In new construction, it's so much easier to bring in more power to the property for the purpose of EV charging. Because power is not a limiting factor, you can install a mix of Level 1 (long term parking) and Level 2 (short term parking) charging stations.
Here are the best practices we recommend for new construction:
Best Practices for new builds:
Make sure the electrical panel has enough capacity to provide 'at least' 20A to every parking space on the property. 20A is more than enough to fully charge an electric vehicle every day (The surprising data behind Level 1 charging).
NOTE: This is the minimum suggested power, you always have the option to dedicate more power for each parking space if the budget allows.
Bonus points: Run empty conduits from the electrical room to every 4 parking spaces. This makes it so much easier to install additional charging stations in the future.
This sketch cannot currently be displayed in exports
Install a 120V 20A outlet for 20% of the parking spaces.
This sketch cannot currently be displayed in exports
Install a 240V 40A charger for 5% of the visitor parking spaces. You also have the option to share/load-balance the 40A circuit between two chargers to reduce the load on the electrical circuit.
Example: If your property has 50 parking spaces (10 visitor spaces and 40 private spaces), distributed between 2 parking levels (20 private spaces per level):
Make sure the electrical panel on each parking level has 400A (20 spaces * 20A for each space) capacity available for the purpose of EV charging.
Install four 120V 20A outlets on each parking level (20% of 20 spaces per parking level).
Install one 240V 40A charger in the visitor space (5% of 10 visitor spaces rounded up).
If you use Plugzio products, here is the estimate total cost for this specific installation:
4 Plugzio outlets including installation, electrical wires, and conduits: $8,000
1 Plugzio OCPP charger including installation, electrical wires, and conduits: $5,000
Total cost will be less than $20,000 to make your new property EV-ready with 50 parking spaces.
Feel free to use our interactive ROI calculator to help with some revenue projections.
Retrofit Existing Property
Best Strategy: Provide 120V 20A outlets for residents' private parking spaces with the option to upgrade to 240V 20A outlet if the resident requests and is willing to pay for it.
How many EV ready spaces is necessary for your property?
The number of electric vehicle owners in the property + 3 extra. As an example, if there are 5 EV owners in your property, you need to plan for installing 8 EV ready spaces.
To get to the optimum number of parking spaces for your property, you have to survey your residents and ask them 3 main questions:
Do you currently drive an electric vehicle?
Option 1: Yes
Option 2: No
How far do you travel on a daily basis?
Option 1: Less than 20 miles (low usage)
Option 2: Between 20 & 50 miles (national average)
Option 3: Between 50 to 100 miles (commercial use - Uber)
Option 4: more than 100 miles (rare)
Are you planning to purchase an electric vehicle in near future?
Option 1: Yes, I have one per-ordered
Option 2: Yes, my next car will be electric
Option 3: Not now
We have an online survey, contact hello@plugzio.com so we can help you with the Survey.
Strategy Description:
Based on data, Level 1 (120V) charging is more than enough to satisfy the daily needs of 94% of your residents (learn more:The surprising data behind Level 1 charging), therefore a simple Level 1 charger can make your property EV ready at a fraction of the cost (both initial and on-going) compared to a Level 2 high-power charger. Having said that,
Since Plugzio Universal (What is Plugzio Universal Plus?) supports 120V and 240V on the same circuit, you always have the option to upgrade the 120V outlet to a 240V outlet (double the charging speed to 15 miles per hour) at a minimal cost.
If a resident is a commercial driver (e.g. Uber driver) and requires more power for their charger, they can request a 240V outlet. At this point,
You have the option to charge back the resident for the upgrade since it's a special request.
Switching a 120V outlet to a 240V outlet is a simple two step process that doesn't require any infrastructure upgrades:
Step 1: Change the end 120V outlet (NEMA 5-20) that was installed in-line with the Plugzio Universal to a 240V outlet (NEMA 6-20)
Approximate cost: $20
Step 2: Change the breaker from a single pole (120V) breaker to a double pole (240V) breaker.
Approximate cost: $40
The total cost will be around $200, including installation.
Using this strategy, every resident will have a private, convenient EV charger that they can plug into every night with the option to double the charging speed if requested.