Do you host a public charging station?

[unlimited]

Looking to install a public charging station in a shopping plaza owned by a friend. I know the owner isn't interested in doing the legwork to get it installed so it will be up to me to find the info and report back to him. Anyone have insights on how to proceed. Located in the Midwest. Already looking at the local power companies information about it. Just curious if anyone else here has been through this process.

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[generaltso]

A ChargePoint commercial station is your best bet. They will help you find a ChargePoint certified electrician in your area for the purchase and install, and then you will pay ChargePoint monthly or annually for using their network. You’ll get an admin web portal for setting prices and features.

 

[RickMachE]

At least one member installs commercial for a living. He would be a good source of info.

 

[dmastro]

I work for a developer, we recently installed several ChargePoint stations at our properties. Happy to discuss.

 

[Nklem]

A ChargePoint commercial station is your best bet. They will help you find a ChargePoint certified electrician in your area for the purchase and install, and then you will pay ChargePoint monthly or annually for using their network. You’ll get an admin web portal for setting prices and features.

Get ready for scary costs and no payback with CP. Chargepoint is expensive for them to manage and the equipment is not cheap. At my company with 12 chargers, the simple payback on just the Chargepoint Fees/Equipment versus power cost was over 5 years. We ended up Clipper Creek and free.

I would suggest a Clipper Creek commercial station and simple credit card/payment management system or something like these.... They do not break the bank and deposit the funds in an account.

https://evsellc.com/solutions/payment-solutions/
https://xcpcorp.com/

 

[GoGoGadgetMachE]

I believe Tom Moloughney runs a public charging station in NJ - one of the hosts of InsideEVs does anyway, pretty sure it's him.

Tom Moloughney,
Senior Editor, InsideEVs Podcast Host
[email protected]

 

[Mach-Lee]

Like others have said, ChargePoint offers turnkey installation and service if you want to pay for it. The payback period is long, and it may be something that always loses some money, but that may be balanced by it bringing in more business from EV owners at the shops. Therefore you'll have to make the decision if you want to make it free or pay. Free will be much more popular, especially in the midwest where EVs are still pretty rare and customers that want to pay are very rare.

You'll have to think about siting and getting the power to the chargers carefully, because this is the biggest expense with the install. You need 208 or 240V service from a panel that isn't already maxed out. The wires will have to be trenched underground unless you can mount them on the side of a building. Trenching is very expensive, especially if you have to go under sidewalks and paved areas. If there are powerlines overhead or nearby, you might be able to add a new service panel and meter outside, which could be cheaper than trenching from an existing building. Make sure you put the chargers somewhere out of the way, do not turn the closest/best parking spots into EV charing or you will have huge problems with ICE vehicles parking in them and blocking the chargers. EV spots should be in the middle or back of the lot so they aren't the most preferred spots in the lot. Proper signage is important - "No parking unless charging".

ClipperCreek is the other major commercial EVSE provider, they do not provide metering or payment built in however (extra add-on equipment required), so they are a better suited for free stations. Other players like JuiceBox, Grizzle-E, and Leviton also provide commercial solutions.

One major consideration is how upkeep will be done and paid for. I see too many charging stations that are broken after a year or two and nobody wants to pay to fix them. Repairs are inevitable with public charging stations. The whole investment is a waste if nobody want to pay for upkeep, so make sure that is addressed with the owner. He's better off not doing anything if he won't set aside aprox $500/yr per charger for repairs if needed. For example the cable might get damaged and need replacement after a year or two, this will probably cost around $400 with labor to have fixed. ChargePoint repair services probably cost a little less than that per year, all repairs are covered usually. ChargePoint strongly encourages that you pay for their service contract so the stations are kept working as things break, that will keep your EV customers happy.

If I were a shop owner, I'd be happy to pay for a couple free chargers and see how it impacts my business. I'd be willing to try even if it ends up costing me some money every year in upkeep. But if nobody uses the chargers then they might go away after a couple years. I would see it as more of something that draws in customers rather than something that makes money directly. If the free chargers are popular then I might switch to pay-charging after a year or two.

If the guy is an absolute tightwad obsessed with making money, then it's not going to work out, don't bother.

 

[ChasingCoral]

I'm hearing the discussion bounce in different directions and one key question wasn't addressed in the OP: L2 or DC Fast Charger?

Another popular option for L2 is SemaConnect. They install a lot of L2 chargers in commercial settings and can set them up as free to anyone, fee to anyone, or fee but only accessible within a private group.

For L2 you can also talk with Volta. They set up free chargers and generate money through ad revenue. Their chargers are big illuminated displays hosting ads.

Personally, I prefer the commercial grade Clipper Creek and make them free. Theirs seem to be rock solid.

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