Things to consider before installing charging stations and wallboxes

Drivers of electric vehicles in Germany can currently find 58.926 publicly accessible charging points (as of April 1, 2022, source: Federal Network Agency). This is almost twice as many as in January 2020. In addition, there are more and more private charging points and wall boxes in garages or carports at home and in company parking lots. This means a high additional load on the electricity grid. In order for the local grid operator to check whether the grid can provide the required power, the Low Voltage Connection Ordinance (NAV ) applies:

• Every charging pole or wallbox with a rated power of more than 3,6 kVA must be registered with the grid operator before installation.
• Charging facilities with a total rated power of more than 12 kVA (11 kW) must also be approved by the grid operator.

It must also be ensured that the maximum power required at the same time does not exceed the amount agreed in the grid connection contract. This means that the installer must determine the peak load at the grid connection point before connecting the charging system. The power consumption of the planned charging stations or wallboxes is then added to this. The total must not exceed the agreed power.

Measuring instead of estimating

While estimates of the peak load were often sufficient in the beginning, most grid operators now require a measured load curve. This is done by installers with a mobile measuring system, such as our econ case.

The econ case contains all the necessary components for location-independent and temporary measurements in a robust plastic case:

• the econ sens3 energy and power meter with integrated web interface for analyzing and evaluating the measurement data
• the econ sens3 V-Kit voltage tap
• econ sens3 Coil for simple current measurement (folding transformer principle)
• the econ sens3 PRO upgrade for power quality analysis in accordance with EN 50160

The components can be connected in just a few minutes and are ready for immediate use.

By the way: The NAV also stipulates that a charging pole or wallbox may only be connected by a recognized installer. This installer must also be registered in the directory of a network operator.