The CT is in the wrong place
The charger may be outside or in a garage, but the useful measurement point is often at the meter, consumer unit, solar inverter or sub-board.
EV Charging Energy Management
EV charging works better when the charger understands the site.
Wireless CT, load-management context and site intelligence
PlugStream Flow gives compatible PlugStream chargers the local energy context they need: grid import/export, solar generation, storage flow where configured, available capacity and charger behaviour. That helps homeowners, installers and commercial sites avoid messy CT runs, protect the supply and make smarter charging decisions.
Common problems
Common problems with EV charging energy management.
Most energy-management issues start away from the charger: where the CTs need to be fitted, how the supply is shared, whether solar is visible and what evidence exists when something slows down.
The site supply is shared
EV charging can be one of the largest loads on the installation. Without live site data, chargers may either overload the site or be limited more than necessary.
Solar and EV charging are not connected
Customers want to use solar energy intelligently, but the charger needs a reliable view of what the site is importing or exporting.
Multiple chargers need one site view
Commercial sites often need a clearer site energy picture so charger behaviour, available capacity and support events can be understood together.
Support teams need a timeline
Slow charging, stopped charging and nuisance trips are hard to diagnose without local measurement and control evidence.
PlugStream approach
The PlugStream approach.
Instead of treating energy monitoring, charger behaviour and support diagnostics as separate problems, PlugStream uses Flow as the local energy measurement and site intelligence point for installations that need more than a simple single-CT setup.
Measure
Use up to four CT inputs to monitor grid, solar, storage, charger group or other key circuits.
Connect
Use wireless CT placement and local PlugStream communication where cable runs would be awkward.
Control
Give compatible PlugStream chargers additional site context where supported by firmware and the selected PlugStream Cloud plan.
Prove
Use Sentinel Bridge to capture measurements, control decisions and fault timelines for support and handover evidence.
Homes and solar
For homes and solar installs.
Flow gives homeowners a clearer view of how EV charging fits into the wider energy picture. It can show grid import/export, solar generation, EV charging load and storage context where configured.
- Live energy visibility in the app.
- Wireless CT placement for awkward installations.
- Solar-aware EV charging where supported.
- Tariff-aware charging where configured.
- Local measurements reported through PlugStream Cloud and Sentinel.
Commercial sites
For small commercial charging sites.
For simple charger groups, PlugStream Cloud-assisted balancing may already be enough. Flow is added when the site needs additional CT inputs, wireless measurement, storage or solar context, RS485 integration or better support evidence.
Where supported by firmware and the selected PlugStream Cloud plan, compatible PlugStream chargers can use the additional site context to improve load-management decisions and reporting.
- Additional CT inputs for richer site visibility.
- Wireless measurement where long CT runs are awkward.
- Storage or solar context where configured.
- RS485 integration where supported.
- Better support evidence through Sentinel Bridge.
- Shared site reporting through PlugStream Cloud.
Flow + Sentinel
Support evidence built into the energy layer.
When Sentinel Bridge is enabled, Flow can capture the local evidence that explains how the site behaved. That includes CT readings, charger state, wireless link health, local limits, control decisions and fault events.
- Faster diagnosis.
- Clearer customer conversations.
- Better installer handover records.
- Reduced guesswork after a support call.
- A stronger managed service proposition.
Next step
Design the site around the energy problem, not just the charger.
Tell us how many chargers, CT points and energy sources the site needs to manage. PlugStream can help define the right Flow hardware, Flow Link count and software plan.