Скачать или смотреть Cutting EV Charging Costs by 80% with Solar + Storage with Tom McCalmont of Paired Power

Summary
We kick off season 7 of Grid Connections with Tom McCalmont, CEO of Paired Power, breaks down how microgrid EV charging—powered by solar and supported by intelligent load management and battery storage—is reshaping the future of clean transportation. Tom walks us through Paired Power’s live design and monitoring platform, Periscope, showing how organizations can reduce energy costs by over 80%, overcome grid constraints, and even enable bidirectional charging. From pop-up solar canopies to large-scale fleet solutions, Tom shares how their flexible systems offer resilience, cost savings, and reliability for workplaces, remote sites, and fleet operators alike. Whether you're an EV driver, site host, or clean energy advocate, this conversation is a deep dive into the real-world benefits of solar-powered charging infrastructure.
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Takeaways
1. Three-Year Wait Times Are Real: In high-demand states like California, utilities are facing years-long delays in expanding grid capacity for EV charging—a bottleneck that Paired Power’s microgrids can bypass entirely by working within existing infrastructure.
2. $283,000 Saved Through Intelligent Load Management: By staggering EV charging times intelligently rather than charging all vehicles at once, site hosts can reduce demand charges and save hundreds of thousands annually—before even adding solar.
3. Solar + Storage Can Cut Annual Charging Costs by Over 80%: In a real-world design scenario, combining solar and batteries reduced a workplace charging site’s yearly energy bill from $400,000 to $62,000.
4. AC Charging Won the Practicality Battle (for Now): Despite starting with pure solar DC-to-DC charging, Paired Power pivoted to AC solutions due to the lack of universal DC standards—highlighting a major hurdle in charging hardware compatibility.
5. V2G Support for Emergencies and Demand Response: Paired Power’s systems already support bidirectional charging, allowing EVs to supply power back to buildings or the grid during outages or peak demand periods.
6. Design in Minutes with ‘Periscope’ Simulation Tool: Their in-house tool, Periscope, allows for rapid modeling of site-specific EV charging deployments—factoring in tariffs, load profiles, solar irradiance, and charger types to instantly visualize ROI and system performance.
7. Off-Grid Charging at Parks and Beaches? Already Possible: Paired Power’s PairTree system is a pop-up solar EV charger that can be deployed and operational in just one day—perfect for remote areas without existing grid access.

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00:00 Intro and Welcome to Season 7 of Grid Connections
01:38 Meet Tom McCalmont, CEO of Paired Power
03:14 Why Traditional EV Charging Faces a Grid Crisis
06:18 Off-Grid and Solar-First Charging Solutions
07:28 Live Demo: Designing a Solar-Powered EV Charging Site
11:33 Modeling Load Profiles, Utility Tariffs & Fleet Needs
15:15 From $400K to $62K: Unlocking Savings with Solar + Smart Charging
17:10 Charging Strategies: Shared Power vs. Priority Mode
19:30 System Monitoring in Real Time: Dashboard Deep Dive
23:55 Why Batteries Supercharge Cost Savings
26:08 Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) Support Is Already Here
28:11 How Site Hosts Can Monetize EV Charging
30:04 Solving the Charger Reliability Problem with Always-On Connectivity
33:11 Global EV Trends and the Future of Electrification
36:18 EVs as a Better Driving Experience, Not Just a Clean One
40:14 From DC to AC: The Evolution of Paired Power’s Technology
42:26 Deploying PairTree: Pop-Up Charging Where the Grid Doesn’t Reach
43:53 What's Next for Paired Power? Future Innovations Teased
45:41 Charging Standards and the Rise of NACS (J3400)
47:53 Is DC-to-DC More Efficient? It Depends.
50:24 Final Thoughts + How to Connect with Paired Power
51:17 Outro: Share, Review & Sign Up for Our Newsletter