This easy-to-follow guide from our Head of Projects, Dan Booker, takes you through the step-by-step process for getting your EV charging project up and running for your business.
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer for how many EV chargers you need for your hotel or business, but we’ll break down the factors you need to consider when choosing the correct number of EV chargers for your business.
Consider the size of your business or what type of business you have
Firstly, you need to consider the size of your business. If you’re considering EV chargers for a large head office and have a big car park, you’ll probably need more EV chargers than a small business. You would also need to consider how many employees or customers drive electric vehicles or will be making the change to electric in the next five years.
If you have a high-traffic airport hotel, while you may have a smaller operation than a large business, you’re open 24/7, and most guests will want to charge their vehicles overnight.
Consider the space you have
You will also want to consider the space available at your business or hotel. Wall-mounted EV chargers may be preferred over free-standing EV chargers for small spaces.
For every site we adopt, our EV charging experts also take a longer-term view that helps our clients future-proof their investment. We look at likely future capacity and design in local network resilience from the outset to avoid the need for costly upgrading in the future. For most clients, we suggest choosing a load-balanced EV charging solution, as once you’ve installed the initial EV charging infrastructure, you can easily add more EV chargers to your network to suit demand.
Consider the needs of your guests, visitors and employees
When selecting EV chargers for your business, the most essential element to consider is the end user and their needs.
Example: Hotels
For hotel guests, they’ll most likely want to charge overnight, so you’ll need to look at the percentage of your customers who use EVs and also consider how this will increase in the next five years. If you’re a small hotel, getting started with one to two EV chargers works well. For larger hotels with high-traffic (i.e. an airport hotel), having three to four chargers works well when you have a constant flow of business travellers.
Example: Business
For businesses of all types, it depends on how often your employees or customers will need EV chargers.
If you’re a large business with a large car park with multiple users using EV chargers daily, you would ideally want as many EV chargers as possible. We would suggest ten EV chargers for an operation of this size. However, if you had a much smaller business and workforce, one to two EV chargers would be more than sufficient.
By taking these factors into consideration, you can make an informed decision about how many EV chargers your business needs. Need some more guidance? It all starts with a simple phone call. We know there’s so much to take in, so we’re here to help you every step of the way. To start your EV charging journey, contact us.
Dan Booker, Head of EV Projects at Devitech