Workplace Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Stations

Workplace electric car charging is one of the most eco-friendly, environmentally positive, and employee-focused practices being adopted by companies. It comprises an EV charging solution where employees register and access parking spots to function as traditional EV charging stalls, allowing employees to charge their vehicles as they perform their daily work tasks.

One of the best features of EV charging for the workplace is that it is not only beneficial for the employees, but it can also be profitable for the company since it is a solid and self-sustainable business idea with an environmentally friendly focus. Thanks to more and more new companies adopting this practice, employees all over the country can access this innovative new workplace perk.

Electric Car Charging Is the Newest Workplace Perk

Several years ago, EV adoption was at a starting point and there were hardly any EV charging stations available. Currently, with more than 26 million electric vehicles available on the roads worldwide, workplace EV charging solutions are becoming a highly popular perk for the most advanced companies, especially those that are environmentally-friendly.

With the EV revolution on the rise, environmentally conscious professionals are opting for electric cars as their main mobility option instead of going for Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles. As companies of all sizes notice this shift in highly qualified professionals, they decide to adopt EV charging environmentally positive initiatives to become attractive for professionals that will become valuable members of their workforce.

Currently, in the U.S. there are around 130,000 public EV charging stations, but it is necessary to acquire more than 20 times this number to supply the EV charging needs of all drivers in the country. This is where companies featuring EV charging in the workplace become even more desirable than traditional workplace locations that only feature regular parking spots and no workplace electric car charging points.

Installing Workplace EV Charging Stations

Workplace EV charger installation should consider supplying enough power to charge vehicles for employees during the workday. The most common workplace EV chargers are Level 2 Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) since Level 1 chargers have a low power rate and Level 3 or DC Fast Chargers (DCFC) are too expensive.

Associated costs to EV charging at the workplace should include costs for installation, maintenance, electricity consumption, and other operational requirements. Installing an EV charging workplace station to benefit employees should consider the traditional steps for these types of installations:

1. Permit acquisition
2. Hiring a Certified Electrician
3. Choosing a Location
4. Analyzing the Electrical Infrastructure
5. Soliciting Rebate Pre-Approvals
6. Choosing the Right EV Chargers
7. Performing the Installation
8. Applying for Rebates

The certified electrician should review the electrical connection and the service panel to determine if these have the required capacity to allocate the desired number of workplace chargers and their power requirements. The location where the EV chargers are installed should be as close as possible to the service panel and should feature enough power to supply the charging need of employee vehicles.

Managing Workplace EV Charging Stations

Companies featuring an EV workplace charging station are recommended to set a clear set of guidelines for important aspects like administration, registration & liability, sharing of the station, and prices. Let us take a look at them.

Administration

The administration of the EV charging station should be carried out either by a separate entity or by a designated department within the company. This department should administer the facility, operate the equipment, and perform preventive and corrective maintenance to the workplace car charging station, to ensure ideal operational conditions.

Registration and Liability

The company and the administration are in charge of designing the registration and liability guidelines, which include designing who can make use of these workplace charging points (employees only or employees and visitors), registering set users to allow them access to the EV charging facility, and if required, setting up EV charging accounts for these users via RFID authentication technology. The administration should also make users liable for the operation and risks attached to using workplace EV chargers.

Station Sharing

EV charging station sharing policies are an important part of the guidelines that must be determined by the administration of the workplace EV charging station. These may include assigning a charging schedule or a designed EV charging stall, setting up a reservation system, or determining a daily limit for EV charging. An alternative option is making employees self-manage the station-sharing rules for the workplace EV charging stations.

Pricing

The pricing for the workplace electric vehicle charging station should also be determined. The cost of charging an EV may be set under a time scheme (charging cost per hour) or a consumed power scheme (charging cost per kWh consumed). Each charging scheme features its own set of benefits and disadvantages for employees and the company.

The cost of using an EV charging station should also consider operation & maintenance costs, alongside any other related expenses. Among the station-sharing policies, some companies with a large work staff may need to set fines or penalties for users leaving their vehicles plugged in the workplace EV charging station after they are fully charged, impeding other users to charge their vehicles.