Placing an EVSE on my commercial property

[Ormond]

What is the best way to place a charger on property that I own?

1. Are there certain EVSE vendors that are easy to work with?
2. Anyone know any contact people?
3. How do I check on governmental incentives at the various levels of government?
4. Any helpful websites?

I may not be able to achieve this, as I have a tenant in place. I thought that it would be best to have some information in hand.

Thank you for your insight.

 

[Cosmacelf]

I just ordered an EVSE from ClipperCreek.com. They are the cheapest, most reliable, and high utility product out there. I used their 60A wall mount one, but any of them are good (no need to use the commercial pedestals unless you really need to). As far as incentives go, I didn't find any, but it's a business expense like any other.

I offer it free to anyone to use, if you're looking to charge for usage, that adds complexity.

 

[AEdennis]

I believe that there is a 30% tax credit available for commercial installations capped at $30k (if costs $10k, you should get $3k). That's a Federal program that requires installation to be complete by end of 2016, unless it gets extended.

If you want to manage EVSE and charge someone to use it, there are many choices and providers.

Dennis

 

[Cosmacelf]

Oh right, my business isn't profitable, that's why I couldn't use that tax incentive

 

[NikeWings]

Not sure what your business does, but you mentioned 'commercial'.
My office building provides Tesla Destination Charging and Blink stations. Blink - Commercial EV Chargers

Also check with your local utility provider for reduced electricity rates and some also provide commercial incentives or credits towards equipment installations vs tax credits.

 

[Ormond]

Not sure what your business does, but you mentioned 'commercial'.
My office building provides Tesla Destination Charging and Blink stations. Blink - Commercial EV Chargers

Also check with your local utility provider for reduced electricity rates and some also provide commercial incentives or credits towards equipment installations vs tax credits.

It's a restaurant.
Thank you for two great links!

 

[NikeWings]

It's a restaurant.
Thank you for two great links!

You're welcome. If I were closer, then I'd stop in for a bite.
Perhaps a local Florida Tesla club can rally around your restaurant as its monthly/quarterly meet-up locale. That should encourage Tesla to step up with a wall charger or two. Good luck Ormond!

 

[cpa]

Since you operate a business, this would fall under business property for the calculation and availability of the EVSE credit. Those rules are different for businesses than they are for individuals. I believe (I haven't researched this) that the EVSE credit, while calculated on form 8911, the amount of credit gets dumped onto form 3800, General Business Credits.

General Business Credits generally follow the income and passive/active/at risk loss rules. Any credit not available should be allowed to be carried forward 20 years. Again, I have not researched this particular situation from a business point of view, so there could be some untruths to what I wrote.

Your tax professional will be able to give you the best advice as it pertains to your particular income tax situation. That is why we keep our offices open year 'round!

 

[Saghost]

It's a restaurant.
Thank you for two great links!

As a restaurant, you definitely want to be looking at the Tesla Destination Charging Program link nikewing gave you - Tesla is donating the equipment and paying for some or all of the installation for lots of restaurants and hotels across the country (the property owner provides the site and pays the ongoing electric bills.)

Tesla is installing HPWCs for Teslas, but if you choose they also install a Clipper Creek J1772 EVSE for every pair of HPWCs.

 

[Ormond]

Thanks guys! I'm just the landlord, and not the operator. It's new construction, so I hope the tenant is open to including a charging station.

 

[auger]

What is the best way to place a charger on property that I own?

1. Are there certain EVSE vendors that are easy to work with?
2. Anyone know any contact people?
3. How do I check on governmental incentives at the various levels of government?
4. Any helpful websites?

I may not be able to achieve this, as I have a tenant in place. I thought that it would be best to have some information in hand.

Thank you for your insight.

If you will have a wifi signal close enough, you may want to look into a JuiceBox. It has a built-in meter and software to track/monitor usage, if that is of interest to you. Easy to install, too.

JuiceBox™ Pro 40C - Commercial Use 40-Amp Wi-Fi EVSE with 24-foot cable

 

[tga]

I'm surprised no one mentioned Charge Point (http://chargepoint.com)

 

[swaltner]

I'm surprised no one mentioned Charge Point (http://chargepoint.com)

At over $3,000 per J1772 connector and on-going monthly costs for the cellular connection, they just are a little expensive unless you really NEED the access control and billing features. Most just find that it's easier to give the electricity out for free or do billing on the honor system. If someone charged a Leaf from totally dead to totally full every day on your open-access EVSE and didn't pay for the electricity, it would take years to recoup the approx $2,500 extra for hardware costs, and that's on a per station basis.

LEAF battery = 24 kWh
Electricity to recharge = 25 kWh/session
Cost per kWh = 11 cents/kWh

$2,500 / (25 kWh/session * $0.11/kWh) = 909 charging sessions = 2.49 years

Yes, lots of assumptions in that series of calculations, but gives an idea on the thought process. This is why I'm suggesting an open-access OpenEVSE setup when I talk to the facilities group at the college I graduated from.

 

[auger]

Agreed. With the for-profit commercial vendors, you might as well give it away.

However, many condo boards and apt owners lack the basic math skills to figure this out, unfortunately. I'm not referring to the OP.