With electric cars becoming an increasingly common sight on the roadways, suppliers and property managers are starting to look beyond the installation of charging stations and towards the maintenance requirements that are necessary to support an increasingly heavy load.
There are two major places where consumers are looking to recharge their vehicles. The first is inside their homes, where an extended-duration charging system allows the vehicle to juice up each night. However, commercial charging stations for electric cars are becoming an increasingly common place, and this is expected to continue as more and more of these vehicles find their way to the road.
The main problem here is the speed of each charge - an overnight system can easily make do with an eight-hour timer, but commercial districts often find themselves needing a station that can charge a vehicle in one hour or less. There's also the problem of different vehicles needing different plugs, though the electric vehicle industry is already trending towards a universal plug setup that will work with all vehicles. Put simply, it's just not practical to have many different types of plugs at every charging station. Alternatively, charging stations themselves may be universal, but each vehicle will have a custom adapter that can be plugged in.
Commercial charging stations for electric cars have one major difference that sets them apart from traditional gas stations - they don't need giant tanks buried in the ground, and this allows them to be installed just about anywhere they can be connected to solar panels or the main power grid. This makes them a viable option for parking lots (private or commercial) and other places that a vehicle might be left for a number of hours, up to and including along the side of the road.
However, it's important to write plans for the charging stations that take into account the potential for damage. Any exposed electrical system is dangerous, but the high voltage of vehicle charging stations - up to 500 volts on the fastest systems - means that damaged or exposed parts could be extremely dangerous... and similarly, a vehicle that collides with the system is extremely likely to badly damage it. Placing the charging station in a place where it won't (or can't) be struck while still offering easy access is a critical step of the process, and may make charging stations for electric cars less practical in some areas.
The landscape for charging stations is changing rapidly - new legislation, technologies, and innovations are making it so that old plans are no longer applicable in many circumstances - and nobody wants to install a charging station only to see it rendered obsolete months later. If you're thinking about installing a commercial charging station, it's best to ask the professionals to come out, take a look, and help you figure out a solution tailored to your specific needs.
The experts at B-Safe Electric can help with this, starting with a look at what it would take to properly hook up an electric charging station. Remember, every location is different and there's no universal solution that will apply in every case. Call (905) 872-7233 or visit B-Safe Electric online today for more information, including quotes, advice, or professional maintenance of an existing charging station.
"I would like to THANK YOU for the great job you did on the Baylis Cleanroom.
I understand that schedule is tight and the job during the holiday season, but you still manage to install all of the electrical requirement.
Million Thanks to you and you staff!."