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Transportation in the United States is undergoing a transformation with the rapid adoption of electric vehicles (EVs). In 2023, EVs constituted 7% of all new car sales, a figure projected to skyrocket to 30% by 2030.
As consumer preferences shift toward zero-emission vehicles, businesses need to adapt to meet the growing demand for convenient charging options — or risk losing customers, employees, and tenants. Corporations are also under pressure to electrify their own vehicle fleets to reduce emissions and achieve corporate sustainability goals.
For these reasons, adding commercial EV charging stations is a smart and strategic decision for all kinds of businesses, from retailers to logistics providers to apartment complexes. Let’s explore some benefits, use cases, and considerations so that you can approach your EV charging infrastructure project with confidence.
First, let’s dig into some of the benefits of installing electric vehicle chargers on your property and why you should consider it an attractive business opportunity.
Although installing commercial EV chargers is a big investment, their presence on your property can actually add to your bottom line. A recent study looked at data from 140,000 California businesses and found that installing just one EV charging station nearby led to a 1.4% sales boost for those businesses, translating to $6.7 million. But that’s not the only way EV chargers can provide financial benefits. By collecting a nominal charging fee from drivers, companies can turn EV chargers into revenue-generating assets.
EV chargers at rental properties are considered premium amenities, often allowing real estate developers and landlords to charge higher fees. This added feature can lead to a notable rise in property value for owners and managers of office buildings, apartments, and other leased properties. Much like gyms, free parking, and doorman services, onsite EV charging stations attract new tenants and encourage existing ones to renew their leases year after year.
Installing commercial EV chargers can future-proof your business and enhance its sustainability efforts by helping meet emission reduction goals. For instance, providing chargers at your property encourages employees to adopt and drive electric vehicles, which can lower the level of emissions that are indirectly associated with your business (referred to as Scope 3 emissions).
Additionally, companies that install EV chargers and electrify their vehicle fleets can reduce their Scope 1 emissions, which are those that stem directly from a business’ day-to-day operations. Furthermore, if you power your chargers with renewable energy like solar instead of grid electricity, you can also decrease Scope 2 emissions, which result from purchased energy.
(Related: Benefits of EV Charging Stations for Business)
So, your business has decided that installing commercial electric vehicle charging stations is a worthwhile investment in theory — but how is it put into practice? Let’s take a look at the most common use cases for EV chargers.
As the name implies, public charging is available for use by any driver who’s looking to charge their vehicle while visiting your property. This type of charging is common among retailers, parking facilities, academic institutions, municipalities, and other properties that host drivers throughout the day. One thing to keep in mind with public EV charging is that it requires owners and operators to anticipate the public demand for chargers in their area — a consideration we’ll cover in greater detail a bit later.
EV charging is also well suited to properties where drivers tend to park for longer periods of time, such as workplaces (ranging from office buildings to healthcare facilities) and multi-family communities (including apartment complexes, condos, and townhouses). The benefits are numerous: Providing EV chargers at workplaces can encourage existing employees to return to the office post-COVID, as well as attract new hires. Residential building owners that choose to make EV charging available to their tenants can enjoy higher property values, rents, and occupancy rates, as mentioned earlier.
Reliable and accessible EV charging is vital for businesses like logistics companies, transportation hubs, and municipalities that are looking to electrify their vehicle fleets. These organizations must ensure their vehicles are charged and ready for use when needed, which can only be accomplished by installing EV charging stations at their depots. Businesses with fleet EV charging may also decide to allocate a number of chargers for use by employees and visitors.
(Related: Benefits and Challenges of Commercial Fleet Electrification)
There are several factors to consider when embarking on an onsite EV charging project in order to ensure its success. While some may present a challenge for businesses like yours, there are tried-and-true solutions available to help mitigate them.
How many chargers you choose to install will ultimately depend on the number of EVs you anticipate hosting at your site. Install too few and drivers will be unhappy when they need to wait for an open plug. Install too many and you’ll end up paying for charging hardware that might go underutilized.
Businesses can combat charging demand uncertainty by surveying their employees on whether they drive an EV or intend to in the future. When it comes to assessing charging needs among customers and visitors, researching EV penetration rates in your area can be helpful, as well as partnering with an EV charging solutions provider like PowerFlex who can assist with demand forecasting.
As with any significant investment, there are both upfront and ongoing costs associated with an EV charging project.
(Related: How Much Does a Commercial EV Charging Station Cost?)
The most obvious upfront cost is the chargers themselves and paying to have them installed. Less obvious upfront costs include site preparation, permits, and any electrical infrastructure upgrades that might be needed if your site lacks the additional power capacity required to support chargers.
Ongoing costs are associated with the continued operation of the chargers, which include electricity, preventative maintenance, and load management software. Demand charges — where utilities bill customers at a steeper rate for their highest period of electricity usage — can also come into play.
Fortunately, there are options available to help businesses weather many of these expenses. Federal tax credits as well as state-specific incentives and rebates can offset installation and hardware costs, while proper EV charging load management can reduce the need for infrastructure upgrades and eliminate spikes in consumption that trigger demand charges. Financing options like loans and leases can also be of great assistance to organizations, as they spread the cost of an EV charging installation over time.
Another thing for businesses to consider is purchasing an extended warranty plan for their chargers. Doing so can improve charger functionality, reliability, and uptime —avoiding expensive replacement costs.
The location of your proposed EV charging project, as well as where exactly within that location the chargers will be installed, matters greatly.
Many of the factors we’ve already discussed — local charging demand, availability of state-specific incentives, power capacity — play into whether your property is a good candidate for EV chargers. (An experienced EV charging provider can help you make sense of it all and develop an effective EV charger location strategy.)
When it comes to deciding where, specifically, on the property chargers are to be installed, take into account the flow of traffic through your parking lot to ensure chargers are in the most convenient, unobstructive spots. It’s also important to note the distance to the building’s power supply, as cabling will need to be run to power the chargers. Additionally, chargers that are spread across a wide space may require LTE cellular signal connectivity to communicate with your energy management system.
It’s also critical to consider driver accessibility when placing EV chargers. According to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Alternative Fuels Data Center, “State or local codes may have specific requirements related to the design, marking, and signage for an ADA-compliant EV charging space and/or the minimum number of accessible charging ports that must be provided.”
EV chargers on the market differ in terms of charging speeds and connectors. The two types of chargers most commonly used in commercial EV charging installations are Level 2 chargers, which typically provide about 25 miles per hour of charging, and Level 3 or DC Fast Chargers (DCFC), which can deliver upwards of 200 miles per hour.
Which type of charger you choose to install depends largely on charger access (who will be using the chargers) and dwell time (how long a driver is expected to remain plugged in). For example, public chargers along a busy highway tend to be DCFC, allowing drivers to “top up” their car during a quick pit stop. Chargers on a corporate campus, however, are more likely to be Level 2 since employees will typically remain parked throughout the workday.
Lastly, you’ll want to see that the EV drivers who frequent your property have a smooth charging experience. After all, the key to keeping drivers coming back to your business is keeping them happy. This means not only having enough chargers to accommodate demand, but also ensuring drivers get the energy they need during their charge session.
There are multiple methods of parsing out energy to chargers on a property, but not all of them are created equal. PowerFlex deploys an adaptive charging model that intelligently manages charging demand based on driver inputs.
Using the PowerFlex App, EV drivers can enter their car’s make and model, the amount of energy they need, and their estimated parking duration. Drivers who need to leave sooner are prioritized over those requiring the same or less energy but who are planning to stay parked longer.
PowerFlex has revolutionized this process with PowerFlex X™ — an advanced energy management platform featuring Adaptive Load Management®. Using patented algorithms, it optimizes EV charging in real time, considering the driver’s schedule, the building’s energy load, and even the power grid's health.
EV drivers can easily pay for their charge session through the app. Property owners are able to track charging revenue in the PowerFlex X online dashboard, in addition to monitoring charger status, emissions reduction data, and much more.
Whether you’re interested in kicking off your very first EV charging initiative or looking to expand an existing system, PowerFlex can help. We’re an all-in-one EV charging solutions provider who facilitates the entire project lifecycle, from the initial site assessment to turnkey development, construction, and ongoing asset management.
With adaptive charging capabilities and deep experience in the EV policy and incentives landscape, PowerFlex helps you manage installation and operating costs while making good on your sustainability commitments. Contact us now to get started.
