Step 1: Plan your strategy

The first step is to plan your strategy - decide what you need to build and where. To do this, you'll need to consider the following:

What types of EV you need to cater for

There are several types of EV, and each has its own charging needs. 

What types of EV charging you'll provide

EV charging infrastructure is the equipment and systems that supply electricity to charge EVs. EV charging infrastructure comes in different forms, depending on how fast vehicles need to charge and where charging takes place.

Slower chargers are typically used for vehicles parked for long periods at home or at work. Faster chargers are installed for public use where drivers need to recharge quickly before continuing their journey. Naturally, rapid and ultra-rapid charging is particularly important for drivers on the SRN. 

*charger that lets you charge while you park at places like hotels, restaurants or shopping centres

Alternating current and direct current 

When looking at implementing charge points at your site, you’ll hear about direct current (DC) and alternating current (AC) as two forms of electrical current. The grid delivers AC, but batteries store DC. Because EVs use batteries, chargers convert AC to DC. 

Here’s where and how the conversion happens:

AC charge points (often called “slow” or “fast”) supply AC directly to the vehicle. The vehicle’s internal converter (known as the ‘onboard charger’) converts it to DC. As onboard chargers are limited in size, AC charging is slower (Usually 7-22kW but also includes 43kW AC electric vehicle charge points).

DC charge points (‘rapid’ or ‘ultra-rapid’) do the AC to DC conversion inside the charge point itself, not in the vehicle. This allows much larger converters and higher power delivery (50kW, 150kW, 350kW+), bypassing the vehicle’s onboard charger limits

The diagram below shows this conversion of AC from the grid to DC in the vehicle for both types of charge point.

Understanding demand

Electricity supply is critical to EV charging. The graphic below sets out how you can understand how much electrical capacity you have now and whether you need an upgrade to provide EV charging. 

Step 1: Check existing capacity

Find out who your distribution network operator (DNO) is - The Energy Networks Association (ENA) have a tool (Transport Connections Guidance) that can guide you through the process just by inputting your postcode. 

Find out what your DNO currently supplies – This is called your agreed supply capacity (ASC). It’s measured in kilo-volt amperes (kVA) and is usually shown on your electricity bill under ‘distribution use of system’.

Step 2: Work out how much electricity you'll need

Whilst there isn’t a simple calculator to work out how to forecast future electricity demand there are a few indicators that can indicate how demand can be forecasted. These include:

• Number of parking spaces
• How long do people stay in the car park (dwell time)

Once you have an idea about what you would like to offer a commercial specialist can help you to determine future costs. Demand assessments and connection applications can be handled by DNOs, ICPs, consultants, or IDNOs.

Step 3: Increase site power if forecast demand exceeds existing supply

Make the connection request to your DNO. Early engagement is critical for supporting operators through the application and connection process. 

The time to connect a site to a grid connection can vary and be a challenge for many site operators, however we expect these to reduce over time because of Government reforms to the connections process.

More detail on step 3 can be found here.