b'34 Partner News Autumn 2022CorporateConnecting the dots between buildings and EVsBy Stewart Gregory, VP Power Products at Schneider Electric UK&ISince June 2022, all new residential homeslowest price scenario for that time of the day,Partnerships driving innovationand buildings will be required to have anmaking it more energy and cost efficient. These sustainable, smarter energy solutions electric car charging point by law. Withare only possible with industry partnerships rapidly rising electric vehicle (EV) sales,A path to sustainable buildings and cooperation that drive tech innovation. charging demands are set to skyrocket,The surge in EV adoption mirrors the pathWe must work together to build a more and having the right infrastructure will be aof renewables. Most of the environmentalresilient grid, to identify potential problems necessity.benefits of EVs rely on cars charging fromand find solutions that work for buildings, clean energy sources that are quicklyelectrical experts and EV consumers.Consumers want to reduce their carbonbecoming cheaper and more abundant. footprint and optimise energy consumptionModern charging stations are, in essence, through the use of EVs, however, this is notBuildings play a key role in the renewablenetwork connection points, capable of as simple as adding a few extra chargingenergy future by producing cheap solaraccessing the cloud and suppling electrical points. This is a process that will challengepower to mitigate consumption costs andpower when needed. Within these the grid and force us to redesign buildingsclimate impact, and support the adoption oftechnologies, companies like Schneider electrical infrastructure to keep up withmore sustainable modes of transport like EVs. Electric have designed the ability to consumer demand. securely connect and send data to the Through the smart use of digital tools andoperator and electric power consumer. Increased demand drivesbattery storage, renewable energy canIts through vendor-agnostic software and smarter solutions smooth consumption patterns, keepingpartner collaboration that efficiency is A typical EV driver charges three times acosts down and grids in balance. Thisoptimised, and predictive maintenance is dayin the morning, during lunch or in thesmart technology can connect to weatherenabled. evening. This creates the challenge of how toforecasts and driving behaviour to provide use energy most effectively to satisfy poweras much or as little renewable reservesTo find out more, visit Schneider Electric needs at different locations, at differentneeded to charge car batteries and powereMobility: https://www.se.com/uk/en/times. The key is intelligent charging, loadthe building, creating a more sustainablework/solutions/for-business/automotive-management, power generation, storageelectrical infrastructure. and-emobility/emobility.jspand synthesis with the rest of the grid. When combined, this integration of the eMobility ecosystem forms the backbone of EV charging infrastructuredigitalisation is what makes this possible. Instead of investing in large, expensive and inefficient connections to the grid, a smarter approach is to invest in digital solutions that make energy consumption more efficient. For example, incorporating charging stations that offer battery storage into electrical planning, allowing drivers that want to charge their vehicle to source power from the grid or battery storage. The charging station can be programmed to optimise the'