18.07.2023
Smart charging cables: are they necessary?
What is smart charging?
With increasingly more companies (and individuals) transitioning to electric vehicles and with electrification increasing in general as fossil fuels are phased out, it is becoming more and more important to consume electricity intelligently. Smart charging is a method of charging where data connections are shared between the electric vehicle, a charging device and the charging operator. These connections help optimise energy consumption by ensuring that the charging of vehicles is instigated at the most cost-efficient time. This works by flattening the overall energy consumption curve for a household and avoiding consumption at peak times, for example by offloading a heavily consuming device (the EV) to off-peak charging hours.
What is a smart charging cable?
Smart charging cables, such as the Nexxtender cable by Powerdale, are currently the most common method of monitoring the charging of an electric vehicle. They are sometimes limited to a pure data monitoring functionality, in which they provide charging data records to a fleet manager or driver. They sometimes work by enabling drivers to remotely control the charging of their vehicle and set charging periods. They are used to facilitate the data connections between the car, the charging device and the charging operator to enable optimised, cost-efficient charging of the vehicle. The data sharing allows the vehicle to know the best time to charge, allowing the car owner to take advantage of off-peak electricity prices.
What alternatives are available and how do these alternatives benefit fleet managers?
While smart charging cables are one solution to the charging issue, they are not the only smart charging solution. In fact, there is a much simpler and far more efficient alternative available. Instead of using a smart charging cable, why not utilise a connection directly to the vehicle? Using our cloud-based technology, your car can communicate directly with charging devices and operators, eliminating the need for a pricey smart charging cable. re.alto provides a remote vehicle connectivity solution that allows the retrieval of data directly from the car itself. No additional hardware is required, thanks to our cooperation with the car OEMs.
This is particularly beneficial to fleet managers, who have a large fleet to manage as opposed to an individual vehicle, as less expensive equipment is required, and minimal support is generally necessary after the initial set-up. The ability to get data directly from the car will ultimately simplify the management of your reimbursement process. And because we are able to obtain various data sets from the vehicle, including odometer readings and charging records, we can also help fleet managers in other ways too at no additional cost, such as in dealing with range anxiety, plug allergy and charging fraud.
If you are currently using smart charging cables, why not simplify your solution by obtaining charging data directly from the vehicle instead?
Reach out to us today for more information on how re.alto can help you do just this! There has never been a better time to switch and improve your company’s transition to EVs.
