Dynamic load balancing is a function that continuously monitors changes in energy consumption in an electrical circuit and automatically allocates available capacity to different electrical devices. In the context of EV charging, dynamic load balancing refers to a technique used in electric vehicle (EV) charging systems. This technique involves efficiently distributing available power to different charging devices or EV batteries based on their needs and availability. The aim is to optimise charging to avoid overloading charging stations or electrical networks while ensuring that EVs are charged as quickly as possible. Dynamic load balancing takes into account factors such as grid capacity, available energy and individual charging speeds for each EV, and dynamically adjusts the charging speed to achieve a smooth and efficient charging experience. This approach helps to optimise the use of available power, thereby improving the performance and reliability of the EV charging infrastructure.
Dynamic load balancing adapts power distribution in real-time, ensuring that each EV gets exactly the amount of power it needs, without excess usage. This helps to minimise energy waste and increase efficiency. By optimising the use of available power resources, dynamic load balancing improves the efficiency of electrical systems and helps reduce operating costs.
By preventing excessive power consumption and improving the utilisation of available resources, dynamic load balancing helps to reduce overall energy consumption and avoid costly capacity expansions to ensure sufficient power displacement.
The system identifies and handles overload situations by distributing power evenly. This reduces the risk of power outages and damage to electrical components. EV charging can use up a lot of the electrical capacity of a property. If an additional EV charger is installed at a property, without first increasing the amount of available electricity, you may experience capacity issues that can lead to overloading.
Dynamic load balancing helps maintain a stable power supply and reduces the risk of power outages, which is especially important in critical applications such as data centres, industrial facilities, or charging stations. Let's take a closer look at why commercial buildings and charging operators need a DLB system:
Dynamic load balancing is performed automatically, requiring minimal human operator intervention, providing a reliable and efficient solution. After the installation of the electrical system, there is little that needs to be done. For example, if a homeowner buys a vehicle that needs higher charging power or gets an extra car, no upgrades are required as the system automatically allocates available capacity.
These are significant advantages, but there are some disadvantages, which mainly relate to installation costs. The installation cost of the system is high, due to the cost of the equipment itself and additional cabling.
If you look at the issue dynamic load balancing solves, you can figure out how it works. Electrical circuits have a maximum load and may overheat if too much power is applied.
Most contemporary houses feature circuit breakers that shut off the power if the circuits are overloaded. This is because overloaded circuits may create fires. Also, running multiple power-hungry appliances uses all the available power and will trip the breaker, causing a home power outage.
When the electricity goes out, it's inconvenient and uncomfortable, but you may try shutting off power-hungry equipment to restore it. In this situation, dynamic load balancing may monitor how much power is being used on your circuit and intelligently provide it to the appliances that need it most. This enables several appliances to function without overloading the circuit.
The only way to determine whether you need a load balancing device is to check the power consumption of your property. You can do this in a few ways:
Once you know how much available power you have, you can tell whether you need a load balancer. If your EV charger will overload your main fuse, then you need a load balancer.
If you've gone through the above steps, you'll be aware of your home's power consumption and how an EV charger will affect your system. This means you can take some other steps to reduce the loads on your systems. Doing so means you can avoid the cost of a dynamic load balancing EV charger.
Let's cover the two simplest ways to manage the charging power and your main fuse.
The simplest choice is to pick a charger that delivers less charging current. A slower charger could take longer, but allows you to protect your home's power distribution. This ties into the second easy way to control your power consumption.
Charging your car overnight means using energy when the network is least loaded and the prices may be lower. This is a great option for most homeowners because they tend to charge overnight, anyway.
A better example of the usefulness of a dynamic load balancing system is a charging point operator. These locations serve multiple users on more than a single device regularly. A DLB system gives them the ability to make the most efficient use of available power and charging points.
Here's how it works:
Installing a large amount of DLB systems connected across the grid can create a very flexible system that uses data to avoid a power grid overload.
Here's what we know about dynamic load balancing:
If you'd like to know more about dynamic load balancing or have questions about other EV technology, please read more of our glossary pages.