Building an EV charging network can seem like a daunting task. There are so many factors that need to be taken into account in order to create a successful network. Luckily, the task of designing an EV charging network is actually very accessible and simple for anyone with a little bit of technical knowledge and business sense. Consider the following tips and tricks for getting your feet wet and working toward your first charging station for your company’s fleet of electric cars.
Make a business case
Before even thinking about installing an EV charging station, you’ll want to make sure that doing so benefits your company financially in some way. If you’re looking to offset your EV costs, provide a convenient and cost-effective service to your customers, or both, you’ll need to make a business case for charging stations.
There are many different ways that a business can use charging stations, so it’s important to know exactly why you’re installing these in the first place. It’s also helpful to know the exact indicators that will let you know if the EV charging stations are having an impact.
Decide which car behaviors need to be incentivized
Before you even think about building an EV charging station, you’ll want to think about what behaviors need to incentivize. For example, if you want to encourage drivers to charge at night, you’ll need to decide what behavior needs to be incentivized. In this case, it could be something as simple as, “If you charge your car in the evening, we’ll give you $10 off your next visit.”
This will give you a clear indication of what you need to focus on and what behavior you need to encourage. And if you choose your car behavior based on where your charging station should be installed, you’ll be able to make sure that it’s located accordingly as well.
Choose your station location based on traffic patterns and EV usage data
Once you know what behaviors need to be incentivized and what times of day your customers are most likely to charge their cars, you can start to build a station location strategy. This is the most crucial step in building an EV charging network, so make sure to get it right. If you choose your station location based on traffic patterns, you’ll want to start by looking at how people are driving to and from your business.
If most of your customers come by car, and you know where they’re coming from, you also know where they’re going to. This means that you can use this information to help you decide where to install your charging station. If you choose your station location based on EV usage data, you’ll want to make sure that you’re installing your charging station at a location that makes sense.
This could mean that you want it to be located near a parking lot, on a street that doesn’t get a lot of traffic, or somewhere in between. Once you’ve chosen a location for your charging station, you can use EV usage data to help you choose a location for your charging station. In this way, it can help you decide where to install it, where the optimal placement for the station might be, and how best to maximize its potential for bringing in customers.
Establish a charging rate/cost structure for customers
Once you’ve selected a charging location and determined where the charging station should go, you’ll want to determine your charging rate/cost structure. This is where you’ll decide how much your customers will need to pay to charge their cars. Depending on the charging rate/cost structure you pick, your customers will charge one of three different amounts.
If you’re using a fixed rate/cost structure, your customers will pay you a flat rate/cost for charging their car. This rate/cost will be the same for every customer and will not vary based on the amount of time that the customer is charging their car. If you’re using a variable rate/cost structure, your customers will pay you a flat rate/cost per kWh.
This rate/cost will be the same for every customer and will not vary based on the amount of time that the customer is charging their car. If you’re using a price per use rate/cost structure, your customers will pay you a flat rate/cost per use. This rate/cost will be the same for every customer and will not vary based on the amount of time that the customer is charging their car.
Use real-time pricing to determine demand and profit
Once you’ve determined your charging rate/cost structure and your charging location, you can start to use real-time pricing. This is where you can use a service like Coupang’s online payment system to determine demand for charging stations. With real-time pricing, you can use a service like Coupang’s online payment system to determine demand for charging stations.
Then you can use this data to determine your charging rates/cost structure and to help you decide where to install your next charging station. When using real-time pricing, you’ll need to have a way for your customers to pay for charging their cars. This could be in the form of an electronic device that reads their credit card or it could be in the form of cash at the entrance to the charging station.
Don’t forget about maintenance and upkeep
As with any other business, you’ll want to make sure to budget for maintenance and upkeep on your charging stations. This will help ensure that they continue to work well and bring in customers in a timely manner. With this budget in mind, you can then use it to help you budget for any repairs or upgrades that you may need to make to your charging stations. For example, if you need to replace a broken charging station, you can use this budget to help you replace it quickly and easily.
Bottom line
Whether your goal is to offset the cost of operating your fleet of electric vehicles or just provide a convenient service to your customers, the first step is to make sure that you have a clear business case for charging stations. Once you have this situation under control, it’s time to move on to designing your charging station network.
