Schneider Electric launches smart EV charger with integrated load balancing

Schneider Electric has launched the Schneider Charge, a new smart Level 2 electric vehicle (EV) charger available in the United States and Canada. The device delivers up to 11.5 kW of power and is available with either NACS or J1772 connectors.

A key feature of the Schneider Charge is its integrated dynamic load balancing capability. Unlike competitors such as Tesla’s Wall Connector, which requires the purchase of additional hardware like a Remote Meter to manage electrical loads, the Schneider Charge includes a pair of current transformer (CT) clamps in the box.

This built-in hardware allows the charger to monitor household power usage in real time. It can adjust the amount of power sent to the vehicle to ensure the total household consumption does not exceed the capacity of the main electrical panel or trip breakers. For example, if a home's power usage drops, the charger can automatically increase the current to the vehicle to speed up charging.