Glossary for Ampcontrol's Charging Station Management System

An application programming interface (API ) is a set of methods (rules) that allow two systems to communicate with each other, sharing data and functionality across the internet. In contrast to a user interface (dashboard), which connects a system with a human, an API connects systems or pieces of software to each other. It is not used directly by a person, and the interaction is fully automated.

An application programming interface key (API key) is a unique identifier that authenticates a developer or program to an API. Ampcontrol uses Bearer Token authentication. Therefore, customers receive a unique API Key for their access.‍

The CPO operates one or more charging stations on its own account and is therefore responsible for the installation, operation and service thereof.

Distributed energy resources are often small-scale units of local energy generation connected to the grid at distribution level (often behind-the-meter)

A distributed energy resources management system is a platform which helps mostly distribution system operators (DSO) manage their grids that are mainly based on distributed energy resources (DER).

Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment is an umbrella term for all technical components of a charging station or charging point.

The kilowatt hour is a composite unit of energy with 1 kWh being equivalent to 1 kilowatt (1 kW) of power sustained for 1 hour.

Machine learning is a method of data analysis that automates analytical model building. It is a branch of artificial intelligence based on the idea that systems can learn from data, identify patterns and make decisions with minimal human intervention.

The Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP) is an application protocol for communication between Electric vehicle (EV) charging stations and a central management system, also known as a charging station network, similar to cell phones and cell phone networks.

Peak load is the highest amount of energy that a consumer draws from the grid in a set period of time. Many electric utilities charge customers for the peak load in addition to their consumption.

An Application Programming Interface (API) - in short, it’s a set of rules that lets programs talk to each other, exposing data and functionality across the internet in a consistent format.REST stands for Representational State Transfer. This is an architectural pattern that describes how distributed systems can expose a consistent interface. When people use the term ‘REST API,’ generally refers to an API accessed via HTTP protocol at a predefined set of URLs.These URLs represent various resources - any information or content accessed at that location, which can be returned as JSON, HTML, audio files, or images. Often, resources have one or more methods that can be performed on them over HTTP, like GET, POST, PATCH, PUT and DELETE. Ampcontrol, for example, provides a REST API for load management, electric fleet charging, and public charging networks. With this API, you can connect Ampcontrol to any existing software system.‍

Smart charging is a form of electric vehicle charging in which the time and rate at which an EV's battery pack is charged can be controlled in a more "intelligent" way than the simple use of a manual on/off switch. Typically smart charging is used to reduce the peak loads on the electricity distribution grid supplying the power needed to charge an electric vehicle.

V2G is technology enabling bi-directional energy transfer from/to plug-in electric vehicles. Power from the vehicle's battery can be fed (back) to a home, an office building, a street or the national electricity grid. This way, an electric vehicle can be used as a battery, supporting a future of smart grids and decentralized renewable power production.

V1G is the unidirectional managed charging service is also described as Smart Charging.

A webhook is a method of augmenting or altering the behavior of a web application with custom callbacks. It is typically used in web development. For instance, for APIs, a customer can send an API request which then triggers a callback to the customer's webhook. In that case, the webhook is owned and maintained by the customer. At Ampcontrol, we allow customers to set webhooks in order to receive automatic updates on optimization results.‍