A Guide to
Workplace Charging
A Guide to Workplace Charging
The Future of Transportation is Electric
Transportation is on the verge of a transition as significant as Henry Ford’s introduction of the Model T over 100 years ago. The reason? Electricity. Electric vehicles sales are growing at a rate of 60%+ annually across the globe, driven by rapidly declining prices, improving performance, and policy that encourages the adoption of fossil fuel alternatives. Bloomberg New Energy Finance predicts that by 2022 electric vehicles will cost the same as their gasoline counterparts, and that by 2040, EVs will be a full 40% of the light-duty vehicle market! Chevrolet, Chrysler, Volkswagen, Volvo and others are announcing multi-billion dollar investments in EVs, and today, Tesla is the most valuable automobile manufacturing company on the planet. So as an employer, how can you prepare for and embrace this electric-powered future? Currently, most people charge their electric vehicles at home. However, those same people are starting to ask, if I can charge at home, why can’t I charge at work? After all, most people spend 8+ hours at work in the same location each day — wouldn’t it be practical to refuel your electric vehicle at the same time?
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A Guide to Workplace Charging
Not Edison’s Electric Vehicle
First — a word on the capabilities on the modern electric vehicle. Gone are the days where an EV can’t keep up with the internal combustion engine. As of 2017, there are over 35 plug-in models on the US market ranging from twoseater ultra-compacts, to full-size SUVs and minivans. And EVs aren’t just for granola crunchers — Chevy’s 2017 Bolt EV, with a price tag of under $30k and a range of 238 miles on full electric, earned Motor Trend’s 2017 Car of the Year award, recognizing that the vehicle is “a world-class small car” with “smoothness, silence, and instant-on torque provided by the electric motor.” The Bolt — along with vehicles like the new Tesla 3, which provides 250 miles of range on a single charge — proves that electric locomotion can actually result in a better car than those powered by an internal combustion engine. How so? Since electricity is generally more than 50% cheaper than gasoline, EVs are also far less expensive to drive than a motor vehicle. EVs are also largely free of the hassles of motor vehicle maintenance requiring zero oil changes, ever. These economic benefits are magnified when EVs are combined with solar (see the chart on page 6). Convenience? Check. Performance? Check. Affordability? Check. The combination of these three forces is driving the rapid sales of electric vehicles.
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A Guide to Workplace Charging
What is Workplace Charging?
Few workplace initiatives offer such a unique win-win of employee satisfaction and environmental sustainability as the roll-out of a workplace charging program. Here’s how it works — a business installs some number of electric vehicle charging stations and makes them available to employees. Employees with electric vehicles are able to charge at work, extending their available driving range. By making electric vehicle charging visible and offering it as a perk, the workplace is promoting the adoption of EV technology — which is significantly cleaner than the burning of fossil fuels for transportation — and furthering its sustainability goals. Electric Vehicle Charging is often refered to as Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE); there are three levels of EVSE, each with different charging speeds.
Slow Charging (Level I)
Medium Charging (Level II)
DC Fast Charging (Level III)
Uses regular 120V circuit
Uses 208V - 240V circuits
Up to 600V circuit
Inexpensive but slow. It can provide reasonable workplace charging and is simple. Works with plug-in hybrid vehicles as well.
Cost-effective, fast and most popular option for workplace charging with number of equipment choices on the market.
Expensive hardware that refuels EVs in under thirty minutes. Most practical in facilitating long distance travel.
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A Guide to Workplace Charging
What’s Right for Your Company?
The first step in kick-starting an electric vehicle charging program is to embark on a discovery process, with the goal of finding out what your employees are interested in, what the project would look like, and what policies should be in place to ensure successful roll-out. Then, you can make an educated business decision. The way an internal discovery is done depends on the company. For small employers it can just be informally asking around. For larger employers, it’s usually a formalized survey conducted by the HR department or corporate sustainability officer. Here’s a good set of questions for an initial employee survey: • • • •
Do you own a plug-in electric vehicle? If so, what model? If not, are you considering buying one? If you do not own an electric vehicle already, would having access to workplace charging make you any more likely to buy a EV? • If you drive to work, what’s your typical commute distance (one-way) to work? • Would you consider the ability to charge your vehicle at work a perk? • If workplace charging were an option, would you be willing to pay for it? Based on this feedback you can evaluate the level of interest and accelerate the process accordingly. For example, if most people commute short distances, then Level I charging stations may be adequate.
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A Guide to Workplace Charging
What Powers Your Fleet?
While you think about what charging options you may want to offer to employees, also think about the opportunities to use electricity to power your own fleet. Electricity makes a ton of sense to fuel company vehicles because 1) electricity costs roughly 1/2 that of gasoline (and is even cheaper when connected to solar power), 2) the vehicles need comparatively little maintenance — no fluid change, less brake wear, and 90% fewer moving parts! That means that EVs spend more time on the road and less at the dealership.
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A Guide to Workplace Charging
Get a Site Survey, It’s Free!
With the results of your employee survey in, you’ll have a good idea of what the interest in charging is — the next step is to translate that interest in to a technical project that can actually be budgeted and built! As a free service, ReVision Energy offers a comprehensive Electric Vehicle site survey evaluation which consists of two parts — working with the business owner/ stakeholders to understand project goals, and with the facilities manager to understand the technical details, which include an analysis of electrical capacity, suitable charging technology and mounting options, choice of charging space locations, signage, and future expansion considerations. Based on our analysis of project needs and technical feasibility, one of our experienced system designers will present a customized proposal with a plan for how you can accomplish your goals, whether that is a straightforward installation of a handful of chargers or a comprehensive site layout with solar-powered canopies across an entire campus. Why does site design matter? Well, good design can eliminate “car shuffling” that happens when employees feel pressured to take time out of their day to move their vehicles to allow someone else to access the unit. Proper design ensures adequate numbers of car chargers are properly located, and takes into account route and distance to available electrical panels, all to help make the project installation as cost-effective as possible. A good EV design plan will include upgrade scenarios so additional EV infrastructure can be added as needs evolve over time.
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A Guide to Workplace Charging
Rules of the Road
Once you’ve decided to roll out your EV charging design, it’s time to think through operational issues such as the company policies that will govern access, security, usage, and other issues. The infrastructure you have installed will be a limited resource that requires users to abide by rules of etiquette to ensure the resource is used properly and available to everyone who needs it for commuting purposes. Clear signage is a great start. The Federal Highway Administration has yet to formally approve a standard system of EV signage symbols, but there are several designs currently in use, using word legends, (e.g. “Electric Vehicle Parking Only”)
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Your signs should indicate EV specific parking, Level 1 or Level 2 designations, or how long a vehicle has access to a space. You can also request that EV drivers register with the company, giving a clear channel to be able to communicate among the EV stakeholder group. While most drivers will behave respectfully of one another’s mutual interests, good system design can ‘nudge’ employees towards better outcomes.
To Charge or Not to Charge? Many companies currently provide free charging, either as a deliberate perk or because the amount of revenue to be gained from charging employees isn’t worth the overhead burden to track. However, free charging can invite abuse. Imposing a charging fee slightly higher than the prevailing market price for electricity will prevent individuals from monopolizing charging stations, as well as help recover costs. Further, a billing system creates useful data to monitor, so as to measure the program’s success, or gauge the need for more charging stations. Also, if the economic benefits of electric vehicles entices you to electrify your corporate fleet, you’ll need to consider how to integrate two modes of charging fleet and employee - into your charging infrastructure. For example, you may want to give assigned parking for company vehicles along with dedicated, non-public charging to keep them up and running.
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A Guide to Workplace Charging
Driving on Sunshine
Driving with electricity is better for the economy and environment than burning gasoline — that much is intuitive and obvious. Electricity, unlike gasoline, can be sourced from a number of types of generation, leading to a more resilient transportation system than one based predominantly on imported fossil fuels. However, electricity is still only as clean as its source, and in our view a rapid transition to a 100% clean energy-powered infrastructure is necessary for both our economy and the long term health of the planet. Thanks to a stunning decrease in the cost of solar panels, this transition is incredibly affordable. In fact, using solar electricity for electric vehicle charging offers the best ROI. Did you know that the cost of driving an electric vehicle powered by residential rooftop solar equates to paying 71 cents per gallon of gasoline? See the chart on Page 6 for a side-by-side cost comparison of Solar+EV cars vs. traditional internal combustion engined (ICE) cars. The more EVs you recharge at your workplace, the more sense it makes to recharge those EVs with solar power! Solar, like the EV market, is a high-performance technology now competitive with traditional, dirty fuels for everyday use. Contact us at ReVision Energy to get your free EV site survey process started, and soon you’ll also be driving on sunshine!
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A Guide to Workplace Charging
Additional Materials Sample Employee Survey 1. If you drive to work, how far is your trip one way? a) Less than 10 miles b) 10-25 miles c) 26-50 miles d) More than 50 miles 2. How often do you use your car during the workday? a) Daily b) 1-2x per week c) Rarely (less than 1x per month) d) Never 3. Do you drive a EV or are you considering acquiring one in the future? a) I already drive a EV b) I’m considering acquiring a EV within 6 months c) I’m considering acquiring a EV within 12-24 months d) I’m not considering a EV for personal use 4. If you already drive a EV, what type do you drive? Make_______________________ Model__________________________ Battery Size______________________kWh 5. Do you have the ability to install EV charging equipment at your residence? (Y/N) 6. Do you think your company should install charging stations for employees? (Y/N) 7. If EVSE were available at work would you use them? (Y/N) 8. Would you be willing to pay a fee, if necessary, to use a charging station at work? (Y/N) 9. Would the availability of workplace charging increase your likelihood of acquiring a plug-in electric vehicle? (Y/N) 10. Are you interested in participating in an employee taskforce on workplace charging? (Y/N)
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Sample EV Charging Layouts Example of a Wall Mounted Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) SIte Plan
Building Structure EV Charging Conduit Power Connection Distribution Panel
Dual Port Charging Equipment
208/240v Power Service Chevrolet Ford
Van Accessible
Car Accessible Tesla
5 ft. 11 ft.
Toyota BMW
8 ft.
Cord Reach Area (20 ft.)
Vehicle Charging Port Locations
Example of a Perpendicular Parking Lot Site Plan Vehicle Charging Port Locations Toyota BMW
Tesla
Chevrolet Ford
Dual Port Charging Equipment
Nissan Mitsubishi Kia
Nissan Mitsubishi Kia
Cord Reach Area (20 ft.)
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Resources U.S. Department of Energy - Workplace Charging Challenge http://www.energy.gov/eere/vehicles/ev-everywhere-workplace-charging-challenge California Plug-In Collaborative http://www.pevcollaborative.org/workplace-charging Plug-In America https://pluginamerica.org/?s=workplace+charging https://pluginamerica.org/workplace-charging-webinar-recording/ Drive Clean Mass http://www.massdriveclean.org/ Plugshare https://www.plugshare.com
This guide was first published in September 2017. Š 2017 ReVision Energy. All Rights Reserved.
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