EV Charging Terminology

Active Load Management (ALM) is a load control approach that monitors available electrical capacity and actively adjusts EV charging demand in response to changing site conditions. It may use live measurements, control rules or backend commands to reduce, increase or redistribute charger output.

Configurable current allows the maximum charging current to be set or limited during installation or configuration. It is normally assessed against site capacity, maximum demand, charger grouping and the behaviour expected when electrical demand changes.

A controller is hardware or software that manages charger operation, load control, communication or site-level coordination. In modern controller-worker terminology it can also replace the older term “master” in master-slave configurations, referring to the coordinating device or system that directs one or more worker/client devices.

Dynamic load management adjusts charger output in real time based on measured site demand or available capacity. It is normally assessed against site capacity, maximum demand, charger grouping and the behaviour expected when electrical demand changes.

The Electric Vehicles (Smart Charge Points) Regulations 2021 set Great Britain requirements for private smart charge points, including smart functionality, security, default charging behaviour and randomised delay. They apply to relevant charge points sold for domestic and certain private use cases.

ENA EREC G100 is the UK Engineering Recommendation for customer export and import limitation schemes used to control power flow at a grid connection point. In EV charging it is relevant to load management, constrained connections, V2G export control and maximum import limitation.

Load balancing distributes available electrical capacity between chargers, circuits or site loads to avoid exceeding supply limits. It is normally assessed against site capacity, maximum demand, charger grouping and the behaviour expected when electrical demand changes.

Load curtailment reduces or temporarily limits charging demand to keep a site within an agreed electrical capacity or operating limit. It is normally assessed against site capacity, maximum demand, charger grouping and the behaviour expected when electrical demand changes.

Load management controls EV charging demand in response to available electrical capacity, site load, user priority or grid constraints. It is normally assessed against site capacity, maximum demand, charger grouping and the behaviour expected when electrical demand changes.

Native solar support means the charger can work directly with solar generation or site energy monitoring to adjust EV charging based on available solar output, without relying entirely on a third-party workaround.

Power sharing divides available charging power between multiple outlets or chargers, often reducing output when more vehicles are connected. It is normally assessed against site capacity, maximum demand, charger grouping and the behaviour expected when electrical demand changes.

Randomised delay is a smart charging function that delays charging by a random period to reduce simultaneous demand spikes. It is normally considered alongside charge point management systems, OCPP support, firmware updates, reporting and remote diagnostics.

Scheduled charging allows charging to start, stop or prioritise at specific times set by the user, vehicle, charger or backend. It is normally considered alongside charge point management systems, OCPP support, firmware updates, reporting and remote diagnostics.

Simultaneous charging means more than one vehicle can charge at the same time from a multi-outlet charger or grouped charger system. It is normally assessed against site capacity, maximum demand, charger grouping and the behaviour expected when electrical demand changes.

Smart charging adjusts charging behaviour based on time, grid conditions, tariffs, user settings or available capacity. It is normally considered alongside charge point management systems, OCPP support, firmware updates, reporting and remote diagnostics.

Static load management applies fixed charging limits or predefined capacity allocations rather than continuously responding to measured site load. It is normally assessed against site capacity, maximum demand, charger grouping and the behaviour expected when electrical demand changes.