FAQs: Frequently asked questions answered

GENERAL

Why do I need a charging management system?

Range and vehicle availability play a central role in electromobility. A charging management system simplifies the complexity of electrification. Due to the limited power supply, it is essential to operate several e-cars at one location smoothly and cost-efficiently.

What does smart charging mean?

Intelligent charging, so-called "smart charging," creates a connection between e-cars, charging stations, energy suppliers and users. Vehicle charging processes are controlled and coordinated by an automated computer system, which makes charging processes much more efficient.

What does load management mean?

Load management actively and selectively controls electricity consumption in line with demand, so that the e-cars only draw electricity when there is sufficient capacity in the power grid. Load management can reduce investment and operating costs and increase the availability of charging points for e-cars.

What is OpenADR?

OpenADR (Open Automated Demand Response) is an open cloud-to-cloud communication protocol to specifically control intelligent power grids, so-called "smart grids". The power of the electric vehicle fleet can be adapted to the current load on the power grid and the supply network can be stabilized.

What is an RFID charging card?

RFID stands for Radio-Frequency IDentification. By displaying the registered RFID card, the charging station releases the charging process so that the e-car can be charged.

What is Plug & Charge?

Plug & Charge enables automatic authentication of the vehicle with the charging station so that vehicle-related RFID cards are not required for charging processes.

What is bidirectional charging?

Bidirectional means charging in both directions. If a vehicle is equipped with bidirectional charging capability, not only can energy be added to it, but it can pass on stored energy to other electrical devices.

The vehicle battery can be used as a power storage device and idle times of the e-car can be used intelligently and efficiently.

What does vehicle-to-grid mean?

Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) is a special concept of bidirectional charging. V2G technology allows electricity from the vehicle battery to be released back into the public power grid. When the power grid has bottlenecks, V2G can relieve them.

What is an OBD2 telematics module?

OBD (On-Board-Diagnosis) is a vehicle diagnostic system integrated into the car and an international standard. OBD2 is the second generation of on-board diagnostic system that can read, monitor and process all the vehicle's ECUs.

An OBD2 telematics connector is plugged into the OBD2 port accordingly and connected to the OBD interface in the vehicle.

PRODUCT

How does IO-ELON work?

IO-ELON uses vehicle data to create new charging profiles and 24h charging predictions for the e-cars. The algorithm uses the vehicle data to decide how and when to charge the e-cars. In addition to the vehicle data, the energy consumption of the building and the energy consumption of an installed PV system (if any) are also taken into account. IO-ELON then creates a charging schedule for the next 24 hours.

Read here why vehicle data is relevant to e-fleet operations.

How is the vehicle data read out?

The vehicle data is transmitted to the charging management system either via our self-developed OBD2 telematics module or via the API, a programming interface, of the vehicle manufacturer.

Does the vehicle have to go to the repair shop for the integration of the vehicle data?

No, the telematics modules can be plugged into any vehicle without further ado. The data is then read out immediately and sent to the charging management system in encrypted form.

Does the vehicle have to go to the repair shop for configuration with IO-ELON?

No, the configurations can be made quite easily via the platform itself. Vehicles can be created with just one click. No visit to the workshop is necessary for any step in the use of IO-ELON.

Is it possible to gain unauthorized access to the vehicle from the outside?

No, the telematics module has a firewall that does not allow more than the predefined commands to be sent to the vehicle. At no time can any other commands be sent to the vehicle via the OBD2 interface.

Is personal data stored?

No, no personal data such as driving behavior or GPS is tracked and stored. There is only the option of personalized billing for the kilometers driven.

How much is the cost saving?

Depending on the electricity tariff, the number of vehicles and the use of a PV system, several thousand euros can be saved per vehicle per year. For an accurate analysis of the cost savings, this information must be known.

How many emissions can be saved?

With optimal integration of the company's own PV system and the use of a green electricity tariff, emissions for mobility can be reduced to a maximum.

With 100 vehicles and an average of 80 kilometers per day, up to 135 tons of CO2 can be saved per year.