Which EV charger for public use
Discussion
Morning All,
Currently building new commercial retail/office units at my site and would very much like to lob in some EV chargers while I am sorting out the car park. As I don't yet own an EV myself, I have come to you lovely people for some advice. Which charger companies do you use the most? What size of charger is most useful?
I'm hoping to put in 3 or 4 chargers and have been looking at a couple of companies. Pod Point seem to be quite good, what do EV users think of them?. Is it even worth bothering with the 7kW units? I don't really want the chargers to be hogged by a single car for the entire day so I'm thinking the faster units would be the better choice. The 50kW units seem to be a good compromise as its quite a step up to the 150s.
Any advice or suggestions from EV drivers would be much appreciated.
Currently building new commercial retail/office units at my site and would very much like to lob in some EV chargers while I am sorting out the car park. As I don't yet own an EV myself, I have come to you lovely people for some advice. Which charger companies do you use the most? What size of charger is most useful?
I'm hoping to put in 3 or 4 chargers and have been looking at a couple of companies. Pod Point seem to be quite good, what do EV users think of them?. Is it even worth bothering with the 7kW units? I don't really want the chargers to be hogged by a single car for the entire day so I'm thinking the faster units would be the better choice. The 50kW units seem to be a good compromise as its quite a step up to the 150s.
Any advice or suggestions from EV drivers would be much appreciated.
Greenmantle said:
You don't say whether they are going to be free or charged!
Don't underestimate the selfish attitude of Joe Public to hog spaces all day long even if their vehicle is fully charged.
You need to understand the uptake of these spaces. How many charging point vs how many parking spaces.
They will be charged, not really there to make a profit but rather to bring people to the site but would quite like them to pay for themselves eventually. We are right down here in Cornwall and reliable and fast chargers are not too common from what ive been told. Don't underestimate the selfish attitude of Joe Public to hog spaces all day long even if their vehicle is fully charged.
You need to understand the uptake of these spaces. How many charging point vs how many parking spaces.
We have 40-50 parking spaces, depending on how badly people park on any given day. Our site is not within safe walking distance of anything else really so im hoping people wont park their car and disappear.
This is a complicated and controversial question with no simple answer. The first question is whether this is for tenants onsite or visitors, connected to this whether you are wanting to attract people to the site to charge. Bear in mind that the majority of current EV owners can charge very cheaply at home and therefore will not use any charger that costs. Conversely if you have them free then expect people to hog them.
The biggest group of users will probably be those who have just got an EV but haven't sorted out home charging. After that there are only two main use cases, 1. people travelling who want a rapid on their route and 2. People who can't charge at home who want a 7kW they can park at while at work or near to home.
Just to add some proper info,at my place of work we use Chargepoint.com We have multiple 22kW posts which I think are a waste because I can't leave a meeting to go and move my car so once it's on there it's there for the day. 3.5kW would be easily adequate.
The biggest group of users will probably be those who have just got an EV but haven't sorted out home charging. After that there are only two main use cases, 1. people travelling who want a rapid on their route and 2. People who can't charge at home who want a 7kW they can park at while at work or near to home.
Just to add some proper info,at my place of work we use Chargepoint.com We have multiple 22kW posts which I think are a waste because I can't leave a meeting to go and move my car so once it's on there it's there for the day. 3.5kW would be easily adequate.
50kW units will be DC so a very expensive unit, I think they start at around £25K, and then you need substantial installation needs and power feeds to them from the grid. They are more suitable as journey chargers, such as a service station, or where people spend less than an hour such as a supermarket.
If you have 3-phase then I'd recommend 22kW AC units as they are much cheaper (£1K) and will connect to your existing power feed. (although many cars will only charge at about 11kW AC)
If you have 3-phase then I'd recommend 22kW AC units as they are much cheaper (£1K) and will connect to your existing power feed. (although many cars will only charge at about 11kW AC)
I think if you want to go for DC/rapid charging then you don't buy the charger you lease the land to a network.
https://www.ospreycharging.co.uk/landlords-and-loc...
https://www.ospreycharging.co.uk/landlords-and-loc...
Even a 50kW charger is very significant in terms of power supply, so you need to know how much power is available.
Then you can either get someone like Podpoint to manage it all or do it yourself.
If you do it yourself you'll need a backend system to manage authorisation and payments. Not a trivial thing to do manage.
Then you can either get someone like Podpoint to manage it all or do it yourself.
If you do it yourself you'll need a backend system to manage authorisation and payments. Not a trivial thing to do manage.
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