EV chargers are popping up everywhere. So are home batteries, bigger air-con systems and an ever-growing list of power-hungry appliances.
But there’s a problem.
Energy Queensland is warning electricians about the growing problem of service fuse overload. More than simply a blown fuse: overheating, equipment damage, and, in serious cases, fire are very real risks.
It all adds up
Many Queensland homes have a service fuse rated at just 50A or 63A. Now add a 7.4kW EV charger drawing around 32A. On paper, it might look fine. But when the EV charger, air-con, oven, hot water and pool equipment are all running, spare capacity can disappear very quickly.
That’s why Energy Queensland is reminding electrical contractors to assess a property’s maximum demand against AS/NZS 3000 and the service fuse capacity.
The bigger the project, the bigger the problem
Service fuse overload isn’t just a residential issue. The same challenge applies to apartment buildings and commercial premises. Only now we could be talking about 5, 10 or 20 additional EV chargers adding to the building’s electrical load.
The obvious answer might be to upgrade the mains or switchboard, or even increase the site’s supply capacity. But that can get expensive very quickly.
The smarter way
Rather than automatically spending tens of thousands on infrastructure upgrades, intelligent load management changes the equation. A Load Management System controls the power available to EV chargers based on the site’s available capacity. When the building needs more power, charging demand can be reduced. When capacity becomes available, the chargers can use more.
The result? Better use of the electrical capacity already there and the potential to avoid unnecessary infrastructure upgrades. That’s exactly what a correctly configured Load Management System is designed to achieve.
Planit Charge specialises in Schneider Electric Load Management Systems, supporting electricians from system design and configuration through to communications, integration, testing and commissioning. Our pre-programmed LMS packages take care of the networking complexity while providing a scalable way to add more chargers as demand grows.
So, before your next EV charging install turns into an expensive infrastructure upgrade, talk to Planit Charge about making the power already available work smarter.