Charging Systems 101

What is the difference between sequential, parallel, and modular fast charging systems?

Both Sequential and Parallel charging rely on a Power Server. If the Power Server fails then no charging will take place. With Modular, or Dedicated, charging each unit is independent and does not affect the other charging stations. PowerDesigners uses the Modular style so that if one of the charging stations were to go down, all of the other chargers will still charge at full potential.

Fast Charging System Basics

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Sequential/Parallel Charging Overview

Inflexible system – Not easily upgraded or expanded

  • Cannot expand beyond main power server capacity
  • Cannot easily add, move, or remove stations

Susceptible to single point failure – All stations will be down if power server fails

Average power per station is low – Cannot ensure continuous high rate charging

sequential-parallel-charging-system

Modular/Dedicated Charging System Overview

Flexible system

  • Easily upgrade or expand
  • Easy to add and remove drawers, as well as move to new locations

Reliable system design

  • No potential failure of power server
  • Should a charger fail, loss of only one port rather than multiple ports
  • Remaining chargers still available for use

Average power per station is very high

  • Each battery plugged into the charging station has the potential to charge at the maximum rate it can accept

dedicated-charging-system

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