Four benefits of managing EV fleet charging with Omega
Discover how charge management software can serve as the nucleus of any fleet charging operation.
Once you have your EVs and charging infrastructure installed, you are now ready to get on the road. At this stage, fleet operators quickly realize that plugging in the vehicles and leaving them to charge with no management system–also known as unmanaged charging–can be an unruly and expensive endeavor. That’s where managed charging is a huge benefit to your operations.
Four key benefits Omega provides:
- Easily scale and evolve your EV fleet with software that works with every vehicle, charger and digital system
- Maximize vehicle uptime while taking all of the guesswork out of charging schedules
- Avoid costly utility service upgrades and maximize capacity with automated load management
- Reduce total cost of ownership (TCO) with energy cost savings
1. Easily scale and evolve your EV fleet
The electrification landscape is ever-evolving, with a growing variety of EVs, charger types, telematics, and other tools. As fleets convert to EVs, we understand the need to deploy a mix of technologies from various vendors, so we designed Omega to be technology-agnostic. Our software integrates with any vehicle, charger, utility, and various digital tools like telematics, asset management, schedulers, etc.–so you can use exactly what works best for your fleet today and in the future.
Technology-agnostic and flexible charge management software helps ensure that you are set up for success in the long run. For example, the vehicles that you may use today in one location, may not be the vehicles you need to deploy next year in a different location. Or, the type of charger that works with one vehicle may not be the same that works with a different vehicle. And lastly, products and tools are evolving so rapidly since the state of fleet electrification is still maturing. With Omega, not only does it offer deep integrations with any relevant technology, but it also streamlines the management of your charging operations by giving you a single pane of glass in the form of our user-friendly dashboard, the Command Center.
2. Maximize vehicle uptime
Making the transition from a “pump it and forget it” diesel fleet to an electrified one can seem daunting, but Omega takes a lot of the guesswork and time out of figuring out when to charge your EV fleet and how to optimize charging operations. Omega utilizes machine learning to automate as much of your EV fleet charging as possible, providing real-time visibility of your EVs, chargers, power usage, and more.
Once your vehicle specifications, duty cycles, and other important operational characteristics are defined and understood, Omega initiates charging sessions independently, without further input required from you–and completely hands free. Omega is constantly learning in the background, factoring in real-time information to consistently ensure that your vehicles are charged and ready to go at the start of every shift.
With Omega’s automated charging, fleet operators can:
- Maximize vehicle uptime with real-time EV and charger monitoring
- Monitor vehicles on routes and track expected state-of-charge on return
- Ensure vehicle readiness at the start of each shift by tracking time-to-completion charging estimates
- Troubleshoot and track charger and vehicle faults with 24/7 real-time alerts
- Track and manage the site’s energy capacity with automated load management
3. Avoid utility service upgrades
When installing charging infrastructure, fleet managers can run into issues with their utility if the maximum energy load of their chargers is over the site’s capacity. When this happens the utility can red tag the equipment, leaving it unable to be used. To work around this issue, fleet operators may need to manually move vehicles to usable chargers. Thankfully Omega has a streamlined solution that benefits both the fleet and their utility.
Our charge management software integrates with your utility to understand the site’s maximum load capacity, and tracks energy usage to avoid going over the limit. Plus, Omega can integrate with, and account for, other loads at your site, such as your building. Our proprietary electric vehicle supply equipment electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) algorithm, called Automated Load Management, controls individual chargers precisely and automatically curtails charging when approaching the maximum power limit. By keeping your power draw within the peak threshold, Omega allows you to maximize your charger capacity without needing costly utility service upgrades. Because of this, Automated Load Management, which is recognized and approved by utilities, allows you to install more chargers, even if the max energy load exceeds your site’s maximum capacity.
4. Reduce total cost of ownership
With increasing and fluctuating fossil fuel prices, EVs make financial sense, but understanding and managing electric utility rates can be an obstacle to seeing return on your investment. Often a fleet will start charging without management software, only to experience sticker shock on their electric bill.
Omega puts fleet operators at ease as it leverages intelligent algorithms to ensure vehicles are charged with lowest-cost energy, while maintaining operational needs. The software knows when your utility’s rates are modest, and matches those time intervals to your vehicle dwell time to orchestrate charging sessions economically.
In addition to charging at low-cost times, Omega integrates with vehicle-to-grid (V2G) enabled EVs and EVSE, allowing your fleet to provide stored energy back to the grid when needed. As V2G technology improves, utilities may offer revenue for the energy provided to the grid–creating a new revenue stream for your fleet.
Another way Omega helps fleets save on energy costs is by leveraging Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) credit programs. With these programs, EV fleets can generate credits that can be purchased by carbon-intensive entities to offset their own emissions. Omega enables participation in LCFS programs through a robust reporting and compliance system–giving you the required information to sell your credits and profit from operating an EV fleet.
Get started today
Fleet operators should be able to focus on their core business of moving goods and people, not managing charging. Let us put your EV fleet charging on autopilot with charge management software, while guaranteeing our platform will always be there to keep your fleet running smoothly.
Date
3 March 2023
author
Meg Dinga
Senior Director, Marketing Operations & Special Projects, bp pulse fleet
Topics