From oil to electricity: how Zaptec powers smarter electric vehicle charging with Orange Business
Imagine a housing estate with ten electric car chargers: in the late afternoon, people come home from work, plug in their cars, and go inside to cook dinner for the family. This means that car chargers, ovens, hot water tanks and dishwashers all need power simultaneously. When many people need to charge an electric car in the same locale at the same time – such as in a housing estate, an apartment building or a large business – there isn't always enough power for everyone to charge at full capacity.
This is precisely where Zaptec's cloud-based charging system offers a competitive edge. Each charger communicates information to the cloud, and the system then ensures that the available power is distributed fairly among the chargers.
"Zaptec's smart electric chargers are connected to each other like trees in a forest. They optimize the use of power and ensure that all available energy in the system is used as efficiently as possible," explains Joar Etterlid, System Developer at Zaptec.
The charging system prioritizes and distributes the available power between charging points at larger stations, as well as those installed in private households. Each charging point is an IoT device, meaning it is connected to the Internet in order to make charging more efficient.
Zaptec leverages our cloud solution to optimise EV charging, ensuring efficient energy use and seamless scalability.
Maximising power efficiency with smart EV charging
Zaptec’s cloud-based EV charging system optimises power distribution, ensuring efficient energy use even during peak demand. Achieve this with the requirements listed below:
Scaling smart EV charging: how Zaptec drives innovation and global growth
Zaptec has grand ambitions and is growing rapidly, with several new markets in Europe and other parts of the world on its radar. The company is aiming for a billion-NOK turnover in 2022; recently, its production capacity for smart chargers was expanded to meet demand in countries such as Germany and Switzerland.
"We are also working on a payment service for electric car charging called Charge365. This will address payment needs and make the chargers more user-friendly," says Økland.
Since each charger is connected to the Internet, Zaptec cannot simply update the software continuously, enabling features such as the ability to lock the charging box remotely from the app. The charging system is also integrated into Tibber, a provider that ensures the most affordable electric power at all times. In addition, smart system chargers feature a direct oversight function: this means that when a problem arises, users get direct customer support. Zaptec can perform ongoing maintenance on every single charger, whether the user lives in a single-family home or in an apartment complex.
Obviously, all of these features require a reliable and trustworthy cloud service.
"Orange Business has proven cloud expertise that’s highly valuable to us. Their know-how frees up a lot of time, which we can then use to build new features and improve the product instead of getting bogged down in operations. They ensure the quality of new features in Microsoft Azure, so we don't have to worry about choosing the wrong one. Moreover, they help us scale up and outward into new markets," says Efterlid.
"Operations are the most important thing for a company like ours. Our customer promise is 'charge whenever you want to discover new experiences,’ and this is where our business value lies," says Økland.
Powering sustainability: how cloud innovation drives Zaptec's EV charging solutions
For Orange Business, Zaptec is an ideal partner to work with: cloud services are critical to the development of the Internet of Things, and car-charging networks are a perfect example of the kind of progress it can offer.
"The renewable industry inspires us to work toward sustainable digital solutions. Microsoft Azure's speed of innovation and our ability to integrate and operate the system provide Zaptec with a flexible and secure platform to achieve its sustainability goals," explains Robert Baumann, Marketing Manager at Orange Business.
up to 66%
Zaptec can leverage more of the power you already have available.
Optimising energy: leveraging 66% more power with cloud connectivity
Joar Etterlid
Zaptec
Headquartered on the west coast of Norway, Zaptec is a fast-growing green technology company, specializing in smart systems for electric car charging. In just a few years, Zaptec's technology has been widely adopted by a significant share of private electric car users.