A practical guide for those who manage a company or a condominium and want to equip the car park with electric chargers: types of charger, power, load management, available supports and how to connect everything to the building's solar production.
There are more and more electric cars arriving at the parking lot of companies, offices and condominiums. And the question is no longer "is it worth installing chargers?" to "how to do this well, without complications and without triggering the electrical panel?". This guide is for those who manage a building, a fleet or a condominium and want to understand the essentials before deciding.
In summary:
A condominium or a company with electric chargers no longer depends on each resident or employee having to install (and legalize) their own individual charging point, often in improvised and unsafe conditions. For a company, having chargers in the parking lot is also a simple way to enhance the building, facilitate the transition of the fleet to electric and, in many cases, offer a real benefit to customers and employees. For a condominium, it is a response to a request that already frequently reaches administrations: more and more residents buy an electric car and need a safe place to charge.
The detail that usually hinders these decisions is technical: how many chargers to install, what power to choose and how to ensure that the building's electrical installation can withstand the extra load without deep works.
At LEFE we work with single-phase and three-phase chargers, with powers ranging from 7.4 kW AC to 40 kW DC, depending on the objective:
There is no single answer. A residential condominium usually does not need fast charging (it is more expensive to install and most cars do not need it at night); a company with its own fleet, on the other hand, can pay off by investing in more powerful solutions.
A hotel unit in the Viseu region, already a LEFE customer for its solar self-consumption system, decided to equip the car park with electric chargers for guests. The choice fell on three-phase solutions, capable of managing several charges at the same time without overloading the contracted power of the building. For a hotel, this solves two problems at once: it makes the unit more attractive to those traveling by electric car and makes better use of the solar energy already produced on site, instead of selling it to the grid for a lower price than it is worth for its own consumption.
There are, with some regularity, national or municipal support lines for the installation of charging stations in buildings and companies, similar to those that already exist for other energy efficiency measures. The conditions (amount, deadlines, who can apply) change from tender to tender, so the safest thing is to confirm what is open at the time you move forward with the project, rather than deciding based on old information.
It is also worth thinking about chargers in conjunction with the building's solar production. If there is already or is planned for a photovoltaic installation, chargers can be programmed to charge mainly with energy produced on site, which reduces the cost per charge and increases self-consumption. Those who want to better understand the options for an individual installation can also read our guide on how to choose the right charger, and a company that is evaluating the investment can also consider a PPA as an alternative way to finance the energy project.
Equipping a shared building with electric chargers is not a complicated project, but it is a project that pays off to plan well from the beginning: assess the available power, choose the right type of charger for the actual use of the space, prepare the installation to grow and connect everything, whenever possible, to the building's own solar production. Done this way, the investment serves the building for many years, without surprises.
Do you want to equip your company or condominium with electric chargers? Talk to LEFE and our team will help you find the right solution for your space.
Leave your comment: just your name.
No comments yet. Be the first!
