With commercial site development, planning electrical infrastructure has always had to go beyond the immediate needs of a site. Now, with the increasing nationwide transition by businesses to more sustainable solutions, this is especially the case regarding EV charging hubs. Progressively, they’re no longer a future add-on but are in the conversation from day one. The space and power requirements needed for them, however, are often significant, so being proactive in their consideration will reap many benefits for your site in the long run.
In this guide, we cover why planning substation design and construction alongside the infrastructure needed for EV charging can help to save unnecessary costs, prepare your site for future needs, and even increase your site’s long-term value.
The Increasing Prevalence of EV Charging
EV charging has moved beyond early adopters and specialist locations. It’s now relevant to a wide range of commercial environments, including retail parks, offices, industrial estates, logistics depots, and leisure destinations, just to name a few.
Depending on the type of site, EV charging hubs will have different purposes. For some premises, chargers support customers and visitors. For others, they help staff charge during the working day. For fleet-led environments, they can even become essential operational infrastructure.
As the country approaches its net-zero emissions goal of 2050, the shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy connections through implements such as EV charging sites changes the way electrical demand needs to be viewed. A few low-power chargers may be manageable on an existing supply, but a charging hub with multiple rapid or ultra-rapid chargers can create a substantial additional load, which requires a robust and adapted electrical infrastructure to handle.
Why Should EV Charging Be Considered at the Substation Design Stage?
For those establishing new sites, the best time to consider EV charging is before the main electrical infrastructure has been finalised. When charging requirements are considered early, the design team can make informed decisions about capacity, layout, and future expansion.
For example, this can be to allow space for the additional equipment needed, to size infrastructure with realistic growth in mind, or to design the substation arrangement so that further upgrades are easier to deliver later.
This approach avoids the common problem that many businesses face: a site is built and becomes occupied and operational, only for EV charging to be raised afterwards. At this point, the work can involve new civil solutions, altered car park layouts, electrical supply upgrades, or further applications to the network operator. This can become an issue by causing significant expense and disruption, so planning ahead can give much more control and avoid fuss.
Retrofitting Later Can Limit Options
In instances where EV charging infrastructure needs to be retrofitted, it can be possible where a site has enough capacity and its layout is suitable. However, many commercial sites were not originally designed with high-capacity charging in mind. There may be space limitations, a lower electrical supply, and various further issues that can even make the transition unaffordable and unfeasible.
As such, avoiding these problems is why early-stage planning is so valuable. Even when chargers aren’t immediately needed, allowing for them within the substation design and construction and wider electrical design lets you keep your options open and protects your site from avoidable constraints later.
The Commercial Case Is Getting Stronger
Accommodating future EV charging infrastructure will not only help to avoid unnecessary costs if, but more than likely when, your site requires it; it also helps to support the commercial value of your site.
For customer-facing locations, charging can increase dwell time and improve the visitor experience. For workplaces, it can meet staff expectations and sustainability goals. For depots and operational sites, it can help businesses prepare for fleet electrification. For landlords and developers, it can make a property more attractive to occupiers who are already thinking about their own transition to electric vehicles.
Regardless of the function of your site, planning ahead for EV charging’s increase in demand means that it can benefit from convenience, operational resilience, tenant appeal, and long-term asset value.
The Importance of Planning Capacity for EV Charging
Substation and EV charging design need to be coordinated when planning infrastructure for the future, especially so regarding the available power. The number of chargers, their speed, how they will be used, and whether load management is required all affect the electrical solution.
For example, a retail site with chargers used steadily throughout the day may have different demands from a depot where vehicles return and charge overnight. The earlier these details are considered, the easier it is to design a solution that is safe, efficient, and scalable.
Where Serconnect Can Support
As a NERS-accredited Independent Connection Provider, Serconnect can prepare your site’s infrastructure to build reliable connections that facilitate its needs long into the future.
We can establish entirely new, dependable systems for your site through substation installation, or can help your site adapt to future energy demands through electrical connection upgrades. Our substation services also include the option of containerised solutions for sites where space and access are important considerations.
Using these services in tandem with our electric vehicle charging hub infrastructure development, we can fully plan and deliver your site’s electrical needs for future renewable use through our end-to-end services.
Get in Touch
After reading this blog, you now know why planning for EV charging alongside substation design and construction is a must for nearly every business for effective futureproofing. By considering it at the substation design stage, you can prepare your site for growth ahead of time without having to be hindered by downtime and avoidable expenses later on.
If you’d like to find out more about how we can prepare your site for the future with end-to-end electrical infrastructure planning and installation, contact us today, and we’ll be more than happy to discuss how our services can help you.
