My INCH Charging authorization

On our chargers, we have different authorization types available, and they also support different identification types. To select which authorization, you would like to use, head over to the navigation menu, select the Configuration menu, select the User menu, and Charging authorization sub-menu.  

The first option of the authorization types is, Plug and Charge. Selecting this option would mean that no authorization is required, to start the charging session. The user will simply plugs in the cable, and the charging will start.  

One option tied to the Plug and Charge authorization type, is the Plug and Charge tag ID. This ID will be sent to the backend central system at the start of the charging session, if the charger is connected to a backend central system.  

The second option is Local user only. This option directly co-relates to the users defined in the Local users menu, as this means that only users created, and saved on the Local users list, are allowed to start a charging session.  

The third option is, Central system only. In this scenario, the charger will check on the central system, if the user starting the session is allowed to charge.  

The last option, is a combination of Local users only, and central system only authorizations, called Charger whitelist and central system. This means that the central system can check and send the whitelist of users to the charger. For instance, if we have a lot of semi-public locations or companies, we can send a whitelist of users, that can charge on a specific charger.  

With the selection of any authorization type, where identification is needed, before the start of the session (all except the Plug and Charge option), a menu of Supported identification types will appear, in the Charging authorization menu. In this menu, you will have the option to select identification with RFID, PIN, SMS, identification with an application, and Credit card identification.  

We enable the option by ticking the, Enabled box, next to the identification type. Please note not all chargers support RFID, and Credit card identification.   

With the RFID identification, we also have the option to revert the tag ID bytes. This option comes into play, if such action is required by the backend central system.  

Additionally, we have an option of an authorization timeout, which defines the time in which the user must connect the EV, before the authorization is canceled, and an option to try and continue the charging session in case of a power loss event.  

When we select central system only, or charger whitelist and central system authorization type, a Central system behavior option, will become available at the bottom of the page. Here we have some options, that help us with situations where a connection with the central system is not active, and with the use of other backends.  

The first option, Allow charging when charging is offline, allows charging if there is no connection with the backend central system. The data of the charging session is stored and sent to the central system once the connection is restored.  

The second option is »Enable authorization from the cache when the charger is in offline mode«. In this case, the charger will look through its storage and check if that user has already successfully charged at this charger. If it can find a successful authorization of the said user it will allow charging.  

The third option is, Enable the central system to upload a whitelist of customers, to be used when offline. This option is enabled by default when using the charger whitelist and central system authorization type and will create a white list of users that can charge on the charger or location, so when the charger is not connected, the charger will look through this white list, if the user is allowed to charge.  

The fourth option is, After the remote start, authorize before starting charging. With these settings, authorization is made even if a, remote start, command is sent from the central system.  

The fifth option »Start charging based on local authorization, without authorizing against the central system« means we can start charging, but we can also stop the charging after the connection re-establishes and checks if this user can really charge.  

The last option »allow to start charging for local identifications when charger is offline«, will again check if the user is registered in the »local users« menu.