EverCharge recently became the first EVSE manufacturer to receive California Department of Food and Agriculture's (CDFA) California Type Evaluation Program (CTEP) certification and is currently the only EV charging equipment supplier to receive CDFA certification.
The new CDFA standards, which mirror those on gas pumps, ensure accuracy and transparency at every EV charging station in California. This means that every kilowatt-hour is accurately accounted for in the billing process and that the cost to the consumer is displayed on the station.
The law applies to all new Level 2 chargers beginning in 2021, and to new DC fast chargers installed after 1/1/23. Those new stations must bill customers by the amount of energy dispensed, not by the time spent using the equipment. Chargers installed before 2021 can continue to use time-based billing until 2031 (for Level 2 chargers) or 2033 (for DC fast chargers).
"EverCharge has consistently been at the forefront of tackling some of the EVSE industry's most difficult problems," said Jason Appelbaum, CEO of EverCharge "This certification means that every EverCharge station tracks the power used with complete accuracy, so our customers have full transparency."
EverCharge has been a pioneer in load management technology for EV charging. It offers high-density parking areas a power management solution that allows more EVs to be charged at a lower cost. This technology allows most preexisting properties the ability to add EV charging equipment while avoiding the high infrastructure upgrade costs and allowing more EV owners and fleet operators easy access to charging where it once was difficult.
I recently spoke with EverCharge CEO, Jason Appelbaum, and asked him how EverCharge is different from simple circuit load sharing which many EV smart-chargers are capable of doing today.
We've developed a suite of tools to reduce the installation cost and really maximize the number of charging stations you can out in the building while minimizing the cost to install them. - Jason Appelbaum, CEO of EverCharge
His response:
Circuit sharing is a very rudimentary way of doing load management. Circuit sharing assumes that you have a set amount of power or there's a single circuit breaker that's powering a couple of stations. We're talking about a fully dynamic load managing system that takes into account the building load as well as all of the charging stations in a building across 3-phase panels, transformers, and other load elements in the building to give the most amount of power possible to the EV charging system while respecting things like demand response and peak load management to avoid high demand charges and optimize the power at a much granular level then saying, hey here's two stations, figure it out. We don't take a 40-amp breaker and dividing it in two, we're taking an entire building really maximizing its capacity.
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So basically, EverCharge can squeeze out the maximum amount of power a property can spare and charge more EVs, and it does so intelligently as to minimize the demand charges the property incurs - that's brilliant. The system doesn't rely on a dedicated sub-panel, or a few circuits to share power from, it looks at the entire property's real-time power consumption and then calculates how much available power can be sent to the EV chargers.
Now that EverCharge has CDFA certification, that's another great reason to consider it for your property, whether it be multi-family, commercial retail, or commercial fleet charging, especially if you're located in California.
EverCharge offers 48-amp and 80-amp chargers, both can be de-rated to have a lower output. The 80-amp units are mostly used in commercial fleet use for electric trucks and vans. The 48-amp units have an 18-foot cable which is a little short. I asked Appelbaum why not make it a little longer so it will easily reach the chargeport wherever it's positioned.
He said they actually catch a lot of flack for the cord length, but they do it on purpose. That's because the typical parking space is a little longer than 18-feet and they like the fact that the cord is basically confined to the parking spot the charger services. The 80-amp charger has a 24-foot cable, and that's because vehicles in fleet use often need a longer reach.
There are a variety of different billing models, and customers can have their own accounts with direct billing. EverCharge will even pay the electricity bill and invoice the customers directly if the property management prefers that model.
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EverCharge chargers are connected with each other with the "EverCharge Mesh" and each station can be equipped with a cellular modem. The modems act as relays for the gateway to get out. While any station can be fitted with a cellular model, a system only requires one station to have it.
Appelbaum told me that EverCharge already has thousands of systems (not individual chargers, systems) already in use, and are already in approximately 35 states. I'm hoping to check out an EverCharge site at some point in the near future and perhaps speak with the property management to get their opinion on how the system works.
On the surface, this appears to be an excellent solution to a nagging problem that has been a serious pain point in EV adoption. EverCharge can efficiently charge many EVs in a single location without requiring the site to incur expensive electrical upgrades, which is something property owners are rarely willing to do.
Are any of our readers EverCharge customers? We'd like to know what you think of EverCharge. Does this move the needle for EV charging in high-density parking applications? Let us know in the comment section below.