Power peaks rise when several things are used at the same time
Two homes can use the same amount of electricity over a day while placing different demands on the grid. In one home, electricity use is spread over several hours. In the other, a high level of power is drawn at the same time while the EV is charging, the oven is on and the heating is running.
This overlap is what customers find difficult to assess. Each appliance may be used as normal while the combined power demand rises. Anyone looking at an individual reading for the car or heat pump sees only part of what is happening in the home.
Consumption history can show which hour had high power demand, but the customer does not receive that information until the hour has ended. Conditions may also be different the next evening. The car may need a different amount of charging, the temperature may have dropped or cooking may start at a different time. Customers therefore cannot solve the problem once and assume that the same plan will work every day.
Help needs to arrive while the hour is still in progress
When customers can follow their home's current power demand, they get a clearer picture of how electricity use is distributed among appliances. If EV charging starts while other electricity use is increasing, the change appears immediately. The customer can then choose to shift some electricity use or temporarily reduce the power demand.
Showing the reading still leaves a task for the customer. Someone has to monitor the power demand, decide when it has become too high and act before the hour ends. That is difficult to repeat every evening, especially when what happens at home varies from hour to hour.
The energy company can take the next step by letting customers choose a limit in advance. The limit represents the maximum hourly average power they want to stay below. Customers then do not need to keep the app open and compare the reading with a set level every time the car is charging.
The customer chooses what should happen
One customer may want a notification when the power demand approaches the chosen limit. They can then see what is running at home and decide what to change. Another customer may want EV charging to be reduced automatically because the car is connected for several hours and does not need to charge at the same power throughout that time.
The key is that customers choose both the limit and the response before the situation occurs. When power demand rises, the service follows their choice. A notification alerts the customer to what is happening, while automatically reducing the charging current adjusts part of the electricity use without requiring the customer to open the app first.
EV charging is well suited to this kind of adjustment because charging can often continue over a longer period. When other electricity use in the home falls, more capacity can be made available to the car again. Customers are not deciding which appliances may be used during the evening, but how the service should manage charging when the home's combined power demand rises.
Power Control gives energy companies a practical way to help
In Power Flow, Power Control tracks the hourly average power and compares it with the limit chosen by the customer. If the limit is at risk of being exceeded, the service can send a notification or reduce the charging current to a compatible charger.
Energy companies do not need to calculate a single limit that suits everyone. Customers' homes, electricity use and grid tariffs differ, so each customer chooses a level based on their own situation. The energy company provides the tools that show what is happening, monitor the limit and respond according to the customer's choice.
We built Power Control so energy companies can offer this help in the app they already provide to their customers. Customers get a service that works during the current hour, when a lower charging current or a simple notification can still affect how high the power peak becomes.