Benefits of Installing EV Charging Stations at Commercial Properties in 2022

Did you know that the electric vehicle (EV) electricity demand could reach 53 billion kilowatt-hours by 2030 across China, Europe, and the United States? This is a 20-fold increase which means the Electric Vehicle Charging Stations infrastructure needs to grow as well.

Technology is changing quickly. Each year brings with it an increase in demand and a variety of new models to choose from. Even Rolls Royce unveiled its first electric car “Spectre”, and they plan on going all-electric by 2030.

With the global trend of countries moving towards zero-emission, there is a push towards electric vehicles. As a property manager, you want to make sure you provide the best for your commercial clients by staying ahead of the trend. The first step in proposing to install EV Charging Stations is understanding the benefits of EV Charging Stations in 2022. Keep on reading for the ultimate guide on everything you need to know about EV Charging Stations.

What Is an Electric Vehicle Charging Station?

An Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Station is equipment that you can use to charge electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. While gas stations are spread across the country, EV Charging Stations are not as widespread. An EV Charging Station is the same as plugging any electronic device to charge it. Depending on the type of EV Charging Station, the charging station can supply 120V to 500V. A Level 3 EV Charging Station is the fastest charger and typically supplies 480V.

The EV Charging Stations are used to charge the battery on electric vehicles. In 2022, you’ll be interested to see the various new models of electric vehicles. Tesla has always been the cult favorite, but most other brands have been coming out with their version of electric and hybrid vehicles.

Types of EV Charging Stations

The type of EV Charging Station you need to consider depends on the different levels of charging it offers. You can install an EV Charging Station at a residence or a commercial property.

The EV Charging Station could be a fast-charging station that allows you to travel 60 miles in 10 to 30 minutes of charging. You can also have a charging station where you can swap batteries.
There are 3 levels of charging stations based on how much voltage it charges.

Level 1 EV Charger

A Level 1 EV Charger is the slowest charger. It has a standard 120V charge. You can plug this into any 120V electrical outlet and the other end plugs into the car. It may use the standard J1772 plug. It can charge 124 miles in 20 hours. These are not meant for public chargers.

Level 2 EV Charger

A Level 2 EV Charger is the most common one that is used in private and public EV Charging Stations. These are separate chargers that allow for 240V charging. It is 3 to 7 times faster than a Level 1 charger. It takes about 3 hours to charge a 30 kWh electric car. A Level 2 charger uses a J1772 plug which is the most common type of plug, other than Tesla. For a Tesla, you can always get an adaptor.

Level 3 EV Charger

A Level 3 EV Charger is for fast charging and is used for commercial applications. It allows for 480V charging. These are direct current (DC) fast chargers. You can charge up to 80% in 30 minutes, and the rest of the 20% will take approximately another hour. These types of chargers are most often found along major highways.

The thing to note is that the plug for a Level 3 EV Charger is different. You can have a CHAdeMO connector, or an SAE Combo connected. These two are not interchangeable. A Tesla uses a different connector, but it has an adaptor for the CHAdeMO connector. Remember that not every EV can charge using level 3 chargers.

Plugs For EV Charging Stations

The most popular electric vehicles are the Tesla Model Y, Chevrolet Bolt, Ford Mustang Mach-E, and Volkswagen ID.4. Some hybrid vehicles that you’ve probably seen around are the Toyota Corolla 1.8 VVT-I Hybrid, the Volkswagen Passat GTE Estate, the BMW 330e, and the Skoda Octavia iV Estate. These electric vehicles can have different plugs, depending on the model. There are 4 types of plugs. Two plugs are for alternating current, which allows charging up to 43 kW. The other two plugs are for direct current that allows for a much greater charging power of 250 kW. These are the ones you would need for a commercial location.

Tesla has a separate connector that can’t be used on non-Tesla vehicles. You don’t need to worry because you can get EV adapters so all types of electric vehicles can charge their vehicle at the EV Charging Stations on the commercial properties you manage.

If you’re offering an EV Charging Station at a commercial property, you may want to consider providing adapters rather than relying on the users to have their separate adapters. This is a feature you may want to make sure the EV Charging Station offers.

How Long Can EV’s Go Without Charging?

Why is EV Charging Stations so important? Like gas stations, you need to charge an EV so it can continue working. An EV has a lithium-ion battery which changes depending on the type and size of the EV. Rather than liters, an EV charge is measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh).

According to EV battery manufacturer EDF a common 40 kWh battery will probably last you for around 150 miles before it needs to be recharged. A Tesla 100 kWh battery will last around 375 miles.

This means that we need EV Charging Stations to be able to recharge those EVs. This is where commercial EV charging stations can make a huge difference.

What Are Commercial EV Charging Stations?

Commercial EV Charging stations can be located in a multi-unit housing complex, a fleet, or a workplace or business. As more and more drivers go electric, Commercial EV Charging Stations are becoming a necessity, not a luxury. You can install an EV Charging Station in many different commercial buildings including:

• Apartments & Condo Buildings
• Auto Dealerships
• Entertainment Districts
• Shopping Malls & Strip Centers
• Hospitals & Medical Offices
• Private Parking Lots & Garages
• Class A Office Buildings
• Colleges & Universities

For example, if you have customers who want to stop at a mall after work, having the ability to recharge their car at the mall is an incentive to come to the mall. These are especially important in suburban locations where it would not be feasible for someone with an EV to frequent the commercial location.

Retail Properties

Retail locations need to upgrade their parking structures to install EV Charging Stations. These include shopping centers, restaurants, and parking lots outside any other retail location. It also includes some of the largest retailers like Walmart, Home Depot, Costco, and Walgreens.

Most daily activities revolve around these stores. If you’re rushing around from one errand to another, you don’t want your car dying right when you get Walmart or Costco. Installing EV Charging Stations at such retail properties is an important step to customer satisfaction and retention.

Remember that people will shop where they can charge. The easier you make it for them, the better it is for your properties.

Multi-family Properties

Multi-family properties include apartments and condos. Why is it so important for you to consider installing EV Charging Stations at multi-family properties? It’s because 85% of charging for EVs occurs at home.

There is a lot of demand for EV Charging Stations at these locations because this is the place that most people will charge their EVs. They’ll come home after a long day at work and plug in their car knowing that it’ll be fully charged up by the time they need to head back to work the next day.

By providing this option, you’re making life easier for your tenants. A property manager who makes life easy and convenient for its tenants will stand out among the crowd.

Office Properties and Workplaces

Any building with a lot of office space and employees working in the offices will want to make sure that they have EV Charging Stations. They will want to make sure that their employees are happy.

By offering them a chance to charge their EVs at work, employees and customers can go and have some fun for lunch or after work without feeling stuck. As a property manager, you want to make sure that you can provide the EV Charging Station opportunities to office properties or workplaces.

What Are the Benefits of Installing EV Charging Stations?

Why should you consider EV Charging Stations for your properties? Well, there are many benefits of installing EV Charging Stations from legal to environmental.

With 43,000 public EV Charging Stations and 250,000 EV’s sold in the United States, the EV market is booming. Are you keeping up with the trends? Are you offering the best opportunities for your clients? Do you know what your clients desire most in the upcoming year or so?

Keep on reading to understand some of the benefits of installing commercial EV Charging Stations at your property or facility.

Eco-Friendly Initiatives

Let’s face it, conventional cars are a big producer of carbon emissions. Conventional cars that run on fossil fuels are a major contributor to air pollution. The reality is that medium and heavy-duty vehicles make up 5% of all cars on the road but emit almost 30% of the carbon dioxide emissions.

EV’s, on the other hand, use rechargeable lithium-ion batteries – the same ones used in your smartphones and laptops. Unlike fuel cars, EVs lithium-ion batteries produce less pollution, are more efficient, and even have a guaranteed lifespan of 8 to 10 years.

Since they don’t run on fuel, they also don’t use many of the same parts of the car that a fuel-based car would have, such as fuel lines, fuel tanks, and tailpipes. Without these parts, you can rest assured that they do not produce carbon dioxide emissions. At the end of the day, these cars are more eco-friendly.

Why does that matter for commercial properties or property managers? A part of supporting EVs means that you’ll be doing something good for the world. You’ll be making the world a better place for the next generation.

More importantly, you will also be supporting the environmental, social, and governance responsibility that is an important element in every company’s annual report to its shareholders or investors. It’s clear now that investors and customers care about the environment.

Most companies are investing in sustainability endeavors, for which has over $30 trillion invested globally. Studies show the positive impact of eco-friendly initiatives on profits, valuations, and reputation. Customers are willing to pay companies to go green.

Along with EV vehicles, you should also consider other go green projects at commercial projects.

Attract New EV Owners to Building

Whether your client is a retail business, an office property, or a workplace, the main goal is to attract EV owners to the building. A retail business will want to attract the most affluent customers to their stores to increase sales.

To do this, they need to offer incentives and show their commitment to new technology and innovation. One of the ways to show this commitment is by installing EV Charging Stations. To understand why EV Charging Stations is the best service to offer to your clients, you need to understand the type of demographic they want to attract.

Over 70% of EV buyers have a 4-year college degree or higher and make more than $100,000 in income. According to TrueCar, Gen X, generally born from the 1960s to early 1980s, is buying the greatest number of EVs at 39.8%. Millennials are a close second at 34.9%.

This same group also has more disposable income to spend. Anything that makes their busy lives more convenient and simpler will attract them. This means that retail businesses, restaurants, theatres, and workplaces that have EV Charging Stations will be more attractive.

EV users prefer to go shopping and run errands while their car is charging. They would also change their shopping habits depending on the location of an EV Charging Station. Having an EV Charging Station will attract the right group of people with disposable income who are not afraid to splurge.

Strips malls should also consider installing EV Fast Charging Stations to increase foot traffic, monetize fast chargers, and many other reasons.

Attract Quality Employees

An office property or workplace will want to attract the best employees to increase profitability.

Studies show that having a strong environmental stance attracts top-quality employees. By instilling a sense of purpose in employees through the company’s commitment to the environment, companies will be able to retain those employees and increase productivity. This flows into positive shareholder returns.

Investors Prefer Options of EV Charging Units

In a condo or apartment building, the advantages of an EV Charging Station are obvious. If you can charge your EV while you sleep, who wouldn’t want to live in a condo like that? EV users would want to buy or rent homes with EV Charging Stations. Others would move to a building that has an EV Charging Station.

More people are purchasing condos and apartments for rental purposes rather than to live in. Investment firms like Blackrock and Invitation Homes are buying a large number of homes for their investment portfolio. Many real estate investment trusts also rely on rental income from a real estate portfolio.

With this massive real estate market, attracting quality tenants is a top priority. They are looking for tenants with stable incomes who are willing to pay high rents to live in exclusive areas including urban locations. More than 37% of millennials live in urban areas.

In these locations, an EV Charging Station will attract EV users who have stable income and disposal income. They’ll attract tenants who have the means to live in more affluent neighborhoods and pay the higher rents.

Show Your Commitment to the Owners and Customers

According to the International Energy Agency, the number of EVs around the world will reach 125 million by 2030. EVs need to be charged 150 to 375 miles. For many people, the option to have an EV Charging Station will change from “nice to have” to essential in a few years.

People with EVs have started to schedule around public EV charging stations. It’s part and parcel of being an EV owner. The lack of EV Charging Stations means that any place that has a charging station will become part of their schedule.

By installing EV Charging Stations, you are showing your commitment to the owners and customers. By installing EV Charging Stations now, you are showing them that you’re ahead of the trend. You are showing your commitment to their schedules, their convenience, and their comfort.

For commercial organizations, they will need to figure out how they can support their customers on an ongoing basis. This can be seen as working hand in hand with increasing profitability. If customers are more likely to frequent your location because you offer EV Charging Stations, then you will balance commitment to your customers with an increase in revenue.

Commercial establishments can become the go-to choice for customers who want to run errands, do groceries, go see a movie or meet friends for dinner. They can do this by offering the option to charge their customer’s EV while they run these errands. The important thing here is to know what your customer wants and provide this to them – this shows your commitment to owners and customers.

Federal, State, and Local Move Towards Clean Regulations

The federal government and many states are moving towards implementing more regulations to support EVs. The federal government wants to move from 133,000 charging stations in 2020 to 500,000 EV Charging Stations by 2030.

Many cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle have more EV users and want to have 100% EV sales by 2030. Even carmakers like Volkswagen and General Motors plan to stop selling conventional fuel cars by 2035. There is a very clear trend moving towards more EVs.

California also has large commitments to protect public health and state climate targets of reducing greenhouse gases by 40% by 2030 and 50% reduction of petroleum use by 2030. California has 15.1% EV cars already and is ahead of the curve by proposing a zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) sales requirement for heavy-duty vehicles.

California’s Advanced Clean Truck Regulations will require manufacturers of certain heavy-duty vehicles to sell 55% ZEV by 2035. Companies including retailers, manufacturers, and brokers will have to report about ZEV in their fleet operations starting 2024.

State and Local Incentives for Installing EV Charging Stations

To support their commitment towards clean energy, the federal government and many states offer incentives.

In April of 2021, President Biden released the American Jobs Plan. It included a $15 billion investment to build a national network of 500,000 charging stations in the United States. This means the federal government will be providing additional grants and incentive programs for state and local governments and the private sector.

With these incentives, the federal government wants to encourage EV Charging Stations in apartment buildings, public parking lots, and fast-charging stations across national highways and roadways.

The federal government also provides the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Tax Credit that allows you to offset up to 30% of the cost of installing charging stations up to a maximum of $30,000.

Currently, 45 states and the District of Columbia provide some sort of incentive for EVs. This is either through tax credits, rebates, or exemptions from emission testing. These programs make it cheaper to install EV Charging Stations in commercial organizations.

California has provided $1.2 billion over the years to build the infrastructure for EVs across the state. Arkansas provides a rebate program to government, private practice, and non-profit for construction and installation costs from $3,375 for a multi-unit dwelling to $9,300 for the government. Florida offers rebates for the purchase of EVs including up to $100,000 for an electric public transit bus. Commercial organizations can take advantage of these incentives and ensure they can implement an EV infrastructure most cost-effectively.

Stay Ahead of the Global Trend

At the end of the day, you want to stay ahead of the global trend. The trend towards EVs and an EV infrastructure is not just limited to the United States.
New homes will be required to have EV charging stations from 2022 in the UK. The UK wants to ban the sale of traditional petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030. They will continue to allow hybrids until 2035. While this is limited to residential properties in the UK, you can see where the trend is heading.

More than 120 countries have announced some type of zero-emission commitment that aims to reach net zero in the coming decades. More than 20 countries have announced the full phase-out of conventional fuel cars in the next 10 to 30 years.

Not just electric cars but there’s a push towards electric buses and electric trucks. To make this dream a reality, you need to have EV Charging Stations. By installing EV Charging Stations today, you can stay ahead of this global trend.

Other trends include integrating solar energy into your commercial building. Learn about the 4 key benefits of integrating solar energy.

What to Consider When Choosing an EV Charging Station?

Being a property manager can be difficult with keeping up with owner demands and keeping with new trends. You are committed to providing the best service for your properties. Your reputation and integrity depend on getting up to speed on up-and-coming trends.

Now that you know the benefits of installing EV Charging Stations, you need to consider what features you would like to have in your EV Charging Station. With constantly evolving technology, you have more features to consider than you ever did before. All these features and benefits need to be considered in full before making your decision.

Charging Speed

The first thing you need to consider is the charging speed. As we mentioned, a Level 1 charger would never work for commercial applications. You have the option of a Level 2 and a Level 3. This means an EV can charge in 3 hours when you install a Level 2, or in 30 minutes with a Level 3 Charger.

You need to consider who your users are and what type of plug will they be using. If you mostly have people with Teslas, you want to make sure you have a plug that comes with a Tesla adaptor.

Enhanced Safety

Just like with fuel, electricity has its own set of concerns that you need to address to make sure the charger is safe to use. Any short circuits or electrocutions can be very dangerous for your customers and your reputation. Before you make your decision, ask the right questions.

You need to figure what the historic rate of failures or safety concerns the EV Charging Station has. Get this information in writing so you can show that you did your due diligence when installing EV Charging Stations.

Energy Efficiency

You want to make sure that the EV Charging Station you use is energy efficient. There could be times when the charging station is not being used. You don’t want the charging station to use electricity during those off-peak times and increase your long-term costs.

This is something you should confirm at the outset and after installation. You also want to make sure that EV Charging Station is reliable and energy-efficient in the future. You don’t want to buy something now and realize that it’s using more energy in the future. This is important not just for budgeting reasons, but also to support your environment.

Network

Nowadays, the EV Charging Stations are connected to the network. This means it’s constantly collecting data and uploading this information. You can get real-time use and revenue statistics that will help you with your projections.

You can get immediate notifications if there are any issues with the EV Charging Station. In an emergency, you can shut down remotely if needed. There are many other benefits to network connectivity. You want to make sure you have the network capacity to have software upgrades to keep up with ever-changing technology.

Smart Metering

Smart Metering is another aspect of network connectivity that you will want to make sure your EV Charging Station has. With a smart meter, the property manager can log into the account and make cost allocation reports for individual tenants or the entire property.

This is easy, convenient, and saves you a lot of time and money. The reports can be downloaded in Excel or PDF which you can then convert into the right template for billing purposes.
The good thing is that even tenants can access the online account through a unique username and view their consumption history. This way there is no confusion, and everyone knows exactly what they’re paying for. This feature may even be a requirement in many states and countries.

Customizability

Each tenant and commercial client are different with different needs. A retail business that wants to attract more customers will want extremely different features from a commercial establishment with a fleet operation. You need a contractor that offers customizability in their EV Charging Stations.

You also want to make sure that your EV Charging Stations offer customizability in terms of plugs and adaptors. With new EVs coming out every year, your EV Charging Station provider should keep up with the trends. The design of the charging station should allow for upgrades and adaptors as technology changes.

The customizability should be in the hardware and the software, so ask questions when you’re considering one company over another.

Automatic Payment and Billing

Some commercial establishments will want to offer the EV Charging Stations for free. Others will require credit card payments based on usage, similar to pay to park. The EV Charging Station you choose should allow for automatic payment and billing, depending on the needs of the organization.

You can also have EV Charging Units that give you options and flexibility with payment and timing. You can have more control over the amount and charging times. Having a system that allows for tap and Apple pay will ensure ease and convenience for your users.

Mobile and Web Apps

Even parking lots have apps for payment now. Just like parking lots, your EV Charging Station should offer a solid mobile and web app to support the charging station. Customers should be able to use the app to find available EV charging spots. This means the software for the charging stations should be updated on a real-time basis.

The app should provide pricing and allow for easy online payment using a variety of different payment options. The most important thing is that you should be able to monitor this information remotely. You should also be able to make changes remotely like editing the fees or pricing packages.

All of this should be smooth and easy without being too time-consuming. You have properties to manage, and you don’t want to waste your time sending invoices or trying to figure out a complicated app process.

What Are the Best Ev Charging Stations?

Did you know there are more than 300 EV Charging Station companies globally? 100 of those companies are in North America. This number is also growing as new companies and new technology emerge. 8 EV Charging Stations companies have gone public including EVgo Inc., Nuvve, Chargepoint, and Volta Charging.

Let us help you get the best quote for the best EV Charging Stations installed in your commercial properties. Contact us today to get a fully vetted, local, qualified contractor for your project within 24 hours.

Chargepoint

Chargepoint is one of the largest online networks of independently owned EV Charging Stations. In 2017, it took over General Electric’s 10,000 EV Charging Stations. In 2018, it went public raising over $240 million.

It was the first EV charging provider to be ENERGY STAR certified for energy efficiency. It offers premium EV charging solutions for businesses, fleets, and drivers. It has over 5,000 customers.

EVgo

EVgo went public in July 2021. It has more than 800 fast-charging stations across 35 states. It has partnerships with Uber Technologies to provide its drivers with more incentives to be energy efficient. In November 2021, the company hit 300,000 customers.

They’re working with cities to offer curbside charging. For example, in collaboration with the City of Sacramento, EVgo launched the first curbside EV charging pilot in May 2019. People using the charging stations can park for free for 2 hours.

Customers can pay by credit card or phone. For EVgo members, they can use an RFID card or the EVgo app. The average EVgo Charging Station charged 5,872 sessions in 2020.

Electrify America

Electrify America operates an EV fast-charging network with over 500 charging locations. It mainly focuses on light-duty vehicles.

In the next 10 years, Electrify America plans to invest $2 billion in EV infrastructure in the US. This includes about $25 million in Long Beach and Wilmington in Los Angeles. This is meant to support the electrification of public buses and freight trucks.

Nuvve

Nuvve Corp. is a San Diego company that went public in March 2021. They have a proprietary vehicle to grid (V2G) technology that makes it stand apart from its colleagues. They invented this in 1996.

Their charging stations are preconfigured to work with their Grid Integrated Platform (GIVe). GIVe controls the charger in 2 ways. One is unidirectional where the charge rate is controlled. The second is bidirectional where the battery can both charge and discharge.

In Nov 2021, it entered into a partnership with Blue Bird corporation in Fort Valley, Georgia to install 200 charging stations. It will allow electric buses to act as energy storage assets while waiting to be transported around the country. Electric buses will store energy and then provide it back to the grid at critical peak consumption time for more than 10,000 homes.

There are many other companies to choose from, but you don’t need to do the work. Use BidSource and have companies provide the best quote for the commercial properties you manage.

Costs for Installing Charging Stations

The cost of installing an EV Charging Station varies depending on what type of charging station you want to be installed, the number of charging stations you need, and the cost of labor. Depending on the location, it could end up costing more time and labor.

Installing a Level 2 EV Charging Station can cost about an average of $6,000 per unit. As a commercial organization, you want to make sure you have enough EV Charging Stations for your customers. This can range from $30,000 to $120,000 or more, depending on how many units you want to be installed.

Higher-end Level 2 EV Charging Stations can cost about $10,000 to $30,000 per unit to install. The cost to install Level 3 EV Charging Stations is much higher at about $50,000 per unit. The equipment costs for a Level 3 are much higher. You may even need to contact the utility company to install a transformer.

If you have an old or outdated infrastructure, this will cost more time and money. Your electrical conduits need to be upgraded, which can cost an additional $10,000 to $15,000. You can also add signage and pavement striping to increase brand awareness.

Remember you have several federal and local grants and rebates that you can use to offset some of these costs. Click here to read more about EV charging station installation costs for commercial properties and facilities.

Free EV Charging Station Installation Quote

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