Sustainable Home Electrical Systems

Did you see that sustainably grown lettuce in the produce aisle?

The tag says that 63% of your pants are sustainably sourced.

The “sustainable” label is getting slapped on everything. It may be connected to the U.N.’s 2015 Sustainable Development Goals — to ensure “peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future.” No matter where the sustainability buzz started, it’s certainly hard to miss now.

Don’t get us wrong — sustainability is a great thing! Case in point: gas-powered cars aren’t. You know, that whole “oil is a finite resource that’s taking global temperatures past balmy and straight into hot as hell” thing. In the process, they’re helping make life as we know it unsustainable.

Electric cars are becoming a viable alternative! Car sustainability problem solved!

Hold up…

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That’s a bit of an illusion. Electric cars are absolutely the way to go for those of us who choose, or need, to drive. And we’ve certainly been waiting for a time when electric cars are the majority, but no one has actually planned what that looks like for your home — much less our power grid.

Your home electrical system

To get the gist of what we could do with our home’s power connections, we need to understand what we’re working with. Or better yet, why it’s limited.

If you live in Europe, you’re most likely connected to three-phase power. Your American and British friends would be envious. Three-phase power for them is generally reserved for industrial and commercial buildings. (That’s why you’re likely to find electrical box upgrade suggestions for Americans buying EVs — their home electrical panels aren’t ideal for home charging.)

You, friends, have a different problem, though. You’ve got plenty of power in your system, you just don’t have the access. It’s the reason you may trip circuits with a hair dryer or find your electric vehicle at less than 100% after a full night’s charge.

For simplicity’s sake, let’s say that your three-wired system is set up to allow access to only one wire at a time. (If you’re an electrical engineer and want to discuss the inadequacy of this statement, please submit your complaint on our careers page.)

This system is incredibly powerful, but it’s not very smart.

That’s where VOOL comes in.

Smart electrical systems

With a room full of electrical engineers, industrial designers, and power industry professionals, we knew that the power was there, we just decided to access more of it safely and reliably.

That’s how we designed the VOOL LMC and MultiPhaser. They’re like the brain and its executive function to control the ample power your home already comes with. The LMC monitors the electrical flow in your home, sensing when you may need a boost and freeing channels to allow for the extra flow. The MultiPhaser is the actual switch to make that happen between the three available phases. They work together — and with any other VOOL-enabled technology you may hook up, like the VOOL Smart EV charger.

How it works:

You live your life:

1. Turn on the stove when you’re cooking
2. Do a little dance
3. Throw in that pile of laundry to wash
4. Ask the kids to turn down the volume on the TV
5. Plug in your car to charge
6. Switch on the kettle to make some tea
   
   

VOOL does the rest - no effort (or judgment of your dance moves)

1. The kitchen needs power
2. [Increase flow]
3. The bathroom needs power
4. [Increase flow]
5. The garage needs power
6. [Divert power to another phase]
7. The kitchen needs power again
8. [Switch to another phase]