Allocated capacity to chargers is too low

Created by Levin Lam, Modified on Wed, 29 Apr at 8:09 PM by Levin Lam

If you find that the allocated power to chargers that are online is lower than expected this can be for a number of reasons, a key one being connectivity issues.

The load balancing algorithm calculates available capacity and allocates this to chargers based on the load management strategy selected (FIFO, needs based, etc.). Chargers will accept this allocation and regulate their power output accordingly.

However, occasionally chargers will lose connectivity to the internet, often caused by poor cellular connections. When this happens a charger will continue to output power at the allocated rate even though BetterFleet has lost visibility of that charger. Therefore BetterFleet must assume that the charger is still producing power, otherwise if this power is allocated to other chargers the site's power supply may be overloaded and tripped.

Maintaining the allocated capacity when chargers go offline is by design and is in place to ensure safe system operation. Through real-world testing we have observed that chargers running on cellular modems can drop in and out many times an hour. BetterFleet has therefore been designed to ride through these intermittent communications drop outs with a last known state approach.

The root cause of low power output is often poor connectivity and we therefore recommend troubleshooting that and where possible using hardwired Ethernet communications, rather than cellular modems internal to the chargers.

Troubleshooting steps to try to determine a stuck charger:

Check the system admin load balancing page for capacity vs allocated
Sort by seq# to see where capacity changes are fairly large, meaning they failed to apply
Block the charger (charger settings -> OCPP settings -> turn off "Allow OCPP connection") that didn't have capacity change applied.
(Optionally step as this should happen automatically within a minute) Force a rebalance on the circuit (power settings -> circuit -> rebalance circuit)

If the issue persists, please provide any additional details so we can better assist you.