Commercial & industrial

Solar and storage for depot charging: when do the vehicles return?

Charger ratings are equipment limits. Arrival times, dwell times and required energy define the actual task.

Start with the vehicle schedule

Staff cars may stay all day, delivery vehicles may return only between shifts and visitors have another pattern. Record vehicle numbers, arrival charge, departure deadlines and daily driving needs. Do not assume every charger runs at full power together, or that every driver can wait for a cheaper tariff.

Compare managed charging before adding batteries

Long dwell times may allow sequencing and a site power limit to ease connection pressure. Storage can support selected peaks or absorb solar surplus, but it needs time to recharge. Compare managed charging alone with managed charging plus storage using the same vehicle schedule.

Close the daily energy balance

Show solar output, charging, other loads and battery operation on one timeline. Night charging needs daytime solar to be stored first. If the battery already handles afternoon peaks, check what remains for the evening. Getting vehicles ready for departure is the first requirement; other benefits follow.

Further reading: data.nlr.gov

This article supports early project discussions. Final configuration depends on site conditions.

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