Skip to main content

Glossary

This glossary provides definitions for the key terms and concepts used throughout the Fuzz Energy platform. Understanding these terms is essential for navigating the documentation and using the platform effectively.

Core Entities​

Company​

A Company represents an organization that owns and manages one or more Sites. Companies are the top-level organizational unit in the Fuzz Energy hierarchy. Each Company has its own configuration, users, and permissions. Companies can be of different types, including Partners (e.g., an installer) and Customers (a company owning industrial sites with electrical equipment).

Site​

A Site represents a physical location where electrical assets are deployed. Sites contain the configuration for all electrical equipment at that location, including Stations, Charge Points, Meters, Batteries, and other assets. Each Site has its own Local Controller running on edge hardware (typically a Raspberry Pi).

Station​

A Station represents the physical component for electric vehicle charging. Stations communicate with the Local Controller via the OCPP (Open Charge Point Protocol) WebSocket interface. Each Station can have multiple connectors, and each connector is represented as a Charge Point in the Fuzz Energy system.

Charge Point​

A Charge Point represents a specific connector on a Station. Charge Points are the individual points where electric vehicles connect for charging. Each Charge Point has its own configuration, including maximum current, number of phases, and monitoring settings. Charge Points can communicate via OCPP or Modbus protocols.

Important: In Fuzz Energy, every Charge Point has its own unique UID. Unlike the OCPP standard - where a charge point is typically identified by the combination of a Station UID and a connector number - Fuzz Energy assigns a distinct identifier to each Charge Point. You do not need to reference the Station UID + connector number to uniquely identify a Charge Point.

Asset​

An Asset is a generic term for any electrical equipment connected to the Local Controller. Assets include Charge Points, Stations, Meters, Batteries, Photovoltaics, Fridges, Switchboards, and Generic Modbus devices. Each Asset has a type, configuration, and can collect metrics.

Asset Type​

The specific classification of an Asset. Common asset types include:

  • Provider: External power source
  • Switchboard: Electrical distribution panel
  • Charge Point: EV charging connector
  • Photovoltaic: Solar panel system
  • Battery: Energy storage system
  • Wind Turbine: Wind power generation
  • External Supplier: Third-party power source
  • Building: Power consumer
  • Meter: Electrical measurement device
  • Fridge: Refrigeration unit
  • Generic Modbus: Custom Modbus device
  • Station: Charging station hardware
  • Site: The entire site as an asset

Protocols & Communication​

OCPP (Open Charge Point Protocol)​

OCPP is the standard protocol for communication between charging stations and central systems. Fuzz Energy implements OCPP 1.6J over WebSocket connections. The Local Controller acts as a proxy between the Charging Stations and the CPO (Charge Point Operator) backend.

Modbus​

Modbus is an industrial protocol used for communication with electrical assets. Fuzz Energy supports both Modbus TCP and Modbus RTU variants. Modbus is used to read/write registers on meters, batteries, photovoltaic systems, and other electrical equipment.

CPO (Charge Point Operator)​

A CPO is the backend system that manages charging operations. In the Fuzz Energy architecture, the Local Controller can connect to multiple CPOs, each with its own configuration for protocol, URL, and authorization mode.

The Fuzz Local Controller sits between the charging station and the CPO and acts as an OCPP proxy.

WebSocket​

WebSocket is the protocol used for real-time bidirectional communication between the Local Controller and Charging Stations via OCPP. The Local Controller maintains WebSocket connections to handle charging sessions, status updates, and remote commands.

Configuration & Management​

Config​

The Config model is the central configuration object that defines how a Site operates. It contains settings for all assets, CPO connections, plugins, jobs, and actions. The Config is pushed from the Cloud Controller to the Local Controller and defines the behavior of the edge system.

Local Controller​

The Local Controller (also called the Edge Controller or Fuzz Local Controller) is an application that runs on edge hardware (typically Raspberry Pi). It manages real-time communication with charging stations and electrical assets, handles smart charging algorithms, and reports metrics to the cloud.

Cloud Controller​

The Cloud Controller is the backend that runs in the cloud. It manages multi-tenant configurations, user authentication, audit logs, and provides the REST API for the Fuzz Console frontend.

Fuzz Console​

Fuzz Console (https://console.fuzz.energy) is the application that provides the user interface for configuring and monitoring all assets managed by Fuzz Energy. It allows users to manage Companies, Sites, Assets, Users, and view real-time metrics and alerts.

Topology​

Topology defines the electrical connections between assets at a Site. It specifies how power flows from the Grid through Switchboards to Charge Points and other consumers. The topology configuration is critical for smart charging and overload protection.

Plugin​

Plugins are modular components that extend the functionality of the Local Controller. Fuzz Energy supports several plugins including Webhooks, Neofleet integration, and Izix integration. Plugins can be enabled/disabled per Site.

Webhooks​

Webhooks allow the Local Controller to send HTTP callbacks to external systems when specific events occur, such as charge point status changes, authorization requests, or transaction start/stop events.

Smart Charging​

Smart Charging​

Smart Charging is the real-time algorithm that dynamically distributes available power among Charge Points while preventing overloads. It considers the electrical topology, current measurements from Meters, production from Photovoltaics and Batteries, and consumption limits to optimize charging.

Rule Engine​

The Rule Engine is the system that implements smart charging logic. Rules execute in a specific order to calculate available current, handle rebalancing, and apply production strategies.

Production Strategy​

Production Strategy defines how Battery systems should behave based on conditions such as State of Charge (SoC). Strategies can be scheduled to change at different times of day.

State of Charge (SoC)​

SoC represents the current charge level of a Battery as a percentage of its total capacity. SoC thresholds can be configured to trigger different production strategies.

Overload Protection​

Overload Protection is the mechanism that prevents the total power draw from exceeding the Grid connection capacity. The Local Controller continuously monitors current measurements and adjusts Charge Point power limits accordingly.

Rebalancing​

Rebalancing is the process of redistributing available power among Charge Points when conditions change, for example when a new vehicle starts charging or when solar production varies.

Identity & Access Management (IAM)​

User​

A User is an individual who can log into Fuzz Console. Users are assigned to Groups and can have different roles and permissions.

Group​

Groups are collections of Users and/or Applications that share the same permissions. Groups can be assigned to Companies or Sites to control access.

Role​

Roles define the level of access a User has within the system. Available roles include:

  • Administrator: Full access to all resources
  • Operator: Can manage sites and configurations
  • Support: Technical support access
  • Monitoring: Read-only access to real-time data
  • Reporting: Access to historical data and reports
  • IAM Administrator: Can manage users and groups
  • Employee: Internal staff access
  • Read Only: View-only access

Permission​

Permissions are specific actions that can be performed on resources. Examples include read, create, update, firmware management, reboot controller, remote start/stop transactions, etc.

Application​

An Application is an OAuth2 client that can authenticate with the Fuzz Energy platform. Applications can be web clients, mobile apps, or service-to-service integrations.

OAuth2​

OAuth2 is the authentication protocol used by Fuzz Energy. Users and Applications authenticate via OAuth2 to obtain access tokens for API calls.

ID Tag​

An ID Tag is the identifier used to authorize charging sessions. ID Tags can be validated locally (via the Local Controller database) or forwarded to the CPO for authorization.

Invitation​

Invitations allow Company administrators to invite new users to join their organization. Invitations are sent via email and include a link to set up the new user account.

Monitoring & Alerts​

Metrics​

Metrics are numerical measurements collected from Assets, such as current, voltage, power, energy consumption, etc. Metrics are exported to cloud storage in a metric-type database.

Time Series​

Time Series data is the historical record of metrics over time. The Fuzz Energy platform provides APIs to query time series data for analysis and reporting.

Alert​

Alerts are notifications about abnormal conditions or threshold violations. Alerts can be configured based on metric values and can trigger webhooks or other actions.

Health​

Health refers to the operational status of the Local Controller and its connections. Health metrics include last smart charging execution time, last log errors/warnings, and connection status.

Audit Log​

Audit Logs record all significant actions performed in the system, including user logins, configuration changes, and resource modifications. Audit logs are retained for compliance and troubleshooting.

Infrastructure​

Fuzz Secure Link manages secure connections between the Cloud Controller and Local Controllers on edge devices. It establishes a secure tunnel so the cloud can communicate with edge devices behind firewalls.

License​

Licenses control which features are enabled on a Local Controller. Different licenses may enable alerting, energy units management, or other premium features.

Firmware​

Firmware refers to the software running on charging station hardware. The Fuzz Energy platform can manage firmware updates via the OCPP protocol.

Transaction​

A Transaction represents a charging session from start to stop. Transactions include metadata such as ID Tag, meter readings, start/stop times, and charging profile.

Reservation​

Reservations allow users to reserve specific Charge Points for future charging sessions. Reservations are tracked via the OCPP protocol.

Priority​

Priority levels can be assigned to Charge Points or Transactions to influence smart charging decisions. Higher priority Charge Points may receive more power during rebalancing.

These priorities are managed via the rule engine of the local controller.

Phases​

Electrical phases refer to the number of power phases (1 or 3) that a Charge Point or Asset uses. Three-phase connections are common for higher power charging, while single-phase is typical for lower power applications.

Current​

Current (measured in Amperes) is the flow of electricity through a circuit. Fuzz Energy monitors and controls current per phase to prevent overloads and optimize charging.

Power​

Power (measured in Watts or kilowatts) is the rate of energy transfer. The platform tracks both consumed power (charging) and produced power (solar, battery discharge).

Energy​

Energy (measured in kilowatt-hours, kWh) is the total amount of electricity consumed or produced over time. Meter readings track energy values for billing and analysis.

Additional Concepts​

DSO (Distribution System Operator)​

The DSO refers to the utility company that supplies electricity to a site.

Forecast​

Load Forecast and Production Forecast predict future electricity demand and generation. Forecasts can be used to optimize charging schedules and battery usage.

Export Metrics​

Export Metrics is the feature that sends collected metrics to cloud storage for long-term retention and analysis.

Serialize Metrics​

Serialize Metrics is the feature that saves metrics locally on the edge device for download via the Fuzz Console or API.

WhiteList Mode​

WhiteList Mode determines how ID Tag authorization is handled. Modes include:

  • CPO: Forward authorization to the CPO
  • PlugAndCharge: No authorization required
  • Local: Authorize via local database
  • LocalThenCpo: Try local first, then forward to the CPO

Safety Factor​

Safety Factor is a percentage margin applied to maximum current limits to prevent overloads. A value less than 100% provides a safety buffer.

Driver​

Driver refers to the communication protocol used by an Asset. Common drivers include Ocpp, Modbus, and None.

Vendor Config​

Vendor Config contains device-specific settings for different hardware manufacturers. These configurations define register mappings and communication parameters.

Job​

Jobs are scheduled tasks that run on the Local Controller. Jobs can include data export, health checks, and maintenance operations.

Neofleet​

Neofleet is a third-party charging management platform that can integrate with Fuzz Energy via a plugin.

Izix​

Izix is a parking management system that can integrate with Fuzz Energy via a plugin.

Fuzz Sentinel​

Fuzz Sentinel Health is the global monitoring system of Fuzz that monitors each Local Controller, for example smart charging execution times and log error frequencies.

In case of errors, it is capable of intervening and automatically correcting faults.