I attended the virtual EVAoSD meeting tonight with PowerFlex presenting their
product. Pretty neat and manages to solve many of the charging issues.
Presentation here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uIWFud1PGio3ROmYVlJETJFgtqYQDIuK/view?usp=drivesdk
Sorry, it’s 38MB because it’s screenshots of each of his slides. I don’t know
if they’ll distribute the PowerPoint.
Key takeaways:
• Their product allows 5-8x installed capacity or more vs load rating (ie: much
like what Tesla’s chargers do, but smarter) and are UL listed to exceed the
load ratings of the circuits.
• Their minimum install at a site is ~20 charging stations.
• The idea is a “set it and forget it” model. You select when you plan to leave
and it will charge you in that window, at some point, balancing the needs of
the others and in their case the cost of electricity.
• With variable power rates, you can set a limit of what you’re willing to pay.
Example given: with an electric price of 15¢/kWh at a site that has solar and
during peak sunlight, maybe only charge at 8¢ or less (solar generation may
make it as cheap as 2¢).
• Designed for residential and workplace charging.
• Plan to implement car communication with the standard supports to “profile”
your preferences and payment agreements.
Costs given (turnkey ROM) were “less than $5k/station” with a minimum of 20
stations ($100k).
They do operate and do installs outside of California.
—
Robert Cole
