EV charging projects can look straightforward on the surface. A few chargers on the wall and you’re done. But any sparky who’s stepped into a multi-unit site or commercial project knows the real challenge is deeper: keeping the power supply safe, stable, and ready to grow as demand grows.
That’s where load management comes in. It’s the invisible layer that makes large-scale EV charging work. The system that balances demand, safeguards electrical infrastructure, and keeps chargers running smoothly without major upgrades. And understanding how it works isn’t just useful, it’s what separates a basic install from a future-ready solution. It’s about setting clients up for success, creating installs that last, and positioning yourself as the electrician who thinks ahead.
What Load Management Actually Does
Diagnosing the problem: Through our technical control over both sites, session insights via CORE and Illuminate, and our dedicated team of technicians and software engineers, JET Charge was able to diagnose the problem swiftly and with minimal disruption to bus service.
A single EV charger can draw around 32 amps, a sizeable load on the circuit. Multiply that across ten, twenty, or more chargers, and total demand can quickly exceed what a site’s electrical infrastructure was originally designed to handle.
Load management is how you stay within those limits, while enabling more chargers to connect without major upgrades. It continuously monitors how much power is available and distributes it intelligently. When the building’s usage spikes, like during peak hours, it throttles chargers back. When usage dips, it ramps them up again.
The result is a safe, stable charging setup that makes the most of existing capacity and helps you scale without costly switchboard or supply upgrades.
Designing Load Management Solutions
Knowing how load management works is one thing. Designing a solution that suits each site is where sparkies can really prove their expertise. This planning needs to happen before installation, and it’s where jobs are won or lost.
Here’s what to consider:
1. Capacity Planning and Site Limits
Before you start adding chargers, take a good look at what the site’s already working with. A proper load assessment of the switchboard and supply tells you how much power you’ve got to play with. Calculate the total demand of the proposed chargers, their rated output (7kW, 22kW, or DC fast charging), and compare that against what’s available from the main service.
If the site’s running close to its limit, load management is your smartest move. In most cases, it saves your client from costly upgrades like new submains, switchboards, or transformer work.
A quick load analysis will show how much headroom you’ve really got before design begins, giving you confidence the system’s safe, scalable, and ready for whatever comes next.
2. Connection Points and Power Supply
Choosing where and how chargers connect to the site’s power supply is one of the most important calls you’ll make, especially when load management is in play. A centralised connection lets the system monitor and balance power across all chargers in real time, keeping everything running safely and making the most of the site’s available capacity. It also makes life easier down the track. New chargers can be added without reworking metering setups or disrupting load control.
From a billing point of view, a shared supply often raises the question: how do you charge drivers fairly when every charger draws from the same source? That’s where a billing solution comes in. By monitoring usage at each charger endpoint, billing systems make it easy to track energy use and charge drivers accurately, keeping things fair, transparent, and simple for building managers or site owners.
Want to go deeper on billing and how it builds trust, and repeat business? Check out our guide to why billing matters for EV charger electricians.
Designing around a shared supply doesn’t just make things neater, it future-proofs the setup. Whether you’re starting small or scaling up, centralising the connection keeps the load management system doing its job as demand grows.
3. Regulatory Requirements
The National Construction Code (NCC) now mandates that new buildings include the necessary electrical infrastructure to support future EV charger installations, ensuring they’re EV-ready from day one. Alongside this, the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) has released guidelines for installing EV charging in both new and existing buildings.
While these rules don’t yet apply to existing buildings, they’re setting a clear benchmark. As EV adoption accelerates, the expectation for similar readiness across all sites, including retrofits and upgrades, is growing fast. Forward-thinking sparkies who understand these standards are already in a strong position to help clients meet them, now and in the future.
Designing to these requirements builds trust, avoids rework later, and shows clients you’re not just keeping up, you’re building for what’s next.
4. Choosing the Right Load Management Approach
Each site is different, and the right approach depends on its size, capacity, and usage patterns.
Static Load Management: sets a fixed charging limit across all chargers on site. It’s straightforward and ideal for smaller projects with predictable demand, like a workplace with a few chargers for staff vehicles, or a small retail site with limited visitor parking.
Dynamic Load Management: adjusts charger output in real time based on the total site load, ensuring the network stays stable as usage changes throughout the day. This approach is essential for more complex projects, particularly apartment buildings, multi-tenant car parks, and fleet depots, where demand can fluctuate heavily between peak and off-peak times. In an apartment block, for example, dynamic load management might throttle charging in the early evening when everyone is home using appliances, then allow charging to ramp up overnight when demand drops.
5. Handling Insufficient Capacity
When a site’s power supply is stretched, load management systems step in to balance demand and protect the electrical infrastructure. Rather than overloading the switchboard, they intelligently share the available capacity across all active chargers, keeping everything within safe operating limits.
When total demand exceeds supply, the system automatically manages how each charger draws power. It might throttle charging speeds, stagger sessions, or queue new vehicles until capacity frees up. Once more power becomes available, charging resumes or ramps up again. The process happens continuously and in real time, ensuring safe, fair, and efficient operation across the site.
This smart power distribution means even multi-unit or commercial sites with limited capacity can deliver consistent charging without costly switchboard or transformer upgrades.
Power More with JET Charge CORE
Behind every great load management system is the tech that makes it all work, and that’s where JET Charge CORE comes in. CORE is built to be hardware agnostic, working seamlessly across multiple charger brands to manage power safely and efficiently, no matter the setup.
Installed alongside chargers, CORE measures the site’s electrical load second by second, constantly balancing power across chargers to keep the system stable, safe, and efficient – helping sparkies deliver reliable installs that grow with demand.
Ready to build EV charging the smart way? Sign up to the JET Charge Partner Store to access CORE and be the first to know when our new training program launches later this year.