Having deployed thousands of charging stations capable of utilizing local load management capabilities, Blink is charging EVs all over the country while helping to keep a healthy and in-shape electrical grid. The Local Load Management capabilities also help reduce installation costs and make charging multiple cars a much faster, more efficient, and a more cost-effective proposition. Our installation configuration allows 20 charging stations to be deployed on a single circuit.
What is Local Load Management?
Local Load Management, also known as demand-side management (DSM), is the process of regulating the use of electricity on the grid, by adjusting or controlling the load rather than the power station output. It’s a matter of regulating the need for output rather than the output itself but cutting down on the amount of electricity being used by businesses, utilities, and consumers. Local load management has become more important as the popularity of EVs increases. There are already more than 4 million EVs on the road globally, and the number will only increase. According to Cars.com, 20% of consumers (50 million people) are likely to buy an EV for their next car. That is a 5% increase from 2017. New ideas have been emerging about how to let drivers know when it is the best time to charge, and when the grid is close to being overloaded. Smart charging apps use information like the state of the electrical grid, the energy demands going on in the area and those of each EV, and the mobility needs of each driver (how far they are from the station), to create a schedule of the best times to charge. The point is to avoid ever overloading the grid. It keeps electric vehicles “grid-friendly”, meaning there are no more EVs charging at any given moment than the grid can handle. Blink has created an innovative design that allows equal output to each charger based on the number of stations being used at one time. When one EV is charging, the EV will receive the maximum output of nearly 20 kWh. When others connect, the load will be equally shared between them. The system automatically redistributes the output when one vehicle completes its charge, even if it’s still plugged into the station
Blink Innovation
Blink has created an innovative design that allows equal output to each charger based on the number of stations being used at one time. When one EV is charging, the EV will receive the maximum output of nearly 20 kWh. When others connect, the load will be equally shared between them. The system automatically redistributes the output when one vehicle completes its charge, even if it’s still plugged into the station. This new functionality allows the EV charger load to be best matched with the power available at the facility, thereby minimizing installation cost and eliminating electric service upgrades. The Blink IQ 200 is the only charger on the market capable of local load management across four or more charging stations. Future upgrades will include the ability to allow up to 20 EV’s to be plugged in and queued to charge overnight in sequence. “We are incredibly excited to be deploying anywhere from two to twenty chargers with local load management,” stated Blink Founder and Chief Executive Officer Michael D. Farkas. “It will change the conversation from ‘Can our community afford to install them?’ to ‘How soon can we have them?’” The future-proof design of the IQ 200 is intentionally built into the initial product design. The advanced charger intelligence supports multiple charging ports while delivering the fastest level 2 charge possible. When installed on a single electric circuit, it can help minimize installation costs. Farkas adds, “This is a game-changer, especially for multifamily residences where power availability is often limited.” Utilizing the local load management installation configuration allows Blink to maximize the number of charging stations available at any given time on a single 100-amp circuit.