Shift to EVs means NZ could have power problems if not for We.EV.
There’s a looming problem with the transition from fossil fuel to electric vehicles: electricity demand is set for a rapid increase as New Zealand’s fleet of EVs continues growing.
Front-footing the issue, We.EV has launched a smart home charging solution alongside its commercial products, helping EV owners directly participate in energy efficiency measures while driving down the cost of transport.
We.EV is a public, business and home EV charging solution provider backed by Waikato’s WEL Networks. It operates multiple public 160kWh charging stations countrywide and, with the launch of We.EV @Home, intends to help drive a better approach to EV ownership.
“The standard residential EV charge is 7 kilowatts,” says We.EV product manager Sam Montgomerie. “While that doesn’t mean much on its own, in context it means a lot – that is fully half of the average daily household electricity allocation. As EV numbers grow, in other words, we’ll soon see 50 per cent added to the draw of every home with an electric car in the garage.”
According to MBIE, New Zealand generates and consumes around 43,500 gigawatt hours of electricity every year. There isn’t a great deal of headroom for increased demand; an Electricity Authority paper notes ‘The installed generation capacity at the end of 2022 was over 9,400MW [which] compares to an all-time peak winter demand of record of 7,129MW on 9 August 2021′.
However, the paper further points out that installed capacity isn’t the same as available capacity – ‘a number of generators are on scheduled maintenance outages at any given time’ - and, famously, storing electricity at scale isn’t feasible.
This is precisely the problem We.EV seeks to solve. “The real issue isn’t necessarily capacity and demand,” explains Montgomerie. “Instead, it’s an efficiency problem. Our networks and infrastructure are designed and have run very effectively for 100 years or so, by catering for the demand spikes typically occurring in the mornings and evenings.”
Outside of those spikes, there is potentially a lot of electricity sloshing around looking for something to power, while the distribution infrastructure conveying power from source to destination is being used well below its maximum capability.
The goal of ‘smoothing’ demand isn’t new. Several energy retailers have introduced ‘human automation’ solutions (generally known as ‘hours of free power’), encouraging off-peak demand, drawing on excess electricity available on the grid at off-peak times.
“That’s what the We.EV smart charger and companion app does. It allows you to plug in your car whenever you want, but it only charges it when you set it to. If demand on the grid is ever at risk of exceeding our generation thresholds, the chargers automatically throttle down.
“They will respond by picking back up when demand for power decreases, therefore preserving electricity infrastructure. This is the basic idea, much like a hot water cylinder control that has potential to save our network millions.”
Presently constituting around 2 per cent of the national fleet, EVs aren’t yet a major issue for electricity demand or delivery. However, MBIE notes that the number of electric vehicles doubled in an 18-month period and. while sales may have slowed in the face of changing government priorities and cost of living belt-tightening, it is a reasonable expectation the transition will resume.
Montgomerie says We.EV has found millions of dollars can be saved by being smart, optimising existing infrastructure, and using the output of generating capacity more effectively. “Distributing the load means the entire system doesn’t have to change. Instead, we adapt to the system’s limitations and capabilities.”
Sure, you can plug in your EV at 5pm, but you could do it at 11pm and still have more than enough range for the next day’s drive. “Or, with a smart charger, you can plug it in any time, and let it decide when power is cheapest; and, of course, you don’t have to charge to 100 per cent every day, something you can set in the app.”
He notes that merely creating new spikes, which can occur with ‘human automation’, isn’t quite enough.
“If hundreds of thousands of EV owners plug in at 11pm, for example, you may have reduced demand at 6pm, only for a huge draw at 11. We.EV caters for that, by matching demand to supply; when there’s enough power on grid, and when it is cheaper, that’s when your car will charge.
“If something goes wrong – like a generating unit goes down, or there’s a really cold night, the smart charger adapts accordingly, throttling down demand.”
Done in concert across thousands of households, this means better use of existing resources, without necessarily adding new generation capacity in the short to medium term.
All of which makes perfect sense – but Montgomerie has a more immediate problem. Asked if EV owners are on board or even consider smart charging, he laughs. “Not in the slightest! Most haven’t given it a second thought and just plug in whenever.”
Consequently, he says there’s something of an education mountain to climb - but when people see the logic, appreciate that smart charging will save them money and is for the public good, they’re generally on board.
We.EV @Home is offered at a GST-inclusive price of $1595, which includes in-home hardware and a ‘standard’ professional installation on a dedicated circuit.
The We.EV app provides full visibility on energy consumption, charging status, and more, and combines commercial (for those using other We.EV solutions) and home charging in one place. Montgomerie says We.EV also installs solar integrated with home chargers for self-generated clean energy powering the EV.
For more information, visit we-ev.co.nz/at-home