It’s not surprising you don’t think much about the data flowing from your EVs whenever you charge your car; after all, you don’t worry about boiling the kettle or switching on the lights, and everybody wants charging to be simple. In fact, we want charging to be easier than filling up with petrol. Why should we make it complicated?

Insights creating possibilities

But the bits and bytes collecting in the cloud hold a battery of possibilities for improving your drivers’ experiences and your EV management. Charging data tells you who, where, when, how long, the price, the electricity consumption, how full is the battery. Pooled together this data paints a unique charging image superimposed on time and location.

Electricity consumption EV charging data thundergrid

Useful answers help make decisions

At Thundergrid, we take that image and curate it for your personal insights. While a simple list of charging sessions and electricity consumption is the helpful baseline, and informs us of habits and protocols, it can be combined with industry data to help answer questions that might otherwise be difficult. Questions like:

  • What’s the optimal tariff available to make my utility bill lower?
  • Can I make this environmental report easier to write if I know the real-time carbon impact of my charging sessions.
  • Can we save money by charging at different times and using variable rates?
  • Is it cheaper for staff to charge at home and for me to reimburse their usage.
  • How many chargers can the sub-station support and is it close to its limits? Can we avoid a replacement by managing demand?
  • Am I ever in danger of tripping the fuse and could that be prevented?

Decentralising the grid

Providing answers will inevitably cause the rapid evolution of the electricity market, especially as EV take up hits the early majority. You can expect a time when EV batteries become a power backup supplying the grid with electricity at peak demand. EVs will help smooth fluctuations, increase the lifespan of existing infrastructure and ease the transition to zero-carbon.

Smart charging, smart future

We are capturing the data to build this vision one charging session at a time. By collating the data and pooling smart decisions, together we will demand better options and more control; and, importantly, greater rewards for taking part in a modern electricity grid.

But for the moment, capturing your data will lead to informed decisions and is the best route to optimal charging management for your car, your employees and your fleet.