Smart charging with local meters enables two key optimization use cases:
Building Optimization
This use case involves measuring the power consumption of an entire building to dynamically adjust charging capacity. Key aspects:
- Requires meters at both the main grid connection and charge station circuit level
- Automatically accounts for building power usage, including solar panel generation
- When building power consumption increases, available charging capacity decreases and vice versa
- Helps prevent overloading the main building connection
Phase Optimization
This use case focuses on optimizing power allocation across the three electrical phases (L1, L2, L3). Key aspects:
- Requires a meter at the charge station circuit level only
- Detects whether vehicles are charging on single or three phases
- Can improve charging efficiency by 200-300% for locations with many single-phase vehicles
- Works best with phase-rotated charge station installations
Key Differences
Feature | Building Optimization | Phase Optimization |
Required Meters | Two (grid + circuit) | One (circuit only) |
Main Benefit | Prevents building overload | Improves charging efficiency |
Best For | Locations with limited grid capacity | Sites with many single-phase vehicles |
Solar Integration | Automatic | Not applicable |
Note: When implementing building optimization, phase optimization is automatically included since it requires the same circuit-level meter.
Important: Both optimization types require a stable internet connection to the Smappee meters. If the connection is lost, the system will revert to the default safe charging capacity.