What are the benefits of on-site vs at-home EV charging? | Utilimarc Fleet FYIs

Gretchen Reese (00:12):

Hey there, welcome to the Fleet FYIs podcast, the weekly podcast by Utilimarc that reveals how you can make the most of your data for smarter fleet management. My name is Gretchen, and every week you'll hear from me or some of the industry's finest in candid conversations that will not only shed some light on over two decades worth of Fleet data insights, but also some of the industry's hottest talking points and key metric analysis with the aim to help you better understand your fleet from every angle.

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If we haven't yet covered a topic that you're interested in hearing more about, let us know. We would be happy to go over it in detail in a later show.

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to another episode of the Fleet FYI's Podcast. By now, we all know that every single fleet has completely unique needs, roles, and policies that affect day to day operations. These different characteristics can have major influence on the decisions that are made when it comes to fleet electrification and sustainability goals.

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And for example, fleet's take-home vehicle policies will have to plan for charging infrastructure and strategy on a case-by-case basis with their employees, and also the folks that are interested in doing this take-home charging or take home vehicle policy continuation when it comes to Evs.

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On the other hand, which I'm sure we all know, fleets that currently keep vehicles in a central location overnight might consider implementing take-home policies if the benefits of at-home charging seem better suited for their fleet.

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Regardless, there are pros, cons, and general considerations for either option, from infrastructure installation to electricity cost, to charging schedules. I wanted to take a look in this episode at some of the benefits of charging at either location. Because I think it's really important to really take a look, and really do a deep dive into some of the benefits and also some of the cons of every single option, just so that at least you're aware of what you could potentially be getting yourself into. Let's dig in.

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So let's talk about onsite charging first. Fleets looking to keep their vehicle stationed at a fleet yard or a garage have a few different options for onsite charging. Now, depending on the level of chargers that, one, you want, and two, the quantity, infrastructure installation can be a pretty costly endeavor.

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I mean, this, we all probably know by now. But still, there's many benefits to actually having charging stations installed right on the premises rather than relying on just take-home or only public infrastructure. Firstly, it's the centralized location. I mean, that makes a lot of sense, right? It's pretty common sense too, but having all access to all of your vehicles in one location can be very beneficial as a fleet manager. This makes it easier, one, to make last minute changes if a vehicle is out of service and another vehicle is needed to fill its role.

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And also, depending on charging strategy, it could be useful for fleet managers to have access to all of their vehicles at once in order to know which vehicles are fully charged and available for use at any given time.

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And depending on the charging software, charging can also be easily managed and tracked all in one place, giving fleet managers a real-time look at the state of charge across their fleet. I think it also really helps to take a look at which chargers are actually charging faster than the others, especially if you have a mix of charging technology that's within your centralized fleet yard. Whether it's all alternating current level one or level two chargers, or direct current fast-charging are your DC fast chargers there.

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The second piece to this is easy maintenance. So having your infrastructure installed on-site also makes things a lot easier when it comes to receiving regular maintenance for said electric vehicle service equipment. And many infrastructure manufacturers offer ongoing maintenance and management once the equipment is deployed.

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Now, with electric vehicle service equipment, or EVSE, being a very high cost and long term investment, many fleet managers may prefer to keep it on company grounds. That's pretty understandable. But onsite EVSE installation ensures a seamless maintenance routine for fleets and the ability to closely monitor the state of the equipment all over time.

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To me, that makes pretty good sense there. Now, if we look at the last piece of this, which is autonomy over energy, fleets looking to maximize the effect of going electric and fleets that are planning for the long run, having onsite charging allows the opportunity to power charging infrastructure with renewable energy. This is where solar power and wind power comes into play.

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If we look at solar panels a little bit more directly, they're a great way to generate supplemental energy for charging, which helps to keep a fleet's overall greenhouse gas emissions and electricity costs low. Or it helps reduce the costs that you already have.

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And for fleets looking to go even one step further, potentially creating a microgrid is a worthwhile investment. We talked about microgrids a little bit earlier on the show, but basically for those of you that don't know what a microgrid is, or you have a very minimal familiarity with it, basically what it is, is a self-sustaining way to power your fleet. We wrote a case study on one of the self-sustaining microgrids in the United States, in Jersey City. So if you haven't yet, take a look at that over on the Utilimarc blog, utilimarc.com/blog. U-T-I-L-I-M-A-R-C.com/blog. You'll be able to find it there, it's a pretty good read.

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But anyways my point is, this alleviates the strain on the local grid from the sudden increase in energy demand whilst giving fleets autonomy over their power supply. Because we all know that one of the biggest challenges, and also one of the biggest concerns, is the potential grid overload when it comes to an influx in electric vehicles that, potentially, local grids may or may not be ready for.

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Now if we look at at-home charging, and the case is that are for this at-home charging movement, installing electric vehicle service equipment directly at driver's homes is another route that a lot of fleet managers could choose to take. There's many advantages to this option, similarly to the other. Though, it requires a lot more planning in order to effectively assess the compatibility at each individual residence.

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The matter of reimbursing employees for electricity consumption at home is an additional concern for fleet managers to keep in mind, but nonetheless, giving drivers access to their own EV charging equipment can have many benefits in the overall long term.

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Now, firstly, let's look at the easy installation. While it's being charged at home, EVs typically use a level one or a level two charging plug to fuel up. The differences here, we look at level one, which you can plug into your standard outlet that you'd plug a toaster into at home, or your coffee maker at home. Level two could potentially require a little bit more infrastructure, but for those of you that have a 240 volt capability, you might not need to upgrade your infrastructure at your home. Point being, these chargers are the simplest for fleets to employ because they require little to no extensive installation like a DC fast charger would.

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Most electric vehicles actually come with their own level one charger. Which would connect directly, like I said, to the standard 120 volt outlets that you find at your home, no matter where. But some fleets will opt for level-two charges at home just because it's a faster charge. And like I said, they're not as simple as level one. Because sometimes these plugs require the quick installation of a 240 volt outlet by an electrician, which is a pretty easy thing to do.

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Now, second piece of this is that it's cost effective. And that is probably one of the biggest reasons that someone would pursue an at-home charging strategy or at-home charging capabilities. And whilst it's last on my list, and in addition to being the easiest to install, at-home charging equipment is probably the least expensive by at least a mile or so. Because we have to throw in a driving pun in here, or two. It's a fleet podcast after all.

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But without the need for intensive construction and electric reconfiguration, at-home charging typically cost fleets just a couple thousand dollars at most, give or take. Additionally, some employees charging at home overnight can take advantage of cheaper, off-peak hours to charge the vehicles in the most cost effective way possible. Some infrastructure manufacturers even include the ability to set charging times only for off peak hours in their electric vehicle service technology. So it's definitely something to think about.

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But the thing is, ultimately it's going to be up to fleet managers to actually decide the charging strategy that works best for their fleet. Infrastructure manufacturers tend to offer consulting services that allow fleets to scale their own electric vehicle service equipment over time as their EB fleet grows. And many fleets can also opt for a blended strategy of both at-home and onsite charging options for different vehicles depending on use and what type of charger they need.

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Regardless, the key is to understand just how much time infrastructure installation can take, and try to create a solid strategy ahead of receiving your electric vehicles.

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Make the most of this EV procurement delay that you can. Try and focus on your infrastructure before the EVs arrive on the lot, and before we're all running around like mad chickens.

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Point is, your fleet managers can take advantage of the current delay. And the availability to ensure that their strategies in their infrastructure are ready to go upon arrival of their new EV fleet.

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I would love to hear your thoughts, though. Let me know, send me an email, tag me on LinkedIn. Use the hashtag #UtilimarcfleetFYIs, or I am also available by carrier pigeon too. Anyways. That's all for me this week. Looking forward to chatting to you again next Friday. Ciao.

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Hey there, I think this is the time that I should cue the virtual high five, because you've just finished listening to another episode of the Fleet FYIs Podcast. If you're already wanting more content, head over to utilimarc.com, which is util marc with a C, U-T-I-L-I-M-A-R-C.com, for this episode's show notes and extra insights coming straight from our analyst to you. That's all from me this week.

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So until next time, I'll catch you later.