Hi Victron Team,
I would like to submit a feature request to improve how the EV Charging Station (EVCS) manages maximum charging limits, specifically in 3-phase installations with unbalanced domestic loads.
Current Behavior & Problem:
Right now, the EVCS allows configuring the maximum charging limit strictly by fixed Amperage per phase. However, in my 3-phase household, loads are frequently unbalanced. When a single phase reaches the configured Amperage limit due to home appliances, the charging process either drops significantly or stops to prevent tripping the main breaker. This happens even when the other two phases have plenty of headroom and unused available capacity.
Proposed Solution:
Instead of a static Amperage limit per phase, I propose introducing a Dynamic Power/Current balancing feature (integrated via the GX device energy meter).
- Total Power Limit Option: Allow users to set a maximum total power limit (in kW) for the entire installation.
- Dynamic Phase Regulation: The EVCS/GX system should dynamically monitor the real-time current of each phase at the grid meter. It should modulate the charging power based on the most constrained phase, maximizing the total current delivered to the EV without ever tripping the protections, rather than just cutting off based on a static global limit.
Why this matters to the community:
Unbalanced phases are extremely common in residential 3-phase installations globally. Implementing a dynamic, phase-aware power management system will allow Victron users to maximize their contracted grid power, charge their EVs faster, and fully leverage the smart ecosystem without manual intervention or unexpected charging interruptions.
Additional Technical Context:
I am currently using the Victron VM-3P75CT energy meter connected via VE.Can/Ethernet to monitor the grid.
Right now, the EVCS interface only provides a single, unified checkbox/input field to limit the maximum installation current. This forces a symmetrical Amperage limit across all three phases simultaneously.
Since the VM-3P75CT measures each phase individually with high accuracy, the GX system and the EVCS already have access to the real-time, per-phase consumption data. The software should utilize this data to perform asymmetric dynamic adjustment. Instead of reducing the charge on all phases based on a single generic limit, it should modulate the EVCS output dynamically by looking at the remaining headroom of the most loaded phase at the grid point.
This limitation currently prevents 3-phase users with official Victron meters from fully utilizing their contracted power.
Clarification on System Behavior:
To be clear, this is not a main breaker tripping issue, as the upstream protections have enough headroom. The issue is a severe underutilization of the contracted grid power.
Because the EVCS soft-limits the charging current based on a static, symmetrical value, the presence of an unbalanced domestic load on just one phase causes the charger to throttles down prematurely. The EVCS sees that one phase is reaching the artificial limit and restricts the entire 3-phase charge, leaving massive amounts of available, contracted power on the other two phases completely untouched.
The software should dynamically calculate the maximum allowable symmetrical 3-phase current based on the real-time headroom left on the most congested phase (measured by the VM-3P75CT). This would allow the EV to always charge at the absolute maximum speed possible under unbalanced conditions.
Thank you for your continuous innovation!