EV Charging Feasibility Assessments and Data Logging
How do I plan an EV Charging installation?
When you are looking to implement an EV Charging solution, usually the first step is an EV Charging Feasibility Study.
Fleet Managers, Strata Managers, Building Managers and Facilities Managers are growing very familiar with the process, particularly as many organisations have been preparing plans for EC Charging infrastructure to support government EV Charging grants such as the EV Ready Buildings (EVRB) grant in NSW.
What does an EV Charging Feasibility Study involve?
During an EV Charging Feasibility Study, we consider a range of things including:
- EV charging goals for the project (how many charging spaces, what type of chargers)
- Project budget
- Condition and capacity of the Main Switchboard and incoming mains
- Capacity of the supply authority transformer and distribution
- Size, shape and height of car parking areas on the property
- Floor plans, strata plans etc
- Any existing power metering which measures existing load current
- The existing utility metering equipment
- Existing cable trays, cable ducts, risers etc
- Any existing load management, load-shedding
- Existing fire detection and suppression systems and car park ventilation
What is in an EV Charging Feasibility Report?
We provide a written report which considers one or more options for EV charging. This might include:
- Shared communal chargers (often AC 22kW)
- Chargers for individual parking spaces (often 7.4kW, e.g. in a strata building)
- DC fast chargers (30kW to 180kW) for fast turnaround or for heavy vehicles.
- A combination of any of the above.
Our report will explain the pros and cons of the different options and what our recommendations are.
The report will explain the constraints of the existing site electrical installation and whether any upgrades are needed, such as a Main Switchboard upgrade, or an electricity supply upgrade.
The report will always consider Load Management, as this is key in almost every EV charging installation with multiple chargers. Charge Point Management Software and options for energy cost recovery via the CPMS billing feature will also be considered where applicable.
What is electrical Data Logging?
Electrical Data Logging uses specialist electrical measurement and recording equipment to measure electrical voltage, current and power factor in an electrical system. Because the majority of existing Main Switchboards have no existing monitoring for load current, we often install an electrical data logger onto electrical mains cables or sub-mains cables in an effort to record information about the electricity usage in a building. Typically we use data logging to see how much spare capacity is available in a building for EV charging.
The data logger records the voltage and current every 30 seconds for a week or two. This level of information allows our engineers to provide a very accurate assessment of how much spare capacity is available for use by the EV Charging systems.
The information from the data logger is very valuable when planning an EV Charging installation as it helps us to calculate and plan set points for the EV Load Management System.
How do I get started?
Click on contact us to reach out to us for a chat about your upcoming EV charging project. We’ll provide you with a proposal for an EV Charging Feasibility Study to get the project underway.