The need to install an EV charging station at workplaces is becoming popular mostly because of its benefits to companies’ profitability, and you should consider it too. One of its benefits is the increased productivity that it offers companies since employees don’t waste their time locating public charging stations that are often far from their workplace. The time they spend charging at these public charging stations can be spent in meaningful production at their workplace while charging their EVs at their workplace charging station. Also, it serves as an incentive to retain talents for companies with workplace charging stations as some companies offer free EV charging for their employees. Additionally, it shows a company’s commitment to a clean environment free from carbon emissions which is also a good reputation for the company.

When choosing an EV charging solution provider, certain considerations are vital in selecting a competent and suitable one that meets your needs. Firstly, the track record of the EV charging solution provider is critical. Without evidence of demonstrable competence and successful delivery of satisfactory charging solutions in the past, it may be risky trusting your EV charging needs to a charging solution provider. Also, the pricing of the charging solutions provided is critical. A suitable EV charging solutions provider should have very competitive pricing relative to other quality charging solution providers available in the market. Their solutions shouldn’t be too pricey. Furthermore, a suitable charging solution provider should have a variety of solutions to meet different charging requirements. For instance, providing different levels of charging stations, including charging levels 1, 2, and 3, can be critical for most workplaces.

Generally, the choice of charging station types mostly depends on your need as a workplace entity. While there are three types of charging stations standard in the EV industry, you may consider your needs based on your specific requirements, such as the charging speed you require, your workplace voltage capacity, and your budget. Though level 1 charging stations are often the cheapest, they also have 3 to 5 miles per hour slowest charging speeds. They are mostly suitable for residential locations and family homes. On the other hand, level 2 charging stations are faster with 10 to 54 miles per hour and ideal for office buildings and retail outlets. However, level 2 chargers are a bit costlier than level 1 and have higher voltage requirements. Level 3 offers the fastest charging speeds of the three at 75 to 300 miles per hour and is also the most expensive but can be more suitable for hospitals, recreation centers, and public charging points.
charging time of an EV battery from 0-100% depends on certain factors, including the charging plug type, the battery size, and the charging station capacity. A typical 60kWh EV battery can take up to 8 hours using a 7kW charging station from 0-100%. In some rare cases of a faulty charging station with a low voltage supply, charging your electric vehicles can take almost 16 hours to charge, but this is not the norm.

There are four critical considerations for you to begin your workplace EV charging station project.

To begin with, you need to determine your demand by carrying out a survey among employees. This survey will help you to estimate the current EV charging demand.

Secondly, you may choose the design level you require based on the survey results. Your budget will play a significant role since these levels have different charging speeds with corresponding price ranges that increase as the charging speeds increase.

Next, you’ll need to decide on a suitable ownership model to choose, full ownership or a lease. Naturally, a lease ownership model is often ideal if you plan on moving your workplace location in the foreseeable future. Otherwise, a full ownership model will be fine.

Lastly, consider making a cost recovery plan by exploiting all the incentive options available. Find out about government incentives like tax credits and waivers for installing an EV charging station. Also, decide if employees or visitors will be paying for the increased energy tariffs or if it will be a free facility as an incentive to employees.

Charging people to use charging stations is necessary for some workplaces. However, you may want to consider using free charging as an incentive to boost employee morale. One benefit of free charging options for employees is increased productivity as employees tend to spend more time at work, increasing the amount of work done. Still, you might want to charge employees for using the EV charging stations to avoid things like charging bay parking issues, inefficient use of charging facilities, and resentment from employees with conventional vehicles. Nevertheless, you can decide to reduce the charging fee to something minimal compared to what is obtainable at public charging stations. Charging a small fee can also be necessary for offsetting maintenance costs and additional energy tariffs.