What is Peak Avoidance?

Peak Avoidance is a setting in the WeaveGrid dashboard that gives participants the option to exclusively charge their vehicle during off-peak times, even if that means they won’t hit their Target Battery Level by their Ready By time. Currently, drivers participating in an Automatic Smart Charging program may receive an optimized schedule that includes on-peak charging if required to hit the Target Battery Level by the Ready By time, as set in the WeaveGrid dashboard settings. Consult our FAQ here for a more detailed explanation of when this can occur.

However, some drivers on Time of Use rates may prefer to avoid on-peak charging at all costs. For example, say a driver needs 3 hours of charging in a particular charge session to reach their Target Battery Level, but there is only one 2-hour off-peak window between the plug-in and Ready By time. If Peak Avoidance is enabled, the car would charge up as much as possible during the off-peak window but would stop charging during any on-peak times, resulting in the end state of charge likely falling short of the target for that particular session. (In this case, that might mean 70% instead of 90%.) Peak Avoidance ensures that overall charging costs are strictly minimized but no longer guarantees that the battery will be fully charged by the set Ready By time for that day.

Note, this feature is only relevant for drivers on a Time of Use utility rate plan that defines on and off-peak periods.