New smart charging solution: OCPP 4G gateway brings new life to traditional charging piles
When integrating OCPP smart charging into the traditional charging piles that currently do not use the OCPP Protocol, a key enabler is the OCPP 4G Gateway. This gateway acts as a protocol conversion tool, ensuring that the traditional charging piles can communicate seamlessly with OCPP-compliant systems. In this article, we will explore how the OCPP 4G Gateway facilitates smart charging and its role in optimizing energy management and grid interaction.
▶ 1. Overview of Smart Charging
Smart charging refers to the dynamic control of electric vehicle (EV) charging based on real-time conditions such as grid demand, energy availability, and user preferences. It enables operators to balance energy distribution, prevent grid overloads, and optimize charging efficiency. Key features include:
Charging Profiles: Predefined schedules that determine how much power is delivered during a session.
Dynamic Load Management: Adjusting charging rates in real-time based on grid capacity.
Demand Response: The ability to reduce or pause charging during peak grid demand periods.
However, the traditional charging piles do not natively support these advanced smart charging features. This is where the OCPP 4G Gateway becomes essential.
▶ 2. Key Components and Mechanisms of Smart Charging Technology
Smart charging technology leverages communication between the charging point and the central system to control when and how much energy is delivered to an EV. The key components and mechanisms of smart charging include:
(1) Charging Profiles
Charging profiles define how a charging session is managed. They include specific schedules that set power or current limits for different time periods.
- The composite charging schedule combines all active profiles at a charge point, considering local constraints and limits.
- The charging schedule specifies time blocks with associated power or current limits, allowing for dynamic adjustments throughout the session.
(2) Central System Operations
The central system remotely manages smart charging by sending commands such as:
- SetChargingProfile: Allows the central system to set or update a charging profile on a charge point, specifying how much power and when should be delivered .
- GetCompositeSchedule: The central system can request this schedule from a charge point to configure how energy is distributed across multiple vehicles or connectors.
▶ 3. Role of the OCPP 4G Gateway in Enabling Smart Charging
The traditional charging piles do not have smart charging functions, but through our OCPP 4G gateway, OCPP smart charging functions can be integrated into them.
In OCPP, smart charging is managed through charging profiles that define how much power can be delivered during specific time periods. These profiles are essential for dynamic load management and grid optimization. The OCPP 4G Gateway acts as a bridge between the traditional charging piles and OCPP backstage, enabling seamless communication and smart charging functionality.
(1) Protocol analysis and calculation of power or current limit
- Receiving and Processing Charging Profiles
The OCPP 4G Gateway receives SetChargingProfile.req from the central system, which includes Charging Profiles with purposes like: ChargePointMaxProfile,TxDefaultProfile and TxProfile.
- Handling Multiple Profiles
When multiple profiles with the same purpose are received at the same time, the OCPP 4G gateway will use stackLevel to determine the priority. It determines the effective profile based on these priorities;
If profiles with different purposes are received, the gateway will follow the OCPP 1.6 rules to determine the effective limit based on the current effective charging pile limit power, ChargePointMaxProfile, TxProfile (TxDefaultProfile if there is no TxProfile).
- Calculating and Implementing Charging Plans
According to the real-time charging status of each charging gun, the OCPP 4G gateway calculates the charging plan results, dynamically allocates the power or current limit of each charging gun in each time period,and interprets it as the power control command of the traditional charging piles to control the power or current limit of them.
- Sending Composite Schedules
When the central system requests GetCompositeSchedule.req, our OCPP 4G gateway will calculate the Composite Schedules’ restricted time period, restricted power or current and other datas according to the charging profile valid at that time and the OCPP1.6 rules and return them to the central system in the form of GetCompositeSchedule.conf.
(2) Real-Time Data Exchange
Smart charging relies heavily on real-time data such as voltage, current, and energy consumption. The OCPP 4G Gateway facilitates this by converting real-time data from the traditional charging piles into OCPP’s MeterValues.req format. This allows the central system to monitor energy usage and make real-time adjustments to optimize charging efficiency.
(3) Dynamic Load Management
In scenarios where multiple EVs are connected simultaneously, the OCPP 4G Gateway translates load-balancing commands from OCPP into appropriate signals for the traditional charging piles. For example, when multiple vehicles are connected to the same power source, the gateway ensures that power is distributed efficiently across all chargers without exceeding total capacity. This prevents grid overloads while ensuring that all vehicles receive sufficient charge within their designated time frames.
▶ 4. Demand Response and Peak Shaving
Demand response is an essential component of OCPP smart charging systems. It allows operators to reduce or pause vehicle charging during peak demand periods to alleviate pressure on the grid.
The OCPP 4G Gateway receives demand response signals from the central system and translates them into commands understood by the traditional charging piles. This enables operators to adjust power output or pause operations during peak times.
Additionally, during periods of high electricity demand, the gateway helps implement peak shaving, which reduces total power output to minimize electricity costs and improve energy efficiency.
▶ 5. Remote Control and Optimization
Through the OCPP 4G Gateway connection, operators can remotely monitor and control individual chargers, including starting/stopping transactions or setting power limits.The gateway ensures that these remote operations are executed smoothly across different protocols (eg.Cloud Fast Charging Protocol and OCPP). For example, if an area experiences high electricity usage, operators can remotely reduce power output for non-priority users to optimize overall consumption.
▶ 6. Benefits of Implementing OCPP Smart Charging via our OCPP 4G Gateway
By implementing smart charging through our OCPP 4G Gateway, operators can achieve several benefits:
Energy Efficiency: Dynamically adjusting power delivery based on real-time data reduces energy waste and optimizes resource usage.
Improved Grid Stability: Smart charging prevents grid overloads by reducing EV charging rates during peak times while increasing them when surplus capacity is available.
Enhanced User Experience: Users benefit from more efficient, cost-effective charging options through load balancing and participation in demand response programs.
▶ OCPP 4G gateway brings new life to traditional charging piles
The integration of our OCPP 4G Gateway enables seamless communication between the traditional charging piles and OCPP-compliant systems, unlocking advanced smart charging features such as dynamic load management, real-time monitoring, and remote control. By leveraging this technology, operators can enhance energy efficiency, improve grid stability, and provide a better user experience across their EV networks.