What does an OCPP charging profile look like?

A SetChargingProfile message with a purpose (ceiling, default or one session), a kind, and a schedule of periods with a limit in amperes per phase or watts. The deep dive reads the profiles of one morning and the meter value that shows the car following.

Explained in

Load management · Deep diveThe charging profiles of the morning, as sentThe OCPP messages behind the morning of this path: the standing profiles set at commissioning, the limits the controller sent at 9:10, 9:40 and 10:10, and the meter value that shows the car following.
  • Purpose. ChargePointMaxProfile caps the point, TxDefaultProfile covers sessions without a profile, TxProfile steers one session and names its transaction.
  • Kind and schedule. Absolute limits hold from the start of the schedule; a schedule can list several periods with their own limits, for example a lower one for the evening peak. The morning's profiles have one period each.
  • Unit. Amperes per phase or watts. For AC charging, OCPP calls amperes the more convenient unit, the language of the cable's control signal.
  • Stack level. When several profiles apply, the higher stack level wins. The morning replaces one profile with the same id instead of stacking.
From “Reading a profile”, stop 09

Terms

  1. OCPPOpen Charge Point Protocol: the open protocol between a charger and its operator's backend.
  1. What is load management?Load management keeps many chargers below the limit of one connection by dividing the available power. Cars that stand for hours still get the energy they need.
  2. What is the difference between static and dynamic load management?Static load management gives each charge point a fixed share. Dynamic load management measures the building and gives the chargers whatever room is left at each moment.
  3. Can the grid operator limit my wallbox?In Germany, non-public charge points above 4.2 kW put into operation since 2024 count as controllable devices. The grid operator may reduce them temporarily to prevent overload, but at least 4.2 kW remains.
  4. Why does a single-phase car matter for load management?A single-phase car draws all its current from one phase. Several of them on the same phase can overload it, so sites use phase rotation and count each phase.
  1. Open Charge Alliance: What is new in OCPP 2.0.1? Whitepaper, version 1.0, March 2023. https://openchargealliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/new_in_ocpp_201-v10.pdf. Checked 09 Oct 2026. Licence: CC BY-ND 4.0.
  2. Open Charge Alliance: OCPP 1.6 edition 2 (2017), section 2 Terminology (phase rotation), section 7.12 ChargingRateUnitType (amperes per phase, 230 V) and the ConnectorPhaseRotation key; free download. https://openchargealliance.org/download-ocpp/. Checked 13 Oct 2026.
  3. Open Charge Alliance: OCPP 1.6 edition 2 (2017), section 3.13 Smart Charging: profile purposes, composite schedule, startSchedule; free download. https://openchargealliance.org/download-ocpp/. Checked 11 Oct 2026.