EV charger installation: What you need to know

If you’ve decided to install EV chargers, then congratulations! You’re now officially part of the solution to fight harmful greenhouse gas emissions, and in turn, climate change, but you’re also uncovering new business opportunities.

Now, you might be feeling overwhelmed at this point in the process, and we can’t really blame you. Like any other electrical installation, electric car charging station installation is complicated and should only be handled by professionals.

But how do you know which professionals to turn to?

In this blog post, we’ll go over the basics of what goes into an electric charging station installation, and the ways in which a company that offers EV charging as a service can help you get up and running. Read on to learn about how you can simplify your EV charger set-up so that you can start charging vehicles in no time.

Who can install EV charging stations?

If you decide to install EV charging points, a professional electrician should always do the actual installation. This is the best way to ensure that the installation is done correctly and safely and won’t cause problems down the road (pun intended).

6 things to consider before installing EV charging stations

1. Location, location, location

The location that you choose for your EV charging stations should have a solid GPRS (data) connection. Stations should be easy to access with parking possible from different directions. Station charging cables are usually 4-5 meters long—take this into consideration when planning the installation.

For outdoor locations, it’s also good to keep in mind the weather conditions and provide cover for parking spaces with EV chargers.

For wall-mounted devices, a suitable height for installation is approximately 120 cm.

A professional electrician will be able to check if the location that you have chosen for the charging station is suitable, and will also be able to determine whether or not your electricity supply is sufficient. But more on that in a bit.

2. Type of charger

Your choice of location (among other factors) will also determine what type of charger you’ll install.

Standard AC chargers with a charging current up to 22 kW will be the right choice for workplaces, airports, hotels and other destinations. That’s because the charging time takes over 2 hours so best suits long-term parking.

Fast DC chargers, from 50 to 150 kW, will be perfect for restaurants, retail stores and grocery stores, where the cars can be parked for shorter period of time – between 0,5 and 2 hours.

Ultra-fast DC chargers, that offer the fastest possible charging, only up to 30 minutes, will be the best choice for petrol stations, charging hubs and locations by busy roads and highways.

3. Electrical capacity

Having one EV charging point installed doesn't usually require changes in the electricity system of a building. 

However, if multiple stations are being installed, some changes might be necessary. In this case, a professional electrician can execute the electrical inspection and make a process plan.

To avoid such upgrades that can often end up being quite costly, you can also make use of energy management solutions. For example, Dynamic Load Management or DLM, is a solution that ensures you don’t overload your electrical system even with multiple chargers in simultaneous use.

4. Permits and authorisations

Research and check with local authorities what permits are required for EV charger installation and make sure to obtain what’s necessary to stay compliant.

5. Future expansion

Electric vehicles are increasing in popularity with every year that passes, and the trend is accelerating. That means that the need for an extensive EV charging infrastructure will only grow in the future. 

It’s important to take this growth potential into consideration when planning out your future electricity capacity needs. With the proper groundwork, the number of charging stations can be easily increased later. 

And as we already mentioned, with energy management solutions like Dynamic Load Management (DLM), you can manage the electrical capacity of your EV charging stations directly from the cloud, thus avoiding congestions and costly infrastructure renewal costs to meet sudden increases in demand.

6. Finding the right partner(s)

You don’t need to embark on your electric vehicle charging journey on your own. In fact, the complexity of the technology involved makes it impossible.

You need to rely on industry professionals.

That includes: 

• Certified electricians
• EV charging hardware providers
• EV charging software providers
• Transporters
• EV charger installers

Believe it or not, there is such a thing as too much help.

Working with a wide array of professionals can cause problems, as capable as they each may be. Before you know it, responsibilities (and, more importantly, accountabilities) become blurry, which can cause delays or worse. 

Not to mention the fact that it’s much easier to budget when you limit the number of stakeholders that you’re working with.

Have a headache yet?

Let us deal with... well, everything

We understand that while electric vehicles play an essential part in combating climate change, there are still many hurdles. We want to do our part by making it easier for you to let your customers charge without issues.

With Virta, you can offer your customers the convenience of EV charging without having to worry about any of the installation or maintenance details.

Our smart charging stations come delivered directly to you, ready-to-install. We’ll take care of the charging station procurement, configurations, logistics, warranty, and diagnostics—all you need to do is place an order.

And after your chargers are installed, we’ll take care of warranty handling, maintenance, firmware updates and technical support on your behalf.

All of our chargers are connected to our cloud-based Charge Point Management System, Virta Hub to control the security and energy consumption of your smart charger remotely, so your station’s vitals are never a mystery.

The future is here - it's time to opt-in

There’s no doubt that there is a lot to understand about the world of EV charging. You can avoid confusion and still participate in the electric vehicle revolution by opting for Virta’s Charging Solution.