More and more businesses are asking employees to return to the office, offering hybrid programs and other incentives to make that return more palatable. For many employees, this return creates a need to rework their work life balance, ensuring they are making time to meet their needs as well as the needs of friends and family. For some, that means a tight schedule and for EV drivers that can mean range anxiety.
Workplace EV charging stations can help those employees stay focused on the workday rather than scanning apps to see where they can get a top up before their next task, event, responsibility, obligation. For employers, it can make the difference between attracting and retaining top talent. There are benefits on both sides of this equation.
Let’s say you see those benefits, but the idea of designing and implementing an EV charging program seems daunting.
Why Start a Workplace EV Charging Program
Among workplace challenges, the struggle to find, hire, and retain talent is one of the most talked about and most prevalent. And, as more workers return to the office, often as part of a hybrid work from home program, employers are trying to make the workplace seem more attractive.
One way to attract talent and ease the back to office transition is to add EV charging stations. In fact, nearly 60% of EV drivers have said that workplace EV charging is vital for them and a determining factor in employment. Further, in one study 58% of respondents reported that a company’s sustainability efforts impacted their choice regarding where to work.
There are additional options that allow business owners to leverage EV charging as part of a rewards and recognition program or even a workplace benefit. However, there are also opportunities for a revenue stream, depending on how you want to manage your workplace EV charging program.
For employees, the benefits of workplace EV charging are pretty clear. Most EV drivers charge at home because that’s where they have time to get a full charge and, with home chargers (Level 1) they need that kind of time. For most Americans, we spend nearly as much time at work as we do at home. For workers with a hybrid schedule, that still means a few days a week with a car parked for 4-8 hours at the workplace. With a Level 2 charger, that’s a perfect amount of time to fully charge or just get a top up.
And, if employees have after work errands, or need to get kids to and from activities, or even just a decent commute, charging at work means they can do any or all of those things without range anxiety. In turn, you have happier, less stressed employees, who can effectively manage their work life balance by getting where they need to be after work.
Is Your Workplace Ready for EV Charging?
The simple answer is yes, we’re all ready, but the real answer is a bit more complicated. In addition to some preliminary site analysis, you’ll want to ask some of the same questions we ask prior to implementation of potential public EV charging locations:
- Is there demand?
- Do you have employees who currently drive electric vehicles? Employees who plan to purchase an EV in the next year?
- Are there other charging stations in the area? (this may impact how you implement rather than whether you install or not)
- Do you have your own parking lot or parking garage?
- Is there access from an electrical panel to the potential location of EV charging stations?
- Would your business benefit from the presence of EV charging stations and a focus on sustainability?
- Would EV charging stations help you meet sustainability goals?
- Are there company vehicles which could be transitioned to electric vehicles in the future?
This is a starting point. Obviously, when it comes time for implementation and installation, there’s more work to be done, but if you’ve answered yes to most of those questions, you’re ready to get started!
Challenges to Workplace EV Charging
As the above questions hint, your parking situation could possibly be a challenge. That’s why working with a turnkey solution provider, one who will walk you through the process from site analysis to installation, is important. You’ll want the team architecting your site to have an in-depth understanding of every phase of the project.
For example, a small lot is a challenge, but not one that is insurmountable. It may limit the location and number of EV charging stations, but a small lot suggests a smaller company, and this may be sufficient.
Another challenge, that we often see across sites, is power management. The power available to your site via the grid may be limited. The nature of your business may mean that during certain hours of the day there’s a particularly big draw on that available power. You may be sharing power with other buildings. In this way, power management becomes a primary focus for EV charging station owners.
With the right EV charging platform management system (CPMS), however, you can manage those power loads and adjust charging capacity to ensure you don’t overburden the grid. Further, depending on your site, your business, and a few other factors, there may be government grants of tax incentives available to you to help upgrade your site.
The final challenge workplaces may face are the same struggles others face when there is greater demand than available charging stations. More specifically, cars stay parked at a single charging station even though the vehicle is fully charged, or multiple vehicles and drivers want to charge at the same time. Thankfully, how you implement your EV charging program can help you mitigate this challenge.
