Because the primary functionality of EV charging is at an EV charging station, most of us don’t consider what’s happening behind the scenes and how station performance isn’t as simple as an on-off switch allowing electricity to flow.
In fact, the brains of any EV charging solution is your charging platform management system (CPMS). So, when it comes to choosing the right hardware, it’s important to start with an understanding of what a CPMS can, and should, do for you and the EV drivers you’re serving.
Quick Links:
- What is an EV Charging Platform Management System?
- How Does a CPMS Impact EV Charging?
- EV CPMS Deep Dive
- How Your EV Charging Platform Management System Can Determine Your EV Charging Solution Success
What is an EV Charging Platform Management System?
One of the many benefits of smart home devices is your ability to administer your thermostat, security system, and more from wherever you might be. For networked EV charging stations, a CPMS permits you the same capabilities. Not only is this remarkably beneficial when it comes to any maintenance needs, but it also provides flexibility, control, and transparency into the performance of your charging stations. A CPMS is what gives you, as a charging station owner or host, visibility into and control over your charge points.
Features available to you will, largely, depend upon your EV charging network provider which may limit the amount of control, flexibility, visibility, and support you have. For example, some EV charging network providers offer troubleshooting, flexible user & pay models, and robust reporting features unavailable with other networks. It’s just one reason why EV charging solutions are not created equal.
More specifically, a CPMS allows you to monitor and manage:
- Charger status
- Power usage and power sharing/management
- Charging sessions and history
- Driver/user data
- Software updates
- System alerts
- Revenue per station
- User administration (including hosts)
- And more…depending on your EV charging network provider
As you consider your EV charging solution, it’s worth laying out what kind of EV CPMS functionality you’ll need to maximize your ROI and optimize the charging experience for drivers.
How Does a CPMS Impact EV Charging?
Your charging platform management system does more than just allow you to check on your stations and adjust fees. It plays a crucial role in the charging station operations and efficiency, for EV fleets, station owners and EV drivers, including:
1. Optimized Charging Operations- EV charging station reliability is an ongoing issue, one that impacts drivers and station owners alike. Your CPMS allows you to monitor and manage charging points remotely, optimizing their utilization and ensuring they’re available when needed. This real-time monitoring helps prevent downtime and minimizes disruptions in charging services.
2. Dynamic Pricing and Billing- While some charging stations are in locations where a flat rate works, other situations may require more dynamic options. Your CPMS should enable dynamic pricing and fee models based on factors like time of day, electricity demand, or charging station availability. This flexibility encourages off-peak charging, which not only alleviates strain on the grid, but it also reduces costs for both operators and EV owners. Further, it facilitates accurate billing based on actual energy consumption, promoting transparency and fairness, improving the charging experience for everyone.
3. Power Load Management- During your site analysis, you may learn your site is limited by what’s available from the grid. However, you can maximize the power available with your CPMS. By distributing charging loads intelligently across different charging points and time slots, you can avoid grid congestion and ensure EV charging stations operate within the capacity limits of the local grid infrastructure.
5. Maintenance and Diagnostics- One factor, time and again, that improves driver experience and owner ROI, is ensuring all EV charging stations are functional. Your CPMS provides diagnostic capabilities to monitor the health and status of charging equipment in real-time. By detecting issues early and proactively scheduling maintenance, operators can minimize downtime and ensure the reliability of charging infrastructure.
Further, some solutions, like NovaCHARGE, include even more robust maintenance and diagnostic capabilities. For example, NovaBOT performs level 1 maintenance on its own or alerts when human intervention is needed.
6. Data Analytics and Insights- Is my EV charging solution successful? You’ll never know without things like utilization data, equipment performance, user behavior and other KPIs. Your CPMS gathers all that data (and more) enabling stakeholders to make data driven decisions regarding growing an EV charging solution. More specifically, analyzing this data can help optimize infrastructure deployment, identify emerging trends, and inform future EV charging infrastructure investments.
Your charging station's CPMS plays a pivotal role in enabling efficient, reliable, and user-friendly EV charging services while supporting grid stability and revenue goals. Its impact extends beyond your business and, when working for you, can actually help grow your business.
EV CPMS Deep Dive
Right now, you may be thinking how magical the CPMS seems to be handling just about every aspect of the EV charging experience. Regardless of your role as a fleet operator, EV charging station owner or host, or EV driver, the CPMS can help with the charging process from starting a charging session to ensuring success across a wide range of goals. But let’s take a deeper dive into some of the core functionality that makes EV charging success a reality.
EV Charging Station Owner and Host Roles
In some cases, the EV charging station owner may also be the host, but in some cases those roles and responsibilities will need to be separated. A CPMS should be able to create separate roles and permissions based on the needs of the station owner and host.
Owner
The owner is typically the individual who invested in or purchased the charging infrastructure. They are responsible for the initial setup, maintenance, and operational costs of the station. The owner may be a private individual, company, government agency, or consortium.
Host
The host can mean different things. It may be the individual(s) who provides the physical location where the charging station is installed. For example, utility-owned EV charging stations may be placed in a parking lot or in a municipal space. In that case, the utility is the owner and the city or business becomes the host. In other situations, the owner of the charging station may partner with various hosts to deploy charging stations at different locations. And then, in some cases, the owner may appoint hosts who are on-site, such as a property manager.
CPMS User, Driver, and Vehicle Management
Your CPMS will provide insight and visibility into the users, drivers, and vehicles using your EV charging station.
User Management
Users may include vehicle owners, fleet managers, charging station operators, and other stakeholders involved in the EV ecosystem. Administrators and users can handle accounts and profiles including registration, authentication, and authorization processes. User management systems often allow users to track their charging history, manage payment methods, and access other relevant information related to their EV charging activities.
Driver Management
Driver management focuses on managing information specific to drivers who utilize the charging infrastructure. This can include tracking driver preferences, such as preferred charging locations, charging schedules, and payment methods. Driver management systems may also facilitate communication between drivers and charging station operators, allowing for notifications, alerts, and updates regarding charging status and availability.
Vehicle Management
Vehicle management is especially important for fleet operators. A standard CPMS may track vehicle information such as make, model, battery capacity, charging compatibility, and vehicle identification.
EV Charging Fee Structure Management Via CPMS
The fee structure you impose for charging at your charging stations is largely dependent upon your business model. EV charging station owners can choose: free, fee, or hybrid models.
Free charging assigns no fees and is limited in use. A hybrid model includes both free and fee-based charging. Both of these options might be used if EV charging is being used as a benefit, perk, or even part of business operations. For example, fleet vehicles may be able to charge freely at some chargers during business hours, but if that car is used after business hours, a fee might be assessed.
EV charging platform management systems can help create flexibility in pricing and fee options, allowing charging station owners and hosts to adjust and apply rules as needed. Fee structures can be controlled by time, date, location and even by user or vehicle. And, fees may be assessed as a flat-fee or per kilowatt-hour rate. Your CPMS enables flexibility in managing and monitoring EV charging fee structures.
EV Charging Station Performance and Maintenance
One of the biggest problems plaguing EV adoption is EV charging station reliability. This falls squarely on both the EV industry and EV charging station owners. While most EV charging stations should need minimal maintenance, knowing when a charging station is non-functional is crucial.
One essential aspect of ensuring reliability is using networked EV charging stations which allow regular communication with owners and hosts via a CPMS. Through the CPMS, station owners can receive alerts about station performance, maintenance needs, and potential issues. In fact, charging station reliability is so crucial that NovaCHARGE employs an AI driven proactive maintenance NovaBOT that handles Tier 1 issues for you, reducing truck rolls by 67%.
EV Charging Station Reporting
We know EV charging stations are a significant investment. Whether it’s fleet electrification, property enhancement, sustainability efforts, or other EV charging goals, you need to be able to report to stakeholders to demonstrate a program’s value or success. Similarly, if EV charging is part of compensation at a business or institution, for example, being able to account for that is essential.
Most charging platform management systems come with standard reports, but others offer more flexible options, allowing station owners and hosts to customize the reports they want and need.
EV Charging Station Power Management
One of the biggest challenges facing EV charging station owners is power management. Without making infrastructure investments, some sites are limited to the power their EV charging stations can pull (load), without overburdening the grid. This requires charging station power management.
While load management will help determine how many and what type of EV charging stations your site hosts, power management comes down to how you share power across multiple EV charging stations. That’s where your CPMS comes in.
There are, essentially, three options for power management:
First in, First Out (FiFo)- The driver who arrives at the EV charging stations first, gets the fastest charge possible, while still enabling other vehicles to charge.
Round Robin- Each car charges at maximum for a set amount of time. Once that time limit is reached, the station charging at max rotates, allowing every car to charge at max during the cycle.
Even Charge- All vehicles charge at the same rate, sharing the available power equally, regardless of how many vehicles are charging.
Having the flexibility to manage power isn’t just a nice feature, for some sites, it can really help you maximize charging opportunities and driver satisfaction.
How Your EV Charging Platform Management System Can Determine Your EV Charging Solution Success
When it comes down to successful EV charging solutions, there are a variety of factors, some outside of an EV charging station owner’s control, that contribute to success. However, when it comes to what you can control, choosing a CPMS will have a direct impact on a few of the primary factors for success.
1. Cost and Pricing Structure- Affordability of charging services, including subscription models, pay-as-you-go, or membership plans, influences user adoption. Flexible pricing can help meet these needs and is managed through your CPMS.2. Reliability and Uptime- It’s hard to be successful if your EV charging stations are non-functional. Users expect consistent availability and functionality of charging stations, minimizing downtime and maintenance issues. Your CPMS can and should be alerting you to issues and proactive maintenance needs.
3. User Experience- While the crux of user experience comes down to how intuitive the interface and payments are, user satisfaction also entails other features your CPMS can help you manage. From finding your stations to reliable charging and off-peak pricing, the flexibility you have and create can improve the user experience and create return customers.
4. Scalability- One of the goals of robust reporting features is to ensure you’re being responsive to charging demands at your site. Solutions designed to scale efficiently include a CPMS that can manage not just the stations you have, but the stations you will have in the future.
5. Data Analytics and Management- What data is collected and how it’s reported and presented via a dashboard directly impacts your ability to quickly respond to current issues and plan for potential growth. Utilizing data analytics can help optimize charging station placement, pricing strategies, and user engagement to improve overall performance and profitability.
6. Customer Support and Maintenance- Prompt customer support and proactive maintenance services contribute to user satisfaction and help address any issues effectively. If your CPMS isn’t helping you manage maintenance and support, it’s missing a core component.
Reacting to maintenance issues means you may have already missed opportunities; in contrast, a CPMS that provides data in real-time about performance issues while assisting you with level 1 issues means you’re delivering the reliability driver’s want and addressing any potential issues before they impact the charging experience.
When it comes to choosing your EVSE provider, it’s important to understand the solution you choose is more than the hardware. The CPMS is, in many ways, the key to your success allowing you to plan, adjust, and grow.ChargeUP, NovaCHARGE’s CPMS, is one of the most robust in the industry, offering unparalleled transparency, flexibility, and reliability. If you’re ready to talk about the NovaCHARGE difference and how we can empower you, and the drivers you service, to create the best charging experience possible, reach out to us today!