Charge Wisely and save money
Adding Electric Vehicle chargers to a building can be a very visible sign of your organizations green initiatives and aid in employee/tenant retention. They can also attract customers and increase the amount of time they spend at your business. Before adding an EV charger or chargers you should be aware of how they will affect your electricity bill. A charger can add as much as $100,000/yr to your electricity costs if uncontrolled. VPPI offers a number of options to manage the financial impacts of adding an EV charger.
Battery Supported Charging A large battery system is installed directly into the building electrical system. The battery system, and its demand management software, reduces the demand peaks of the entire facility as well as the EV charger. This solution has the twin benefits of being able to reduce demand charges while not restricting or changing building or charging activities. Smart Charging An intelligent control software monitors both the building energy use and the EV charger use. When building energy use is at or near a peak the charger use is restricted. This keep demand charges at or below current building charges. This can be combined with a facility battery for larger savings. The primary benefit of this system is the low up-front cost but has the trade off of limiting charging activities during certain times. Solar Carport This solution is a carport style solar PV system with integrated car chargers. It can be installed as a stand alone feature or one that is integrated into a building. In stand alone mode, it does not have either demand or consumption charges but charging is limited to when the sun is shining. If no cars are charging then the solar production is wasted. When it is building connected, it will contribute to both consumption and demand charges but any excess solar production will be used to reduce total building consumption. Charging is not restricted only when the sun is shining. PV Carport with Integrated Battery This combines the best of both solar and battery and is usually most effective when in stand alone mode. In stand alone mode, it does not have either demand or consumption charges and charging is not limited to when the sun is shining. If no cars are charging then the solar production is stored in the battery for future use. When it is building connected, it can reduce both consumption and demand charges and any excess solar production not used or stored can reduce total building consumption. Dedicated Battery Charging This is used in situations when a larger building battery is no possible or practical. The dedicated battery charges when building demand is low and then charges cars directly from the battery. This will reduce or eliminate demand charges from charging but will slightly increase the total consumption due to the efficiency losses from charging and discharging the batteries. |