If you're planning to implement rules for starting a session, ending a session, and resetting the charger within the same time frame, this could cause issues with your chargers. To minimize the risk of overlap, be sure to stagger the times for starting and stopping sessions.