IoT (Internet of Things) in today’s era is one of the most significant technologies having dynamic applications across every industry. Its advanced connectivity and ability to gather and process data in real-time makes it beneficial for all sectors. The automotive industry, too, leverages this tremendous technology to make itself more advanced.
The days of gasoline fuel vehicles and stations being obsolete are not far away now. Many countries worldwide have begun their journey to facilitate a fully electric vehicle system, while others are catching up with them. One of the major purposes of IoT in EV systems is the development of robust charging infrastructure. The ability to remotely manage the charging stations is a big challenge that IoT systems seamlessly handle.
So in this blog, we will discuss the role and uses of IoT in EV systems and how it is changing the automotive dynamics for the future. Let us start!
Overview: IoT in EV Charging
IoT is fundamentally a convergence of IT (Information Technology) and OT (Operational Technology). The OT focuses more on devices and sensors established in the system. At the same time, IT deals with the digital transformation aspects of the system.
In the EV charging station landscape, the system is connected to multiple IoT devices integrated with several third-party service providers like e-MSPs, energy suppliers, and charge point operators.
The devices established in the charging system utilize a back-end cloud infrastructure that is run through different protocols & connectivity options to ensure seamless charging operations.
The major services carried out at an EV station are
- Processing payments
- Scheduling
- Software updates
- Predictive maintenance
- Usage analytics
IoT in an EV charging system consists of three major elements:
1. Charging Equipment
It is a hardware unit established at a charging station that provides a physical connection between the power grid and the EV. The unit comprises different connectivity options, power electronics, charging protocols, and sensors. All these devices perform operations like
- Engagement and disengagement of the port
- Start and stop the process of charging
- Energy Metering
- Fault Detection
- Health Status
2. Mobile App
The next most important element of IoT in the EV charging system is a web-based smartphone app. The app is responsible for connecting The EV charging network to the EV owners. Some of the major operations include
- User Authentication
- Navigating A Charging Network
- Charger Onboarding
- Scheduled Charging
- Slot Reservation
- Billing, And Payments
3. Management Platform
It is a cloud-based platform that aims to gather data from IoT Sensors and devices to perform data analytics. It consists of operations such as
- Load Balancing
- Remote Monitoring
- Configurations Management
- Firmware Upgrades
- Alerts and Notifications
IoT in the EV charging system enables continuous monitoring of operations and gathering of data to present it in reports & dashboards. Also, it can be leveraged to notify users during critical failures.
IoT is a great technology for EV automobiles and charging stations as most of its failures can be troubleshot effortlessly with remote operations. Hence, IoT is unquestionably the next big technology in the automotive sector.
The Four Pillars of IoT in Electric Vehicle Management System
The IoT Electric vehicle management system consists of four aspects on which it majorly works:
Battery Management System
As EVs are powered with batteries, so the primary role of the battery management system is to monitor and manage the battery processes. It includes charging, discharging, and checking key parameters like voltage, current, and temperature while charging operations.
IoT enables the battery system to be controlled and fixed remotely when required. Besides, the battery system continuously sends data to the servers to generate insights on the next course of action to enhance performance.
Safety and Smart Driving
Providing higher safety to passengers commuting in a vehicle is an important element of using IoT in automobiles. IoT sensors and devices planted inside the EVs provide features like
- Theft prevention through real-time tracking, immobilization, and geo-fencing.
- It consistently monitors the performance of vehicles based on different attributes like driving conditions, geography, weather, etc. The accumulated data helps in making the system more efficient.
- The IoT devices established in vehicles also capture the car parameters like speed and acceleration and accordingly provide ti[ps in real-time.
Preventive Maintenance System
Though EVs are designed with care, there can be incidents of component failures. Therefore, there are IoT-based fault alert systems installed in the system that notifies the driver about the failing component.
It helps them to analyze the situation and act accordingly. As the issue gets addressed ahead of time, the driver gets time to prevent a breakdown. In addition, the problem can be fixed remotely in certain conditions. It enhances the customer experience and provides higher vehicle reliability to the user.
Telematics Data
IoT is important and is used widely in different sectors today due to its ability to collect data for improved operations. In the automotive industry, data is gathered when connected to vehicle sensors. This accumulated data can be displayed via widgets and used to generate automatic reports. Some of the most beneficial factors of using telematics for EVs are:
- It provides the details of battery usage data.
- It generates a charging report for every charging session.
- It monitors and provides insights on driver behavior data.
- It alerts users with nearby charging station alerts.
How Does IoT Transform the EV Charging Experience?
Here are some crucial benefits and use cases of IoT in EV charging:
- User Authentication
The customer uses an RFID card/tag to access the charging machine. As soon as they tap their tag, the charging station transmits the data to the IoT platform. The IoT platform then checks the user profile and performs an authentication process to ensure secure and safe billing.
2. Charger Availability
The IoT sensors and devices deployed inside your car notify you about the nearby available charging stations. In addition, you can utilize the smartphone app to reserve a slot and check the rates of the charging service for different times.
3. Automated Operations
IoT has powered the charging stations to work automatically without any user help. Besides, the system notifies the users about the left charging time, due payments, and any charging errors.
4. Smart Charging
Due to the availability of IoT sensors, charging stations can work more smartly. When there is abundant sunlight and energy production, the chargers automatically start charging, which invariably helps grid operators to manage energy more efficiently.
5. Remote Management
The IoT devices installed in the system generate real-time metrics & insights. The metrics may include charger availability, utilization, and fault monitoring. It helps in fixing the issues remotely when required. Further, it helps in predictive maintenance and minimizing operational downtime.
6. EVSE Control
There are several sensory nodes through which the IoT platform collects information. The data may include energy tariffs, grid limit, EV battery capacity, and state of charge. Information on these metrics helps manage the EV charging infrastructure and deliver better service.
7. Support and Management
IoT enables EV charging stations to become smarter, connected, and accessible for everyone. Besides, it presents crucial information such as charging time, charging queues, weather conditions, etc., that aids in a better support system for the users.
8. Data Collection and Analysis
Advanced cloud solutions powered by IoT significantly help in data collection and enable users, service providers, and maintenance workers to optimize their work more efficiently.
9. Geo-Dashboard
Geo dashboard is an impressive feature of the EV charging module where the user is informed about the nearby charging stations to schedule their trip more effectively.
Should You Invest in IoT EV Charging Solutions?
EVs are the future of automobiles and will get mainstream in the next couple of years around the globe. Hence, building refined EV charging solutions now can earn you a monopoly in this service industry. So if you wish to build your own IoT-based EV charging solution, get in touch with our Intuz expert team. Intuz is a leading IoT development company who have built impressive and unique IoT solutions for different market verticals. You, too, incorporate with them to build your next IoT solution.
