Plugging into your workplace
Which type of charger? This will inevitably depend on the intended uses and battery range of the vehicles you use, or foresee using. Would you opt for larger, long-range battery electric vehicles, or are they designed for running around in the city for short periods? What is the daily mileage expected of them? You would also need to consider when the vehicles would need to charge and how Emily Stone from Energy Saving Trust suggests some much time they would have available for considerations and funding sources for charge point this. Would you implement “destination installations for fleet operators in Scotland charging”, whereby employees leave personal or company EVs to charge for most of the day? Or do you run a continuously active fleet with few pauses for recharging, for which destination charging would not be practical? Asking yourself these questions is the first step to making a thought-out decision, and Any Energy Saving Trust’s fleet busines advice service is happy s located to help you with this. in Scotlan For fleets with a lot With the uptake of electric vehicles on an points at a business d of downtime, fast exponential rise, it’s time to get ahead. premises. In addition for fund may apply in chargers should be Charge point installation companies are to this, any business g f r Energy o sufficient. However, evolving throughout the UK, making located in Scotland Saving T m rust as well these can come with a this an exciting and pivotal time. may apply for funding range of functionality One of the industry’s biggest challenges from Energy Saving chargin as OLEV’s with respect to the data is the matter of increasing charging Trust. Your eligibility, g schem e that they can provide, infrastructure availability in line with EV and the amount of grant and what level of remote uptake. We’re seeing pockets of the UK support you could receive, control you can have over where a council-backed push for more EV depends on a few criteria them. It’s therefore worth having infrastructure combined with a general buzz which are assessed at application. a discussion with your installer on the and enthusiasm around EVs has led to an even This includes whether your organisation capabilities of the units available to decide steeper uptake curve, for example in Dundee. currently operates EVs, or can demonstrate which is best suited for your business. Not everywhere benefits from the volume firm plans to; you employ EV owners; you For example, if you’re just charging employee of rapidly expanding infrastructure seen operate a car park of 50+ bays; you’re able to EVs during the day, you might consider a in this Scottish city, which will see its third make the charge point publically accessible; single-phase 7kw charge point similar to a charging hub installed before Christmas. and you’re located strategically in terms of domestic installation. On the other hand, Businesses across the UK need to do their the public charging infrastructure network. 50KW rapid smart chargers might even suit bit to maintain momentum, and there are two If you’re able to make your charge point some businesses – these will charge most key reasons as to why: the first is to encourage public, one condition of the grant from Energy currently available pure electric vehicles employee use of EVs. If you’re in an area where Saving Trust is that you keep it tariff-free for from 0 to 80 per cent in between 30 and 40 the only option is for people to drive to work, the public for the first year of operation. Whilst minutes, although this will vary depending on then it’s worth considering providing charge this will incur some charges, making the charge your vehicles. Please note, however, that not points for your employees. point public can help support your funding all vehicles are rapid-compatible, and due to Remember, 60 per cent of the UK’s application, and depending on your business their high cost relative to fast chargers, rapids population live in flats, so it may be type, could help bring in new customers. will likely only be suited to organisations with difficult for some employees to get a a large number of electric vehicles covering charge point installed at home. The second, A matter of power a significant number of miles each day. is to demonstrate your commitment to If you plan to install a number of chargers, If you will you’ll only need an occasional greener alternatives for employee travel you may need an electricity supply upgrade rapid charge, it’s best to use the extensive by procuring EVs for company use. to be able to accommodate the additional public network. Rapid chargers can be load this brings. Your installer should be found across the UK, and it’s not hard to Revolutionise your fleet able to advise on this when they carry out find one using ChargePlace Scotland if An EV charge point may help save your a site survey of your intended charging you are in Scotland. EV drivers in England company money, due to the tax benefits locations prior to installation. Funding from can use Zap-map or PlugShare for this. and lower running costs associated with EV Energy Saving Trust can potentially cover this It’s well worth giving some serious thought usage. You might even consider partnering additional cost on a case-by-case basis. to how EV charging could work for your with a car club such as Enterprise or Cobusiness. Energy Saving Trust Scotland has Wheels, providing them with a parking space The electricity bill plenty of resources to help you decide. for an EV which can then be pre-booked Depending on the size of your vehicles’ To download an application form for by your staff for occasional use. This way, it batteries, it will cost between £2.50 and £11 charge point funding in Scotland, please might become an opportunity to get rid of to charge to full. The higher figure assumes a visit www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/ a fleet vehicle which is not used regularly, battery with 300+ mile range, for example a scotland/businesses-organisations/transport/ meaning a direct financial saving as you free 100KWh Tesla Model X. When you consider the electric-vehicles-chargeplace-scotland. L yourself from leasing and servicing costs. cost of 300 miles’ worth of diesel, though, it’s clear that your savings will eventually rack up. What funding is available? Encouraging staff to charge at work FURTHER INFORMATION Under the Office for Low Emission Vehicles will eliminate the need to pay 45p/mile, electricvehiclesscotland@est.org.uk (OLEV)’s Workplace Charging Scheme, £500 and you’ll be reducing your organisation’s www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Scotland is available per socket for one or more charge carbon footprint right from the get-go.
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Best Practice Guide
EV CHARGEPOINTS
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