How Microgrids and DERs Transform Energy Management for Car Dealerships
EV chargers are the most visible touchpoint for drivers and car dealerships, but they are just the one part of a complex infrastructure that includes electrical equipment, battery storage, on-site power generation such as solar, and the software and control systems that orchestrate them all. Together, these components enable a smarter, more resilient approach to EV charging energy management.
In a recent EnergyTech webinar, From Grid to Garage: Smarter Energy Systems for EV-Ready Dealerships, Samantha Childress from Schneider Electric and Dennis Quinn of Sprocket Power explored how microgrids and distributed energy resources (DERs) can help dealerships deploy EV chargers more effectively while reducing grid dependency and energy costs. EnergyTech is a companion website to Microgrid Knowledge. Both are part of Endeavor B2B.
Schneider Electric and on-site energy generation project developer Sprocket Power are partnering on the EcoStruxure Microgrid FLEX program and the Accelerating Resilient Energy Infrastructure initiatives, helping dealerships build the energy systems of the future.
During the Schneider Electric-sponsored webinar, the speakers shared insights from Sprocket Power’s recent installations at dealerships in New York’s Westchester County, Yonkers and Long Island, illustrating the real-world applications of these programs.
Creating EV-ready dealerships
Childress, director of microgrid partner and strategy for Schneider Electric, set the stage by outlining three significant challenges dealerships encounter as they expand their EV charging capabilities:
- Power Capacity: Many dealership utility connections were not designed to handle the additional load from multiple EV chargers, so upgrades may be required.
- Electricity Costs: EV charging can increase energy bills or trigger new tariffs, making cost management a critical consideration.
- Energy Resilience: Ensuring chargers remain operational during outages is vital, both for mobility and business continuity.
“The core benefit of on-site generation is that it enables that resilience functionality,” Childress explained, adding that when it’s paired with a microgrid, dealerships have a robust system that provides high uptime while avoiding any single points of failure.
From Challenge to Action: Smarter Systems at Work
While every dealership site is different, Quinn, president and co-founder of Sprocket Power, noted that most face the same underlying issue: “Medium and small commercial customers want to run their business. They don’t want to run a microgrid,” he said.
Sprocket Power operates the systems on behalf of the dealerships, providing dashboards and monthly reports that show energy use, savings, and system performance. This lets dealerships see real financial and operational outcomes without needing to be energy experts.
Daily Operations and Energy Optimization
Battery storage is central to this approach. Quinn explained that batteries, combined with solar and EV chargers, smooth peaks, reduce demand charges and provide backup power during outages.
Sprocket Power manages the timing and intensity of charging, battery discharge and participation in demand response programs, effectively “pulling the levers” to optimize energy use. Over time, machine learning and analytics improve performance, enabling the system to better anticipate load patterns and manage resources more efficiently.
Childress and Quinn also discussed the role of local contractors and engineering firms in the successful deployment of dealership microgrids, commissioning and integration challenges and the importance of standardizing microgrid deployments.
For additional insights, including how Schneider and Sprocket view the future of EV charging and microgrid solutions, watch From Grid to Garage: Smarter Energy Systems for EV-Ready Dealerships, which is now available on demand. The video includes a robust Q&A session.
About the Author
Kathy Hitchens
Special Projects Editor
I work as a writer and special projects editor for Microgrid Knowledge. I have over 30 years of writing experience, working with a variety of companies in the renewable energy, electric vehicle and utility sector, as well as those in the entertainment, education, and financial industries. I have a BFA in Media Arts from the University of Arizona and a MBA from the University of Denver.