More and more companies are incorporating fleets of electric vehicles or installing charging points for their workers and visitors, however, they generate significant costs and extra demand on the network that it is important to know how to manage. The installation of smart batteries next to our charging points.
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Main problems in the installation of electric vehicle charging points
Local or company power grids have numerous limitations and including charging points on it adds more stress to the grid. In the points of greatest load demand, we also need be able to deliver considerable power, which considerably increases the costs of our energy bill. The main problems we encounter are:
- Limits on voltage and current
- Need for more contracted power or limited maximum power
- Possible limitations in charging hours
- Time slots with high energy costs.
- Absence of photovoltaic and renewable energy in periods of non-production
How to reduce the cost of a charging station with an intermediate battery?
Install a BESS that acts as a smart battery between the network and our chargers is the key to saving considerably in the operating costs of the installation, making the investment profitable and solving the stress problems generated by electric car chargers on the network.
Optimize the cost of energy with load moments
We can realize loadshifting to shift the power demand from the grid to times other than when the vehicles are charged, so We can charge our batteries at times when the energy rate is cheaper and download it when the vehicle is to be charged at times of higher energy costs.
In this way, we de-correlate the energy consumption of the load, optimizing the cost per Kw to the maximum. If our charging points are offered for payment, this will allow us to have a greater margin between the price at which we sell energy and the price at which we buy it.
It may even be that at some times or places, we find ourselves with limitations on the charging time slots and that at times when the network is saturated, charging is not allowed. If we have charged batteries at other times, we can circumvent these limitations and continue charging electric vehicles as normal.
actual practical example
A taxi company with a fleet of 20 vehicles from a renowned electric car manufacturer.
- 20 electric cars 11,5 kWh each
- 50kW fast charger; 4 vehicles per hour
- 5h full fleet charge
Installation without photovoltaics or batteries
fleet night charge
€36,8
0,16 € / kWh
fleet day cargo
€60
0,26 € / kWh
infrastructure investment
Increase in contracted power (€600 for every 15kw), connection, increase in conductor section, new protections, etc.
Installation with photovoltaic
fleet night charge
€36,8
0,16 € / kWh
fleet day cargo
We could save something by charging part of photovoltaic
infrastructure investment
The increase in contracted power and the growth of the infrastructure are still necessary
Installation with Pixii battery
Battery night charge
€36,8
0,16 € / kWh
Daytime cargo fleet €36,8
At any time from the battery to €0,16/kWh
infrastructure investment
The extra power is assumed by the battery and it is not necessary to grow the network
Pixii + photovoltaic battery installation
Battery night charge
€0
Of the stored photovoltaic
Daytime cargo fleet €0
PV charging and surplus storage
infrastructure investment
The extra power is assumed by the battery and it is not necessary to grow the network.
Limit the power needed
If we charge several vehicles at the same time, we will need to be able to offer a power peak that is much higher than normal, power that we will have to demand from the network, making it necessary to contract more power or receive a penalty from the company in cases of exceeding the contracted limits. .
An intelligent battery like the Pixii Power Shaper allows us to cut those demand peaks by performing Peak Shaving, in such a way that we waste part of the energy and the batteries cover that excess demand or all of the demand if necessary to grow our network.
Use of photovoltaic energy
It is usual to carry out a photovoltaic installation that feeds these charging points, however we have the problem that solar production does not have to coincide with the recharging times of electric vehicles, which forces us to lose that energy or sell the surplus at very unprofitable prices.
If we have a BESS, we can store that production or surplus to be able to load the vehicles when necessary, thus optimizing our vehicle loading facility to the maximum electrical and photovoltaic.
Compensate for limitations in voltage or current
It is possible that when carrying out the installation of the chargers, we find ourselves with limitations in voltage or intensity in the network. A battery like the Pixii Power Shaper 2 has an advanced control system and inverters that make it possible to compensate for these types of problems.
BESS Pixii Power Shaper
Our smart battery will allow you to fully optimize your electric vehicle charging stations. At Pebblex we are specialists in energy storage and we have the most appropriate solutions for each project.
