About the customer
DNV is collaborating with Efficiency Maine Trust, the administrator for programs to improve the efficiency of energy use and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Maine, to develop strategies to manage the timing of residential Level 2 EV charging to increase the benefits of transportation electrification and to potentially mitigate its costs.
The customer challenge
The Trust is developing strategies to manage the timing of residential Level 2 EV charging to increase the benefits of transportation electrification and to potentially mitigate its costs.
This pilot involves deploying smart Level 2 (240 V) chargers in the homes of recent EV Accelerator Program participants and new EV drivers to study how programmed charging schedules and performance-based incentives affect EV charging behaviour.
The pilot involves a randomized controlled trial (RCT) experimental design with three participant groups:
- Smart EV Chargers Group: Members of this group have smart networked EV chargers with default off-peak charging
- Simulated Time-of-Use (TOU) Group: Members receive performance-based rebates that simulate a time of use rate
- Control Group: Members receive no incentives or messaging; our team measures charging behaviour via advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) data analysis
DNV’s solution
DNV designed the RCT study experiment and recruited participants via multiple pathways including outreach to EV Accelerator Program participants who did not have Level 2 chargers, to EV owners, through area dealerships, and to prospective EV buyers and other EV drivers through paid digital ads. DNV pre-approves all interested customers and directs them to a customized web portal developed by our partner, Enel X, where they can purchase discounted Level 2 chargers. We then randomly assign participants to either the Smart EV Chargers or Simulated TOU Group.
We control communications and data collection through a centralized database to optimize analysis and reporting. After a year of baseline data collection, DNV will provide incentives to the Smart EV Chargers Group for charging during off-peak times while the Simulated TOU Group will receive incentives quarterly based on maintaining 90% of their charging off-peak. DNV will analyze the charging data from a central interface and manage the incentive payments and program reporting.
Benefits to the customer
At the end of the 12-month treatment period, DNV will issue a report comparing the performance of the two groups and recommending approaches for future program design to encourage off-peak charging.