War will Create an EV Explosion
How to Prepare your Facility for Electric Vehicles
There is no doubt that Electric Vehicles are growing quickly in popularity. For good reason, these vehicles are good looking, fast, smart, have few moving part to repair and use no fuel. The myth about not being able to find a place to charge has been busted long ago, and the range and batteries keep getting better. In fact I believe the new EV Ford F150 beats the conventional gas version in every category including towing. But What now? Today Russia has begun a heinous and devastating ground war against its Sovern Democratic neighbor Ukraine after no provocation. This is a sad week on planet earth. Both Russia and Ukraine are major gas and oil suppliers to the EU and our US Government has issued sanctions that may soon halt Russian oil supply. This type of chaos in the world oil market will certainly raise gas prices. I believe that this war and its infuriating ramifications will be the tipping point driving US consumers right into the EV showroom.
After the Covid-19 slowdown facility owners are playing catch up and just now considering an EV Charging Station. They are finding many new considerations building operators have never had to address before. Where do they put it? How many do they need? Is there enough infrastructure? Should it be level 1, 2 or 3? What Type? What features? Tesla or not? Of course, where and how do we get incentives and even how to determine accessibility, price and penalty. The first consideration is your type of building or business and the reason for wanting or needing a station. There are 2 levels of charging, standard 220 and 480 DC Fast charging stations, which are much more expensive. Generally retail can benefit from the 20 min to 1 hr needed to charge a car while people eat play or shop. Most other sectors will also benefit from level 2 stations but highway and gas station would be better off with more rapid charging. Another important consideration is to save money with a “dumb” station or spend the extra for a networked station. A non-communicating station is just an unrestricted plug with no ability to control, monitor or collect funds from. A fully networked station will be more expensive and includes software annual fees but contains the myriad of features that a business needs to offer car charging. The Station can be found by the pubic or not, it can be free for all or can have certain user groups that charge different fees for others. It will be easily controlled by a phone app, and can even text “charge complete” messages or penalty notices after a determined time. These stations come in wall mount or bollard, one handle or two. Some have chord retention features or even a power share feature to balance two cars when power is limited.
Let’s discuss Tesla, when Elon Musk set out on his own to create the first affordable readily available EV, there were no charging stations. So Elon created his own fast charging stations, that charge only Tesla, and he gave them to busy locations for free. Tesla soon will be only a portion of the EV market, and all cars can charge from a non tesla station. Fortunately EV Charging stations receive grants and incentives in many states, in fact Colorado has one of the most generous. Clean Air Colorado will pay up to 80% of a station installation and now Xcell has programs for EV stations as well.
So Many business types are finding the advantages to adding EV stations, drivers are selecting Hotels and Movie Theatres, gym’s and supermarkets that offer free charging. Other business types of EV charging as a benefit for employees and to attract and retain progressive personnel. For whatever the reason this author is convinced that EV usage will soon skyrocket and you do not want your business to be left behind.
