Charge where you park or park where you charge? That is the question!

The two basic charging strategies; “park where you charge” or “charge where you park”

Home Charging

Home charging is the solution most drivers prefer. You plug in at night. You sleep. You wake in the morning and your vehicle is full. However, for businesses a number of complications can arise. These include the following: 

• Not all business drivers have home chargers. This is particularly true for van fleets with larger vehicles.  
• Who pays for the home charger?  
• Who owns the home charger?  
• Who fixes the home charger?  
• What is the fairest way to compensate business drivers for charging at home?  
• How do you handle multiple vehicles using one home charger?  
• How do you avoid overcompensating inefficient drivers?  
• What are the tax implications of home charging?  
• Is your home charging safe and secure?

Paua Tip: There are two basic strategies to charging electric vehicles; short rapid charges or longer slower charging (often overnight). Now this is where the fun begins! Every business faces an electrification.

Peer-to-Peer community charging

As an individual, if you have a home charge point, you can share it with another driver, and create an income stream. This will help the driver find a convenient charger near them. More electric vehicles on the road are good for everyone. However, this will need to be integrated into charging options in public and the workplace. 

These are all important points for a business to address. Most of these can be addressed via a central policy, however each point needs consideration. 

Workplace Charging

Another option is charging your vehicles using private chargers at your workplace. This is particularly relevant if your business operates on a ‘return to workplace model’. Some key areas to consider:  

• How much additional electrical supply might you need on site? Is there a requirement to pay for a new grid connection? This might require an electrician installing another cable to your site that is connected to the grid. Consequently, this will likely come at a cost, so it is important to understand your requirements. You can find out more in our handy Fleet Managers Guide - why not request a free copy HERE.  
• How much time do you have to spend at a charger, will depend on what charging speed you need. This is referred to as ‘dwell time’. It is likely that multiple 7kW chargers will do the trick.  
• Is there a requirement for a load distribution at the site? Or a requirement for a digital queuing system to prioritise certain vehicles? Ensuring that your charging does not impact other site operations is important.  
• Do you need a rapid charger on site as well as slower chargers? This may be required at high use sites.
• What do you do if it doesn’t work? If vehicles fail to charge, what is the back-up plan for the fleet?  
• What do you do when a non-fleet driver wants to charge?

At a workplace location the majority of charging will be for dedicated business vehicles, so the requirement to charge a fee is limited. However, at a workplace this might change. At a more conventional office location it is possible that both business drivers and personal drivers will use the location. Ensuring that you can charge a fee for personal use could be an important part of your strategy. 

Where your drivers charge is a complex dynamic to manage, with various considerations that mean no one solution is fit for all. We’ve put together a handy ‘Fleet Manager Guide covering our ‘13 Insider Tips To Help You Transition To EVs’ that covers the basics and more to help you decide. Get it HERE for free.