EV charging points for workplaces, fleets and landlords

Start with the users. Staff cars parked for a working day need modest power per space; AC chargers in the 7 to 22kW range spread across many spaces usually serve them better than one fast unit. Fleet vans that return at night and leave early need a guaranteed charge by morning. Visitors or customers who stay an hour want higher power. Rapid DC chargers cost far more, need a much larger supply, and only make sense where vehicles have to turn round quickly.

Count the spaces you want to equip now and the ones you may add later. Laying ducts and cable routes for future spaces during the first dig is much cheaper than breaking up the car park again.

Source: planningportal.co.uk

The site's connection sets the limit. The installer needs the capacity of your supply and a record of your peak demand, which your supplier or meter operator can provide. Dynamic load management shares the available capacity among the chargers and reduces their output when the building needs more. It often allows more chargers without a larger connection.

Where more capacity is needed, the network operator quotes for the upgrade, and that quote can take time and may include reinforcement costs. Get this question answered early; it often decides the size and phasing of the project. The network operator also has to be told about the chargers or approve them before connection.

Charge points open to the public fall under the Public Charge Point Regulations 2023. Depending on the type of charger, the operator must offer contactless payment, allow payment through at least one roaming provider, show the price in pence per kilowatt hour, provide a free 24/7 staffed helpline and share certain data openly. Workplaces that are never open to the public and residential premises are outside these rules.

For private charging, decide how access works (RFID cards, app, open), whether staff pay for electricity, and how you will report energy use. Landlords of blocks of flats should also update the fire risk assessment for the car park and agree how residents are billed.

Source: legislation.gov.uk

The Workplace Charging Scheme is open to businesses, charities and public sector organisations until 31 March 2027. Landlords, social housing providers and property management companies can apply for a separate landlord chargepoint grant for residential sites. The staff and fleets grant and the commercial landlord grant have closed to applications. The installer must be OZEV-authorised and claims the grant after installation.

If you are constructing a new building or carrying out a major renovation in England, Part S of the Building Regulations may require charge points or cable routes for associated parking spaces. The architect or Building Control body will confirm what applies.

The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 require electrical systems to be maintained so as to prevent danger, so far as is reasonably practicable. For a charging network in a workplace, that means a maintenance plan, not only an installation.

Source: gov.uk

• number of spaces equipped now and prepared for later, with power per charger
• load management approach and the supply capacity it relies on
• network operator application and any upgrade cost
• back-office software: access control, tariffs, billing, reporting and data ownership
• compliance with the public charge point rules where the public has access
• groundworks, ducting, bollards, signage and parking bay marking
• maintenance terms, response times, uptime reporting and software subscription costs

Describe the site, parking, users and supply, and confirm your contact details. Commercial EV installers see the project without your company name or contact details, and only one can buy it. After that it is off the market. The installer pays Offrano for the request, and we send you its name, address and phone number before it receives your details.

There is no guarantee that a buyer comes forward; unsold requests are withdrawn after 21 days. You are free to run your own procurement alongside. Offrano verifies that buyers are registered businesses and nothing more, so ask for OZEV authorisation, competent person scheme registration and references for similar sites.