How Much Does a Commercial EV Charging Station Cost?
Are you considering investing in a commercial EV charging station for your business? If that’s the case, you may be curious about the cost. In this blog post, we’ll provide you with a comprehensive overview of the pricing of commercial EV charging stations and offer valuable tips to help you find the best deals. Explore the various factors influencing the cost of commercial EV charging stations and gain valuable insights into finding the most cost-effective solutions that best suit your needs.
The price tag of your commercial electric vehicle charging station depends on your electrification needs. You will need to know which power level is best for your business.
Electric vehicle (EV) charging stations come in three distinct power levels: Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3, also known as DC fast charging. These options offer varying charging capacities to meet the diverse needs of EV owners.
Discover the Power of WattLogic’s EV Charging Solutions
In a world where electric vehicles are becoming the norm, having a reliable and efficient charging solution is crucial. That’s where WattLogic comes in. Serving leading commercial customers across various sectors including workplace, retail, and automotive, WattLogic has proven itself as a pioneer in EV charging solutions. Partner with us today and experience the seamless integration of cutting-edge technology and exceptional customer service.
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to revolutionize your business with our comprehensive EV charging solutions. Schedule an appointment now and let our experts guide you to the perfect solution tailored for your needs.
Level 1 is the standard for home charging using a wall plug of 120 volts and is the slowest type of EV charging equipment.
Level 2 chargers are usually found at public charging stations and use 240 volts.
DC fast chargers are the most robust of the three and charge with 480 volts. DC fast chargers are currently the fastest way to charge an EV.
Level 1 and Level 2 chargers supply alternating current (AC) from the grid, which has to be converted by the electric car’s battery to direct current (DC) since EV batteries can only accept DC current. This conversion is what makes Level 1 and Level 2 chargers so much slower than DC fast chargers.
How much does it cost to install a commercial EV charging station?
The price of an electric vehicle (EV) charging station is influenced by several factors. These include the type of charger, the quantity of chargers, and potential electrical upgrades that might be necessary. It’s important to consider all these aspects when determining the cost of installing an EV charging station.
Generally speaking, a Level 2 charger will cost between 450,000 and 5,000, while a Level 3 charger will cost between 30,000 and 80,000.
Of course, there are many other factors to consider when budgeting for an EV charging station, such as installation costs, permits, and ongoing maintenance. However, the initial cost is a good place to start when doing your research.
Ultimately, the decision of whether or not to install an EV charging station at your business should come down to a cost-benefit analysis. Weigh the up-front cost against the potential benefits of being a sustainable business that meets the needs of your employees and customers. If the benefits outweigh the costs, then EV charging stations are a great option for your business!
Schedule a Meeting with an Expert in Commercial Electric Vehicle Charging
Most commercial facilities choose Level 2 or DC fast chargers. As you may have assumed correctly, Level 1 chargers are the cheapest, Level 2 chargers are at the mid-range price point, and DC fast chargers are the most expensive.
Multi-family units or office buildings usually go with Level 2 chargers since they are more affordable than DC chargers and have a relatively sufficient charging speed. Other commercial properties with medium- or heavy-duty EV fleets choose DC fast chargers in order to adequately provide for their EV charging needs.
Level 1 chargers are not a good option for commercial facilities, not only because they are too slow, but they can overload the electrical circuits at a facility. Level 1 chargers were not designed for commercial use, but for residential use, and that is why they can cause electrical issues when used for a large operation.
Discover How We Can Assist. Get in Touch With Us Today!
Stand out in the competitive job market by creating a unique workplace that attracts top talent. Demonstrate your commitment to sustainability and enhance the appeal of your benefits package.
Enhance the employee experience by offering convenient and dependable charging solutions, while effortlessly scaling across multiple office locations.
Estimated EV Charger Cost
When considering the installation of an EV charging station, it’s essential to understand that costs can vary based on several factors. Generally, a budget of 450,000 to 5,000 per Level 2 charging station should suffice. This budget includes the charger itself, alongside the necessary electrical and construction work. Naturally, the final expense depends on variables such as the chosen charger type and the extent of electrical modifications required. With thorough planning, you can ensure optimal value for your investment.
In the end, the overall cost could significantly decrease because of the utility rebates and incentives offered for commercial EV charging stations. Additionally, if you already have electrical infrastructure in place that can be modified for EV charging stations, you can save even more money.
What are the costs associated with a commercial EV charging station installation?
In order to figure out how much installing an EV charging station at your property will cost, you’ll have to consider infrastructure and installation costs.
Take action towards an efficient and sustainable future. Schedule an appointment with our EV charging specialist today and let us help you find the perfect solution for your business.
Transform Your Commercial EV Charging Infrastructure with WattLogic
Join the ranks of leading commercial businesses who have harnessed the power of electric vehicles with WattLogic. We’re not just a service provider or installer, we’re your strategic partner in navigating the EV charging landscape. With our innovative solutions, we’re shaping the future of charging infrastructure across various sectors.
Infrastructure expenses will be the most expensive and will depend on:
- Cost to deliver power to the commercial EV charging stations
- Labor and material costs for electrical conduit and wire, which will require digging
- Labor and material costs for pouring new concrete
- Labor and material for electrical panels (if needed)
- Networked or non-networked (connected to internet/online management system or not)
Is it cheaper to charge an electric vehicle at home or at a public charging station?
Using a simple plug is the cheapest option but presents many inconveniences in terms of comfort compared to the other two options, especially a longer charging time.
If you drive long distances and need to charge your electric vehicle quite fast, we recommend you invest in a home charger or use public infrastructure. Now, you’re probably wondering if the most convenient and cheapest solution is to charge your electric car at a public station or to use a home charger. Actually, it depends on many factors. Use our tool to find out if it is financially interesting for you to invest in an EV home charging point or if you should simply rely on the public charging infrastructure.
Should I invest in an EV home charging station or use the public network? Which option is the cheapest?
With the tool below, you can calculate your break-even and see after how long you could start saving money if you buy a home charger and decide if it really makes sense in your situation or if you should just use the public infrastructure.
Select your preferred distance unit
Select your daily driving distance:
Select the energy consumption of your EV: kwh/100
Public charging cost
Select the type of any additional cost
Home charging cost
Cost for buying the charging station
Estimated breakeven: years and days
When thinking about buying a home charging station, you might ask yourself at which point you will actually start to save some money in comparison to charging your electric car at a public station. As you could see above, this question cannot be answered easily. It depends on the energy prices, the for public charging, and the energy consumption of the specific driver and its electric vehicle.
To go further and get a feeling for the question we want to give you two examples of calculation of the break-even point.
The first example is for a driver who drives 60 miles/km a day on average.
The graphic shows the costs of charging at home and in public. The investment for a charging station is assumed at 500 We see, that after a little less than 4 years the user starts to save money when charging at home.
The second example is for a driver who drives 100 miles/km a day on average.
We can see that the EV owner with a high daily driving has equalized his investment after almost 2 and a half years.
In general, we can say, that the lower the energy price for charging at home is and the higher your daily consumption for charging is, the faster the investment for a home charging station is reasonable.
Public charging infrastructure
First of all, you should check the status of the publicly accessible charging infrastructure in the area you’re living in. Indeed, we can notice an expansion of charging points but infrastructures still need to improve accessibility for the general public.
Some operators of public charging stations give the opportunity to find charging stations in different areas. When you plan to rely on public charging stations, you should ensure, that the given infrastructure allows different charging options for you.
Charging Stations In Your Area
Charger Types
- Level 2 Charger Supports: bZ4X, RAV4 Prime, Prius Prime
- Level 3 Charger Supports: bZ4X
Charging Networks
- ChargePoint
- EVgo
Clean Assist allows eligible All-Electric Vehicle owners nationwide and Plug-In Hybrid Vehicle owners in California to offset their vehicle charging with 100% renewable energy—no matter where the vehicles are plugged in. And there’s no cost to participate in the program.
How it Works
Owners of eligible vehicles can opt into the Toyota Clean Assist program through the Toyota App. Active Remote Connect Trial or Subscription required.
The Toyota App then tracks the amount of the electricity used during charging and calculates the net emissions produced by charging.
Toyota then generates, or buys, an equivalent amount of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), ensuring that all charging activity is matched with zero-carbon electricity.
Vehicle Benefits
Feel the smooth acceleration, instant torque delivery and quiet drive—all advantages of the electric motor over an internal combustion engine.
Reducing CO2 emissions by going fully electric is one way we can lessen our impact on the environment.
All-Electric and Plug-In Hybrid vehicles can bring about potential state incentives. Preliminary expectations include a lower cost of ownership, including overall service and maintenance costs.
Pricing and Plans for EV Charging
Idle Fee: Once charging stops, you pay
Frequently asked questions about payment and membership
Depending on your location, you pay to charge either by the kWh or by the minute. In per-minute locations, the maximum amount of power your vehicle can accept (which your vehicle communicates to the charger at the beginning of your charging session) determines your power level and price.
When you plug in to charge, your vehicle tells the charger the maximum power it can accept. Based on that communication, your vehicle will be assigned to the corresponding power level offered by the charger. Your charging speed may fluctuate due to factors like weather, age of your battery, and how full your battery is (your state of charge). The per-minute price stays the same for the entire session, regardless of how the charging speed may vary.
Where feasible, Electrify America has transitioned to kWh-based pricing. In these locations, you pay for the energy your vehicle receives, regardless of temperature, your battery’s capacity, the time it takes for your vehicle to charge, or other variable factors.
First, sign up for Electrify America’s Pass or Pass membership in the mobile app. Then, follow the prompts to add your credit card to your account and select an amount to automatically pre-load to your Electrify America wallet balance. The first wallet auto-fill occurs the first time you charge your vehicle at an Electrify America charging station after signing up. Every time your balance falls to or below the minimum wallet threshold of 5, the wallet will be loaded again with the amount you selected. The cost for charging, idling, and any applicable taxes will be deducted from your wallet balance at the end of your charging session. If you’re a Pass member, your monthly subscription fee will be charged to your credit or debit card when you sign up, and deducted from your wallet balance monthly thereafter.
To change membership plans, visit “Plan details” in the Electrify America app. Please note that a change from Pass to Pass, will not be reflected until the next billing cycle. Because of this, your Electrify America Pass plan will remain active until the end of the current billing cycle.
First, access your digital membership pass in your mobile wallet. Then tap your phone against the contactless reader on the charger. NFC may need to be enabled in your phone’s settings.
If your payment method is declined during a charging session, please update your payment method on your account to allow Electrify America to auto-fill your wallet so that vehicle charging can continue. If the payment method is not updated, charging will stop when your wallet balance reaches.
In the app, go to “Plan details” and follow the prompts to upgrade to Pass or to change plan types. Please note that a request to change from Pass to Pass membership will go into effect on the first day of the next billing cycle, which coincides with the monthly anniversary of your sign-up date.
Cancel your membership anytime in the app by navigating to your profile and selecting “Delete Account.”
Pricing on a per-minute basis means pricing based on how long the charger was delivering energy to the EV. Pricing on a per-kWh basis means pricing based on how much energy the charger delivered to the EV. We believe pricing on a per-kWh basis offers a fair and consistent charging experience to EV drivers. We are working with regulators to follow the various processes that are required for us to provide EV charging on a per-kWh basis. This is an ongoing process and we look forward to further developments that may allow us to provide EV charging on a per-kWh basis throughout the rest of the states.
Our pricing varies state by state. The Electrify America website shows each state’s based on the charger location, and you can check out any of our stations in the Electrify America app to see pricing as well! To view pricing in the app, select the station from the map and scroll to the bottom of the page to view pricing for all chargers.
Electrify America is excited to introduce pricing for EV charging on a per-kilowatt-hour basis in many states throughout the US. This means drivers will now pay for how much energy is delivered from the charger to their EV instead of how long the charger delivered energy to their EV during their charging session. Where we do provide EV charging on a per-minute basis, we have simplified our pricing. High-power chargers will have only two power levels instead of three. The power level of your session is determined by the rate of charge your EV communicates to the charger. The price you will pay per-minute is displayed on the charger after the session begins. Consider enrolling in our Pass plan, which saves you up to 25% on charging!
.40/min after a 10-minute grace period. Pricing for DC fast charging is determined by charger location, your plan, and, for per-minute locations, the maximum power level your vehicle can accept. Pricing may be subject to tax, if applicable for the location of a particular charger. Level 2 charging is also available. In per-minute locations, Level 2 charging costs.03/min. In per-kWh locations, you pay the same per-kWh rate for Level 2 charging as for DC fast charging at that station location. Pricing is subject to change. Please refer to the charger screen for the most up-to-date pricing and power levels available for your session.
How Do You Use Level 3 Chargers?
Level 3 charging runs off 480-volt power lines. Interestingly, the higher-capacity conduit, panels, and circuit breakers don’t add significant expense over what similar level 2 equipment would cost.
“Fueling” the Electric Vehicle
Similar to a gas pump, the driver inserts the charging cable into the port of the car. Depending on the make of the EV, the charging cord may require a connector to fit into the car’s charging socket.
Understanding Energy Use
Level 3 chargers can communicate in the Cloud through network software. Future Energy’s software solution, Interface, allows you to monitor and control all of your electrical use in real-time.
Storing Energy
Some level 3 chargers not only convert energy but also can store it. For example, a ChargePoint DCFC can cost in excess of 100,000, but it includes power blocks and other internal equipment that mitigate the need for a utility upgrade.
What Are the Cost Factors of Level 3 Chargers?
Future Energy recommends the installation of level 3 infrastructure even if your immediate plans call for the installation of level 2 chargers.
Power Output
Level 3 chargers have a wide range of power output, which affects cost. A charger that delivers up to 25 kilowatts of AC power is considered level 3. However, the top end of the power output extends up to about 500 kilowatts and delivers up to 200 miles of range in 30 minutes of charge.
Type of Connector
There are four types of connectors for level 3 chargers. Similar to different phone chargers for an iPhone or Android, these attachments fit into the EV’s charging socket.
CHAdeMO (pronounced “CHA-di-mo”): Developed by Japanese automakers seeking to form a global infrastructure of level 3 public EV charging stations, CHAdeMO is an abbreviation of CHArge de MOve.” The word loosely derives from the Japanese phrase “How about a cup of tea?”—a nod to how quickly a driver can charge an EV using a level 3 charger. The connector contains two large pins exclusively for DC charging.
SAE Combo (also called CCS, or “Combo Charging System”): The Society of Automotive Engineers created its own standard for fast charging. SAE CCS connectors support both level 3 fast charging and level 2 charging.
Tesla: Tesla offers a proprietary connector. Only Tesla EVs can use Tesla level 3 chargers, also called Superchargers.
GB/T: GB/T is the English equivalent of China’s Guobiao Standards. GB/T connectors are exclusively for level 3 charging in China.
OCPP Compliance
The Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP) facilitates communication among EV charging stations and many software systems that help manage EV charging networks in the Cloud. In fact, OCPP has become the benchmark for interoperability for EV charging worldwide.
Software Integration
Beyond OCPP compliance, the features of level 3 charging station software also affect cost. These include incorporation of a touch screen or other services the software provides.
Warranty
The length and type of warranty also affects level 3 charger cost. The standard warranty is two years, but some chargers offer three-year warranties or guarantee the product up to a certain number of charging cycles.
What Are the Benefits of Installing Level 3 Chargers?
The real question surrounding level 3 charging station cost is not the price tag. Instead, the question is how the features of the level 3 charger you choose can enhance your business operations.
Rebates for Level 3 Chargers
The nationwide push toward EV adoption has unleashed numerous financial incentives for your business to install level 3 EV chargers.
In many cases, these incentives, rebates, and grants can cover 100% of your electric car charging station’s cost.
However, not all level 3 chargers are eligible for rebates. Future Energy can help you identify which equipment qualifies so that you don’t miss out on recouping some of your investment. In fact, Future Energy’s Financial Incentive National Database (FIND) tool instantly identifies every available financial opportunity for any Future Energy client nationwide.
Business Value of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations
Because the market for EVs is so new, it’s important to think about benefits beyond purely a revenue-generating business model. Instead, public EV charging stations are a way to demonstrate your company culture and beliefs.
For example, you can offer level 3 charging as an employee benefit.
Brand Enhancement
Companies are beginning to see how offering level 3 EV charging enhances their reputation. Future Energy is working with an automotive maintenance company to install level 3 chargers at thousands of its locations in the Midwest. The company plans to offer complimentary charging with its automotive services.
These public EV charging stations show potential customers that this company is a forward-thinking leader in the burgeoning market. Beyond the attraction of additional customers, Future Energy is helping the company use the fast chargers to enhance its brand.
Who Can Help You Understand Level 3 Charger Cost?
The question of what a level 3 charger costs isn’t a simple answer. At Future Energy, we help you see beyond the monetary answer to unlock the business value of incorporating level 3 charging solutions into your operations. Contact us today to find out how your business can benefit.
Sam DiNello is Chief Executive Officer at Future Energy. He is an expert in the EV infrastructure space and passionate about innovative data-driven solutions that help companies access real-time intelligence for real-time action.