There seems to be a bit of a struggle going on in the EV sector. So-called smart chargers are required if customers want to avail of the OZEV grant which is at a the paltry sum of £350. It looks like many manufacturers have gone the GPRS route using OCPP while others are connecting to the internet via the customers own internet connection. Is this a VHS v Betamax type thing? Which do you think is best?
The term "smart" is simply a marketing term and is therefore meaningless. Smart meters are being sold, not to reduce consumption per see, but to control one's consumption by switching off if necessary. They are supposed to report one's meter readings but when they tried one on my house it didn't work at all and they gave up and took it away. A good thing really because I would never have one now! Car charging is a similar thing really, the car design is faulty, they should be class 2 (double insulated) for good safety reasons but are not and require an Earth connection. The charger is nothing but a special cable and a bit of electronics to receive information from the car as to when to turn on or off, and in some cases to control the charge rate. The car decides everything, the charger is the slave, with a special plug, and very expensive. None of it is properly "smart" at all.
The term "smart" is simply a marketing term and is therefore meaningless. Smart meters are being sold, not to reduce consumption per see, but to control one's consumption by switching off if necessary. They are supposed to report one's meter readings but when they tried one on my house it didn't work at all and they gave up and took it away. A good thing really because I would never have one now! Car charging is a similar thing really, the car design is faulty, they should be class 2 (double insulated) for good safety reasons but are not and require an Earth connection. The charger is nothing but a special cable and a bit of electronics to receive information from the car as to when to turn on or off, and in some cases to control the charge rate. The car decides everything, the charger is the slave, with a special plug, and very expensive. None of it is properly "smart" at all.
