Work place charging strategy

[Jason71]

I sometimes work on a work site with over 1600 staff car parking spaces (for 5000+ staff)
They currently have 2 staff 7KW EV chargers. which are used on a first come first served basis.
Sounds bad but actually this has not been an issue so far since there have only been half a dozen or so EV drivers and they just managed it among themselves. I imagine there has been quite a bit of overstaying going on since there has not been much pressure on the chargers. There are far too few parking spaces for all of the car users so if you bag a charger in the morning moving your car once charged is a genuine issue. You could literally be away for an hour by the time you have got out to the car, found somewhere else to park it and walked back so there is a big disincentive to do that.

Now that the number of users is expected to increase significantly they are having a consultation on what to do in the future.
Obviously increasing the number of chargers is on the cards but even so how should they are managed?

• Should they be free? or does that just encourage people to use them who could charge at home? if paid how much should it be? enough to discourage free loaders but not penalise people with no off street parking.
• Should PHEVs be allowed ( I'm sure i'll get an unbiased response on that one here! )
• How best to allocate them? a free for all or some sort of booking system?

any thoughts on the subject appreciated particularly how this works at other work places?

 

[Yev000]

Didn't you ask this before?

3pin sockets all the way...

 

[Lupe]

Only offer them to visitors or at a fee. Should reduce demand

 

[tsh2]

We seem to find that it's possible to get 3 cars through each charge point per day. When we were at capacity for parking, people were suggesting swaps with cones to save the space during the swap.

If you can persuade the PHEV (which seem to come with long, maybe thinner cables) to park in an adjacent space, this allows someone else to queue up and leave their cable waiting to be plugged in.

 

[NastyNick83]

I have managed to compile a list of all users of our work charging points, with registration details - so I typically send them a message to ask that they let me know once charged.

However, now I'm on Octopus Go (referral available) the savings charging at the office all day is minimal that I care much less than I used to if I don't get a charge.

 

[stonecoldrmw]

My work have a number of sites. For my site, the solution is a rather meager 3pin plug option.

However our site in Hemel Hempstead operate a booking system throught Microsoft Outlook's calendar function. We have a meeting room booker linked in which uses the charging spaces like meeting rooms. Users can only book for a certain amount of time and afterwards, they have to move their car.

Seems to work ok but i dont have too much experience yet as I have still got a gas guzzling 2L Passat CC

 

[deftelf]

As uncool as it may sound, getting loads of standard mains sockets would be surely the way forward - they'd be cheap as chips to be installed, you'd get about 90 miles per day which surely is more than enough, and the rate would be so slow that probably nobody is going to argue about the cost.

 

[NewbieT]

We currently have 2x7kW for 2xPHEV + 1xBEV (Tesla). We have about 35 parking spaces in total. We’re sharing free electricity ‘mornings’ and ‘afternoons’ on an informal basis (we know who each other is). Quite lucky.

We’re in the process of expanding to a total of 4x7kW or 6x7kW chargers as we expect demand will increase. Through sharing and possibly charging a fee if we need to (in a few years) we think we’ll be covered for ‘essential need’ over the current BIK free ‘perk’. i.e 1/3 if the staff would get 1/2 day charge everyday.

 

[Jason71]

Didn't you ask this before?

3pin sockets all the way...

I posted an idea before about giving reserved parking spaces to EV drivers in the work car park ( same site) as a way to
a) discourage people from use the chargers just as a sneaky way to get a parking space
b) make it easier for people to swap in and out of the charger bays when done charging
c) encourage EV adoption by the carrot of a guaranteed parking space at work. It would be a big incentive in some locations and cost nothing

so it was related but not quite the same

 

[Jason71]

My work have a number of sites. For my site, the solution is a rather meager 3pin plug option.

However our site in Hemel Hempstead operate a booking system throught Microsoft Outlook's calendar function. We have a meeting room booker linked in which uses the charging spaces like meeting rooms. Users can only book for a certain amount of time and afterwards, they have to move their car.

Seems to work ok but i dont have too much experience yet as I have still got a gas guzzling 2L Passat CC

I think the site in question uses the same or similar room booking system. could be a good solution

 

[Jason71]

As uncool as it may sound, getting loads of standard mains sockets would be surely the way forward - they'd be cheap as chips to be installed, you'd get about 90 miles per day which surely is more than enough, and the rate would be so slow that probably nobody is going to argue about the cost.

I don't know much about their plans for expansion of the number of charge bays but I tend to agree. 2 times 2-3-3.5KW is probably better than 1x7kw. for a work car park where people are there for 7-8 hours and most people live a lot less than 45 miles away. Though I'm not sure they would want to line the carpark with 13amp sockets. and have UMC's all over the place so maybe 3.5kw type 2 connections. I guess it depends if cost or power availability is the limiting factor. Using the dedicated chargers allows you to charge for the service in future if necessary and you can always have a power sharing arrangement where 1 7KW connection is shared between 2 vehicles so you get a minimum of 3.5 but upto the full 7 if no one else is plugged in.

 

[hmy7k]

I would establish a set of priorities for who can use them; eg

1. Visitors from xx mile away.
2. EV Owners without home charging points.
3. Anyone else.

Then operate a booking system to control usage and allocate in accordance with agreed priorities.

There seems little point in having them if someone locally that home charges see it as an opportunity for a free charge which then prevents someone with a greater need from using them.

There will never been enough going forward for everyone to have one so some sort of prioritisation is needed.

 

[MrBadger]

Though I'm not sure they would want to line the carpark with 13amp sockets. and have UMC's all over the place so maybe 3.5kw type 2 connections.

I agree. I would have thought that with all the necessary kit needed to put in a safe robust 13A weatherproof socket, that the actual cost difference to a proper power limited type 2 would not be a huge amount in grand scheme of things and would have many benefits.

My personal opinion on workplace charging is that it should be an enabler rather than a free perk. Where I use to work, I would have felt like I was taking the pea if I plugged in to top up from my 20 mine round trip commute when a few people had travelled significant distance and wanted the peace of mind that they could get home at the end of the day, or get back to work the next morning if they had no home charging.

As for cost, I see it perfectly reasonable to recover energy plus reasonable maintenance cost of people commuting but it makes sense to take into consideration business travel. It needs to be sustainable long term, and I don't think the free model will work long term, nice as it may be. Plenty of other perks to owning an EV.

 

[stonecoldrmw]

It's a plugin called Condeco.

Here's a screenshot of the booking system and the slots available this afternoon - likely available because we're all working from home!

 

[ACarneiro]

Any solution that forces people to break their day to come move the car is only doable in small setups and is a complete non-starter in big sites where the car park is a significant walk away or breaks are difficult (I’m a doctor in the NHS and I don’t get a break in the day, for example).
People are lazy by nature and the temptation to either just not bother (thus negating the “enabling effect”) or overstay would be fat too much.

I cannot see how a 13A socket (even a waterproof one) can be even remotely as costly as a Type 2 charger so whilst having chargers for a few dozens of spaces would be ideal, installing a few dozens (or hundreds!) of 13A sockets may be more palatable for bean counters.

 

[Jason71]

Any solution that forces people to break their day to come move the car is only doable in small setups and is a complete non-starter in big sites where the car park is a significant walk away or breaks are difficult (I’m a doctor in the NHS and I don’t get a break in the day, for example).
People are lazy by nature and the temptation to either just not bother (thus negating the “enabling effect”) or overstay would be fat too much.

I cannot see how a 13A socket (even a waterproof one) can be even remotely as costly as a Type 2 charger so whilst having chargers for a few dozens of spaces would be ideal, installing a few dozens (or hundreds!) of 13A sockets may be more palatable for bean counters.

I agree the charger is more expensive but if you decide you don't want a free charging model its the only option and if people are paying you get your money back eventually I guess. I would not be surprised if health and safety might also dictate the type 2 approach

 

[Adopado]

I cannot see how a 13A socket (even a waterproof one) can be even remotely as costly as a Type 2 charger so whilst having chargers for a few dozens of spaces would be ideal, installing a few dozens (or hundreds!) of 13A sockets may be more palatable for bean counters.

You would think so ... but in a work situation with liability & health and safety you are not going to get away with a simple 13 amp socket or a simple waterproof socket. Almost certainly there would be a requirement for an EV standard electrical installation whether it's for 13 amp sockets or Type 2. By the time you have got the right RCD/breakers, cabling and earthing requirements, plus necessary cable laying groundworks, the choice of type of socket is going to be the least of it. The other drawback of 13amp is that people will not necessarily be using a dedicated fully waterproof connector like a Type 2 cable (the Tesla UMC needs some protection from heavy rain) so it's more of a faff, and a potential danger, for users).

 

[Yev000]

By the time you have got the right RCD/breakers, cabling and earthing requirements, plus necessary cable laying groundworks, the choice of type of socket is going to be the least of it. The other drawback of 13amp is that people will not necessarily be using a dedicated fully waterproof connector like a Type 2 cable (the Tesla UMC needs some protection from heavy rain) so it's more of a faff, and a potential danger, for users).

I'm sorry your math doesent work

13 amp is all that + cost of watherproof socket ~ £20 + VAT on top

The only variable is socket type and any type 2 will cost way more.

Plus UMCs are way better because sides dont need to maintain them, it's up the the driver. They also have safety built into them..

Please do not tell me that it will be hard for a commercial establishment to install 200 safe exterior sockets when they already did exactly the same thing in the building next to the car park.... 8KWh (7.6) single type 2 connection would power 4 spaces off the same cuircuit ands roughly x3 cheaper than a single socket.

Regarding converting to paid model.... If you really want to earn the ~ £2 a day per employee (or rip them off for more than the cost of the electricity) you can simply set up lockboxes and rent keys out for some kind of fee. It cost my workplace a grand total of £100 Sept to Jan to charge my Tesla commute (free of course) multiply that by the number of employees assuming they charge the full 8 hours each day. Do some kind of subscription service...

In addition to the above you could hijack lamp posts (if your car park has those) with very little in the way of cost. Lamp posts are generally not in use during the day.

 

[Adopado]

I'm sorry your math doesent work

No maths in my post! Just pointing out some factors worth considering and that are likely to result in the difference between Type 2 and 13 amp not being as big as OP might guess. If you've already got it all costed and worked out then good for you ... I'm not going to argue with real life numbers.

 

[JayMac]

I work for a large logistics company which has around 600 people per day on shift and our current solution is 6 x 3 pin sockets, the vast majority are shift workers and work 12 hr day's. I get 3 Kw per hour from the 3 pin socket which over 12 hrs is more then enough for most users.

The vast majority are hybrids and we still have very few EV's