Schneider Electric, a global specialist in energy management and automation, has introduced EVlink commercial electric vehicle charging stations to the local market, offering an easy way for electric vehicle owners to charge away from home. 

“Paramount amongst factors governing the success of electric vehicles, is the charging infrastructure,” highlights Victor Strobel, southern African marketing manager: EVLink at Schneider Electric. “It should allow users optimum access to energy anywhere, at any time. To ensure that electric vehicles can easily be charged, Schneider Electric is there to assist communities, shopping malls, business parks, airports, petrol stations and vehicle fleet operators, with the commissioning and operation of their charging infrastructures.”

EVlink charging solutions from Schneider Electric incorporate all the services car park managers need to benefit from a permanently available infrastructure, such as:

• Installing charging stations designed for commercial use;
• benefitting from solutions tailored to their needs (wall-mounted charging station, floor-standing charging station, DC Fast Charge station);
• having a precise overview of consumption and;
• during commissioning, or via the intervention of a qualified person, setting the vehicle charging parameters to avoid exceeding a given power demand; and
• modulating the power allocated to each vehicle according to priority determined via energy management.

For car park managers, Schneider Electric offers comprehensive help in commissioning infrastructure, including a design study and detailed recommendations to suit their constraints and needs. “We ensure a rugged, reliable and bespoke infrastructure, installed by a Schneider Electric certified contractor. Efficient energy control and supervision and optimum availability of infrastructure,” adds Strobel.

He points out that when charging one or more vehicles at a charging station, the protective devices are grouped together upstream in a protection cabinet. The charging stations utilize Mode 3, which is used to establish permanent communication between the electric vehicle and the charging infrastructure. “It permits maximum protection,” continues Strobel. “Unlike the domestic socket, no current is injected unless all the protective conditions are met.”

Mode 3 is also used to adjust the amount of energy allocated to each vehicle in real time according to external parameters, such as:
• The number of vehicles to be charged simultaneously;
• the maximum current the charging station can supply;
• The instantaneous installation consumption; and more.

“Installing charging stations is a requirement that is needed to meet the growing use of electric vehicles. More than just a charging station, EVlink is a solution, which incorporates energy management, minimises installation costs and provides flexibility, protection, reliability and efficiency,” concludes Strobel.