Turnkey EV Charging Solutions

There are several options for making money with commercial EV charging stations - getting direct revenue and indirect revenue.

Direct revenue means charging your customer for used electricity at electric car charging stations. A common practice for businesses is to charge a fee based on the amount of energy used ($/kWh) and time spent at the station ($/hour). You can set your price based on electric vehicle charging station installation cost, energy prices in your area, and other operational costs and add the end markup to get a profit. The Energy5 Management platform allows you to get real-time Analytics and Reporting and set desired charging pricing that fits your business needs.

Indirect revenue means attracting loyal customers and increasing the time they spend at your location, which leads to sales growth. Many companies integrate marketing opportunities and provide extra services for customers, such as getting discounts for repeatedly charging at their business. Once your business appears on the top EV charging station maps, it becomes visible among other companies and offers valuable services for your clients, increasing their return rates.

Electric Car charging stations have a low chance of being stolen because electric car owners can use special padlocks to secure their stations. Our research revealed no police reports regarding car charger installation theft at business sites, but home charging stations are more likely to become subject to stealing.

Energy5 EV chargers are vandalism resistant. We provide notification features for real-time monitoring that increase EV charger security.

The cost to charge an electric car at a commercial charging station depends on multiple factors:

1. State electricity prices. Business owners define EV charging station fees based on electricity rates in their state. For example, people in Hawaii paid 33.23 cents/kWh for energy in October and 10.41 cents/kWh in Idaho. This price directs the markup that owners might apply to get a profit for their commercial electric charging stations.
2.  Pricing systems. Each charging station owner sets its own method of pricing customers. The most common way is to use rate/hour, rate/minute, rate/kWh, rate/session, or a combination of them.
3. Electric car charger type. There are three types of EV chargers: Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3. The type of charger you use influences the charging speed. Level 1 chargers need, on average, 24 hours to charge and are more suitable for home charging. Level 3 will cost you $10-30 to do the job in one hour, and the Level 2 charger will cost you $1-5/hour for a 40 miles charge.
4. Battery Type. EV cars have different battery capacities and need a specific time for a full charge: Tesla Model S - 95 kWh, Ford Mustang Mach-E - 91 kWh, Kia e-Soul - 64 kWh, Nissan Leaf - 39 kWh, etc.

Once you know your EV battery capacity, the type of commercial charger, and the price for kWh, you can identify the exact cost to charge your electric car.

The time your EV car will need to fully charge depends on the following:

1. The electric car battery capacity. Your EV will take longer to charge if it has a big battery capacity.
2.  The types of commercial electric charging stations you use. Level 3 Fast Chargers can fully charge an electric car in 60 minutes, while a Level 2 Charger can do it in 3-8 hours.
3. The current battery percentage. A 10% battery will take longer to charge than a 50% one.
4. The maximum EV charging rate. Each EV has its own maximum charging speed and won't charge any faster, even if connected to a commercial charging station with a higher charging rate.
5. The maximum EV station charging rate. Suppose your EV has a maximum charging speed of 22 kW. In this case, an electric charging station with a 7 kW maximum charging rate won't be able to deliver 22 kW for an EV that supports this charging capacity.

The average time to fully charge a 0% EV battery with a Level 2 Charger (22 kW) will be:

• BMW i3 - 2 hrs;
• Chevy Bolt - 3 hrs;
• Fiat 500E - 1h 55 min;
• Ford Focus EV - 1h 32 min;
• Honda Clarity EV - 1h 09 min;
• Hyundai Ioniq - 1h 50 min;
• Kia Niro - 2 hrs 54 min;
• Kia Soul - 3 hrs 5 min;
• Mercedes B-class B250e - 1h 37 min; 
• Nissa Leaf - 1 h 50 min; 
• Smart Car - 0h 45 min ;
• Tesla Model S - 4 hrs 27 min;
• Tesla Model X - 4 hrs 18 min;
• Tesla Model 3 - 2 hrs 17 min;
• Toyota Rav4 - 0h 50 min.

Starting a commercial EV Charging station business involves multiple processes and strategies, beginning with the site assessment, budget planning, list of equipment suppliers, etc. The easiest way to give life to the electric car charging stations business is to involve professionals and experts that will do the work for you. At Energy5, we know all the nuances of the EV Charging industry inside out. We provide your business with the following:

- End-to-end turnkey EV Charging solutions;

- Exhaustive details about the installation process;

- Available utility and state incentives analysis;

- Potential revenue.

The cost of installing an electric vehicle charging station depends on the infrastructure Hardware (the type of electric charger, cable poles, wiring systems, circuit breakers, power protection systems, etc.), Permits, Software (connecting the EV charging station to networks, and data monitoring software) and Power Management (adding "smart" features to EV station software and hardware for energy-efficiency).

Installing a Level 2 electric vehicle charging station can cost between $500 and $ 10,000. Contact Energy5 today to learn more about available incentives in your area and get all the advantages a commercial EV charging station can offer.

We don't advise installing the EV Charging station yourself to avoid equipment failure. We recommend assigning this job to professionals who can install the EV infrastructure correctly. On top of that, many EV charging companies have certified experts that guarantee proper installation and provide a long-term warranty.

If you contact a company like Energy5 that offers turnkey solutions, you don't have to worry about finding professionals for your EV Charging points. Among other services, we have a list of verified electricians who will deliver quality EV Charging station setups.

The most commonly used EV chargers are the Level 2 Chargers. They are 15 times faster than Level 1 Chargers, can provide up to 40 miles range per hour, and have lower equipment and installation prices compared to Level 3 Fast Chargers. A big advantage of choosing a Level 2 charger is that it’s compatible with most EVs in the USA market.

As discussed in the previous questions, there are several ways to get revenue from installing an electric vehicle charging station. Energy5 can identify the potential profit for your business with our online Calculator. Once you include the basic information, you will see the actual amount of profit commercial electric car charging stations can bring you.

Experts recommend charging the EV battery to 80% and avoiding a 100% charge unless you need to drive long-range on the road. Fully charging your EV can exhaust its battery capacity over time and puts excess pressure on it.

Energy5 Tip. Avoid wearing out an EV charging battery until it gets to 0%. Once it reaches 20% - it's time to plug it in. Keep an optimal charging range between 20% -80% to save energy and money.