The low down on providing EV charging
15 July 2021
Given the emphasis that the Government is placing on it, and the release of vehicles such as the Ford Mustang Mach-E, it is safe to say the electric vehicles will be playing a larger part in our future. With that in mind, it may be worthwhile to consider a charging station for your club carpark. The theory being that visitors could charge their vehicle while taking advantage of the club’s hospitality.
Here is some information that we have compiled on electric vehicle charging stations and relevant regulations.
Charging Equipment
Any charging equipment utilised must meet NZ Electrical Regulations 2010 and Worksafe standards.
View the Worksafe Charging Safety Guidelines
There is also a National Guidance document for public vehicle charging from the transport agency.
Most chargers available on the market that we looked at will meet these standards, though many situations require a separate RCD to also be installed, among other installation requirements. Make sure that you use a qualified electrician, and we highly recommend ensuring they have EV charger experience to avoid potential issues and to ensure that you meet standards for legal and insurance compliance.
If your charging station is for members only and is installed on private land, you probably wont need resource consent.
This document outlines the permits that may be required.
Installation
With the charger suppliers that we spoke with, installation was quoted separately from the equipment. This is because every installation will be different dependent on distance to electrical switchboard, placement of chargers, equipment required, etc.
Installation requires appropriate cabling and systems in place to meet NZ Electrical Regulations 2010 and worksafe requirements. Worksafe has produced Charging Safety Guidelines
Ongoing Maintenance
There isn’t a lot of moving parts so in theory the internals should be fairly reliable. Connections should be checked regularly to ensure any issues can be resolved quickly.
All charging stations are required to be tested and tagged annually.
Vehicle cables vary from vehicle to vehicle, and owners should carry any adaptors required. You can choose to purchase additional cables for the club, but these are quite expensive so you would want to make sure they are returned after use.
Charging for Charging
We should say off the bat that this is not a good way to make money. It would take years to make back the investment in the equipment. This is about providing a service, and potentially making a couple of dollars in the club when people are making use of the facilities while charging their vehicle.
Having said that, you certainly can ask money for charging to help recover some of the investment.
Easiest way is to charge a set fee (ie $5 for a charge) as that requires no extra equipment and is easily facilitated through your existing billing system (point of sale, cash register, etc). There may be a switch you need to turn on in the office to enable charging at any given station.
If you want to bill like a petrol station based on how much charge is used, then special equipment will be required. One option is using the Chargenet service where users can sign up and deposit funds from their credit card, but only some (more expensive) charging stations will work with this.
Where to get Equipment
We approached a bunch of charging equipment suppliers and of the few that actually responded, the options and pricing varied a lot.
As a first option, it is worth asking the sparkies in the club if anyone has ev charger experience as they may already have a good deal on equipment that they are familiar with.
Vynco
The most helpful equipment supplier we found was Vynco. They offered two charger options with a discount on the equipment for clubs. Estimate does not include installation.
OPTION ONE
E1V2 Charger with Type B RCD and Isolator usually $2064.77, now $1600 for clubs - click here for more details
OPTION TWO
1355451 Charger with Type B RCD and VSW332 Isolator usually $5292.55, now $4100 for clubs
Vynco will work with your local electrician for installation and can also recommend experienced sparkies in all areas. That way the local sparky can provide warranty, installation, etc. Please contact Leigh at Clubs NZ Head Office for details.
Eurotec
Eurotec were also helpful and recommended the Orbis Vairis Combi which comes in single (3.7kW and 7.4kW) and 3 phase (11kW and 22kW) versions.
Trade Price List
Youtube vid - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQLTwQXJNYo
Update – they just added a coin/token mechanism for charging. We think this is a great addition allowing you to get back a little revenue without investing in a costly system. Click here for more details
Chargemaster
Chargemaster sent us this brochure on their systems starting from $2100 +gst. Click here for more details
