How to Become a Charging Network Owner

Are you about to establish an EV charging network? Then you stumbled upon the right guide!

For starters, let’s take a look at the tasks to be performed by the charging network owner. In general, there are two types of tasks: operational and commercial.

Operational tasks include buying charging stations, setting up hardware, and maintaining the established network. Commercial tasks include determining costs for infrastructure use and controlling the connection to companies that offer e-mobility services.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through 6 steps covering how to plan charging locations, check electrical capacity, select the vendor, choose connector type and cable that fit your market needs as well as reduce electrical losses.

Step 1: Plan your location

To efficiently plan the location of the charging station, consider the following conceptual triangle: maximise accessibility, maximise utilisation and minimise cost. Let’s get into more detail.

Maximise accessibility. Network planning and site selection play an essential role in improving EV charging accessibility. The visibility of charging facilities, ease of entry and egress at charging sites, and proximity to major roads can also influence their accessibility.

Maximise utilization. Public charging demand at a given location will depend on multiple parameters, including population and employment densities, parking availability, traffic volumes, the presence of points of interest such as commercial establishments, transit stations, tourist destinations, and so on. It also depends on the availability of other private or semi-public charging facilities in the area. In most cases, there is no need to install DC charging stations in an area with low traffic.

Minimise cost. The cost of public charging infrastructure primarily depends on three factors: the cost of EV supply equipment, the cost of land, and the cost of power supply. All three can be significantly reduced by opting for a distributed charging network of normal power charging points that are less expensive and require less space and electricity at any given location. If you opt for the highway area, though, it is valuable to install a fast charging station and invest more.

Step 2: Check your electrical capacity (for every charging point individually)

Let’s say, you want to install one 50 kW, two 7 kW, and one 22 kW charger. After consulting your documentation and regulatory authorities, you found out that the nearby distribution transformer has available capacity to support an additional load of 50 kW only, beyond which its capacity would need to be augmented. Make sure you leave 25% of the unused capacity. If you leave 25% of 50 kW as unused capacity, you get only 37,5 kW remaining You can, therefore, install only one 22 kW charger and two 7 kW chargers. No DC station, though. To also install a 50 Kw charger, you will need to apply for a high-tension supply and set up your own distribution transformer. Additional costs: distribution transformer along with the associated 33/11 kW cables, additional space at the identified site for the ancillary electrical infrastructure Note: The above-mentioned context is rather a generative example. In different countries, there can be various regulations and installation rules.

Step 3: Select the hardware vendor

While selecting the charger, pick the ones that are able to function for 10+ years. The following criteria are essential for making a reliable choice:

Be attentive with no-name vendors, as their chargers may, in most cases, have high degradation of electric elements. Furthermore, such chargers may not work well with the software you intend to install.
Consider the climate zone in your area (verify that the chargers have been tested for temperature variations, for example, in California, Egypt, Canada and the Nordic countries).
Choose chargers made of resilient materials covered by high-quality paint.
Avoid chargers with plastic body parts (these will soon be out of use because of high temperatures).

Note: Try to limit the brands’ range to be able to use spare parts efficiently. At Electriqua, we’ve tested over 300 chargers, and we continue doing so. Check out Electriqua’s supported chargers to find the charger that perfectly fits your needs.

Step 4: Select connector types

The market fit regarding connectors plays a pivotal role for your customers and, thus, will directly impact your income generation. Take into account your market needs and the EVs that are mostly used in your region. Pay attention to imported cars, and make sure your station is equipped with fitting connectors.

Step 5: Select the connector cable

Do not save money on cable. Since the high-quality cable is durable, it will reduce your operational expenses.

Avoid buying a charger without a cable. The majority of EV drivers commute without a charging cable, so arriving at the station and discovering there is no charging cable available will, most probably, upset your customers.

Make sure the cable is about 5 metres long. EVs have charging ports located in different places, so the length of the cable is of great importance.

If you mount your charger on the wall, make sure the walk side is not preventing the EV driver from approaching it. If the walk side is an issue, installing the floor-mounted charger is better. The EV driver will more likely charge from the floor-mounted charger on the walk side rather than extending the cable from the wall through the walk side to the car.

Also, consider the chargers with additional features that best fit your location; for instance, the charger with cable hanging above possibility might be an optimal choice for a city centre area with limited floor availability, or the multi-media EV charger might optimise the user experience and bring additional economic benefits.

Step 6: Reduce electrical losses

It is crucial to minimise electrical losses, as the cost will be carried by either the charge point operator or, even worse, the driver. To reduce electrical losses, do the following:

Use high-quality wires and cables with high-performance alloys.

Choose an optimal cable diameter to reduce the linear resistance of electricity.

Connect the cables using the correct soldering methods or special pads.

After you’ve walked all the way through 7 steps, you probably wonder what software helps you efficiently manage your charging network. Electriqua’s SaaS platform offers you the possibility to:

Manage your stations via data-driven reports on both desktop and mobile

Set dynamic prices for different areas and users

Get constant support for a fast and reliable connection via OCPP

Give your users the ability to pay the way they want

Get access to EV Roaming

EV charging is made simple with Electriqua. Contact us!