At Flipturn, we give fleets a single place to see and operate every EV fleet asset, vehicles and chargers alike. Detailed real-time charging data is a game changer for EV fleets:
- Knowing when charging will be done so a vehicle can go on its next route and another can charge in its place
- Knowing which chargers are in use right now, and by which vehicles
- Accounting for historical energy usage of each vehicle and charger, for cost analysis, LCFS credits, and more
DC fast chargers report a lot more real-time data than most Level 2 chargers
Depending on which chargers you have and which charging management system you use, you may be able to get more or less detail about your real-time operations.
Level 2 chargers are able to report real-time information about the charging session and charger:
- Current status of the charger – charging, available, etc
- Real-time energy usage (kWh) during a charging session, as well as energy used in total
- Real-time power usage (kW) during a charging session
DC fast chargers, in addition to the information above, are also able to collect detailed information about the vehicle:
- The ID of the vehicle plugged in, allowing you to see who is charging where
- The real-time state of charge of the vehicle, in percent, which is helpful to get a sense of when the vehicle will be ready to go
Here's how all of those details will show up in the Flipturn dashboard:
As you can see, today only DC fast chargers are generally able to report some of the most useful information that helps you operate your fleet efficiently. It's not always clear what kind of data reporting your charger will be capable of when you buy it, so it's worth checking with your vendor to make sure you can get all of the data you need!
On the horizon: ISO 15118 vehicle to charger communication
ISO 15118 is a new standard for vehicle to charger communication that can be integrated into Level 2 chargers and DC fast chargers.
It has many components including functionality for payments and vehicle-to-grid (V2G), but one of the most exciting aspects for fleets is that it will enable chargers to report even more in-depth details about the charging session:
- Level 2 chargers will be able to report the identity of the vehicle and the real-time state of charge percentage
- In addition to state of charge, vehicles will also be able to report the total amount of energy they will need to get to a full charge, helping with energy management and improving the ability to estimate charging completion time
As of late 2023, ISO 15118 was supported by several vehicle models including the Mustang Mach-E, with Kia EV9, Hyundai IONIQ 6, and Volkswagen ID Buzz all on the way. On the charger side, ISO 15118 had broader adoption in Europe than in the US at that point. Flipturn works with partners to recommend ISO 15118-capable Level 2 chargers for US fleets; for current status, contact us for an updated list.
Overview of charging options
Selecting the right charger and fleet operations platform for your fleet
Many fleets, especially those with 5+ vehicles, benefit from detailed real-time insight into their vehicles and chargers. Today, the most reliable way to get that is DC fast chargers combined with a platform like Flipturn's fleet charging management.
Not all fleets need DC fast charging — Level 2 is cheaper and fits many duty cycles. The rise of ISO 15118-enabled Level 2 chargers should narrow the data gap between L2 and DCFC over time, letting more fleets get vehicle-level visibility without the DCFC capex.
Flipturn is hardware-agnostic and OCPP-compliant, so it works with the chargers you already have. Book a demo or browse how fleets use Flipturn in production.
