Infrastructure
Once the decision has been made to implement a leasehold, EV charging solution, EV Solutions Group will ensure every step of the way is specified and managed on your behalf.
Our Service
The pathway to installing electric vehicle chargers at flats and apartments begins with a FREE initial consultation and site survey. We will then create a full and detailed project plan, including budgetary evaluations. The first, and most complex part of the process being the legal issues around the leases. EV Solutions Group will ensure all parties are protected from legal challenges further down the line, including handling any ‘license to alter’ and in some cases, ‘lease amendments’.
Once these ‘minor’ details have been resolved, we start to look at the relevant steps of the physical project. The modular phases below are examples of the work that we will undertake on your behalf and that will be included in the EV Solutions Group, project plan.
DNO level (Distribution Network Operators)
Most transformers supplied by the DNO’s were likely installed many years before the EV revolution even began and will almost certainly not have the power output necessary to run an EVC project, whether for early adopters or a site-wide scheme.
This means for larger developments, further upgrades to the electrical infrastructure will be required at the local transformer level and with the possible additional inclusion of low-voltage distribution cabinets.
As electrical infrastructure upgrade costs are high, a hybrid structure of electrical upgrades and load balancing technology would enable minimal infrastructure upgrades without compromising leaseholders’ ability to charge their cars at the output level they prefer.
Even on the smallest of developments, it is likely that provisions will be required with the local DNO to ensure that the electrical infrastructure is sufficient to cope with the increased demand at each development.
Cabling Design & Installation
Once the DNO’s have been consulted and any necessary upgrades carried out, we then consider how each site should be cabled. Any solution must include load-balancing in order to distribute the loads evenly to each charger, protecting the network from being overloaded.
Consideration has to be given to several elements within the design – the power output from the local transformers, the number of parking bays and their locations, and of course the preferred charging levels, whether 7.4Kw, 11Kw or 22Kw chargers. The cabling solution has to be designed and installed by electrical specialists and EV Solutions Group will select, engage with, and manage the appropriate specialist as part of our solution.
Construction
Groundworks
Although underground carparks may require minimal construction services, the opposite is true of overground carparks where any required cabling would probably have to be buried under ground from the transformers and cabinets to the relevant bays.
Specialist groundworkers would be required to create a design specification and carry out the necessary excavation works, including creating channels and routes for the cabling to be laid, and then replacing concrete, tarmac, driveways, pathways, and footpaths (otherwise known as hardscaping) to suit the original design wherever possible. EV Solutions will engage with and manage the appropriate groundworking professionals to ensure best results.
Landscaping
There will be occasions with overground carpark cabling, that not only will the hard surfaces have to be excavated, but also soft areas including communal gardens. These areas may need to have channels dug and pipes laid in order to carry the cables. This would be the case for instance if there was no other alternative or, in order to reduce costs compared to cabling under hard surfaces and going around the gardens, possibly resulting in hundreds of additional meters of cable.
EV Solutions Group have numerous specialist landscapers that can rebuild your communal gardens back to their original beauty.
Building works
As above with groundworking and landscaping, there will be occasions that building works may be necessary to complete a preferred design. There may be walls or fences built in line with your current designs, which could be utilised to attach charge points to. Sheds or gazebos that can be constructed in order to hide electrical cabinets that may need to be installed, and so on.
EV Solutions Group work with specialist builders who will work sympathetically with your current design.
Charge-point installation & Load Balancing
The final piece of the hardware puzzle is the charge-points themselves. Chargers come in all shapes and sizes and more importantly, strength of charge ranging from 7.4Kw for a standard overnight charge, through to 22Kw for a 2–3 hour rapid charge. There are pros and cons for every design and in order to find which one is right for each client, we will investigate an appropriate charging solution within the initial survey stage and cost an appropriate design in the project plan before any work is undertaken.
One thing that is vital in any solution, however, is load-balancing – the ability to spread the output load over a large number of charge points that are being used to charge vehicles at the same time. This technology doesn’t only keep the price significantly lower but protects the entire development from being overloaded.
Dynamic load-balancing capability is incorporated within the charging unit robots. When several units are connected and being used to charge at the same time, the available current is distributed automatically and dynamically between the units, providing all cars with an equal charge. This solution means all leaseholders would be required to use the same model of charging units.
Billing & Load Balancing
EV Solutions group will also provide a complete app-based billing solution, ensuring each individual leaseholder is billed only for their own usage. Our solution collects data from each EV Charger installed at a site and individually bills leaseholders for their use of electricity without the need to install a meter for each charger. In addition to the actual billing element within our solution, we can also include load-balancing at this level.
At the termination point of the cabling and prior to being connected to the charger units – one of our devices would be installed and traffic data is fed back to the billing platform – using this dataflow, the billing system can automatically load-balance every charger unit being used, ensuring all, and any chargers being utilised at the same time, has an even flow of power output. Like the charge units above, if there are too many chargers being used, the system automatically reduces the overall power consumption to each vehicle ensuring continuous and complete safety within the solution. This method of load-balancing would enable users to choose their own charge point units.
EV Solutions Group will ensure the appropriate load-balancing solution is incorporated into the overall design for every development.
Support & Service
Having created a project plan and managed the entire process, EV Solutions Group will also provide support following completion of the project.
Much of the maintenance and troubleshooting will be done remotely using our digital platforms, however, we can offer emergency call outs in cases where there is physical damage to a meter or any of the infrastructure.
More importantly, EV Solutions Group customer care will endeavour to be available as and when required.
Frequently Asked Questions
From 1st April 2022, grants will be available on the basis of £350 per charger and £500 per charger as a contribution towards infrastructure costs. EV Solutions Group can apply for grants on behalf of clients.
We can. EV Solutions Group sees individual leaseholders as the starting point of any EV charging infrastructure within a leasehold environment. Our project plans start with single leaseholders and can take a site through the whole evolution to a site-wide scheme.
We anticipate that the managing agent/property manager will do this with support from EV solutions with specification documents, quotations and answers to leaseholder or landlord queries.
In some cases, this may be possible if the car parking space is close to the leaseholder’s electricity meter AND the local transformer can handle the increased load. In most leasehold developments, there is usually a considerable distance between the leaseholder’s electricity meter and the car parking space with cost and safety issues rendering this approach impractical.