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Planning for the Electrical Power Demand of EV Charging On-Site Utilities at Federal Installations

Part One

In this final installment of our Electric Vehicle Blog Series, Rob McAtee, Director of Energy and Sustainability at Mason & Hanger, shares how facility managers can plan to manage the electrical power demand for electric vehicle (EV) charging stations.

The prospect of moving to EVs has many facility managers fearing that dozens or possibly hundreds of EVs will increase their site’s instantaneous power (kW) demand to the point of needing to increase their electrical service and completely upgrade their site’s electrical infrastructure.

Vehicle charging will certainly require additional electrical energy, but there are several important factors to consider before assuming that the impact will dramatically affect peak electrical demand.

  • EVs Have Large Batteries

    • As noted in the first part of this series, EV batteries are getting larger and it’s unlikely that every vehicle will require charging every day. This will hold true for government-owned vehicles (GOVs) as well as personally owned vehicles (POVs).

  • Charging Doesn’t Have to Align with Peak Building Loads

    • In much of the country, peak demand is set in the summer in the mid to late afternoon. Commuters charging POVs will typically begin charging in the morning and will therefore be largely complete or reduced during the period of peak afternoon demand.

    • Many areas do experience wintertime peak demand. In these locations, some scheduling may be required to manage loads and demand charges. Fortunately, nearly all EV service equipment has robust scheduling capabilities meaning charging stations can be programmed to limit or avoid charging during peak demand periods.

    • The vehicles themselves also have onboard scheduling capabilities to avoid charging during peak periods.

  • Power Control Systems Can Prioritize Loads

    • At a facility level, power control systems are widely available and can easily manage site loads. In absolute worst cases, such systems can temporarily drop non- critical (POV) charging to ensure maximum demand is not exceeded.

  • EV Batteries Can Support the Electrical Grid

    • Vehicle-to-grid or vehicle-to-building (collectively called “V2x”) is coming, and the technology is already available from several manufacturers. V2x allows for power to flow both to and from vehicle batteries. Once implemented, all the connected vehicles can act as a massive stationary battery to help a facility or campus manage its load. Vehicles would charge as needed for most of the time they’re connected but would export power in short durations to smooth demand peaks in the facility. V2x is expected to become more common, particularly as utilities provide incentives. It is expected to be widely available by the time electric vehicles make up a significant percentage of a site’s total vehicle count.

However, with the executive order requiring electric fleet vehicles likely to be rescinded under the change in presidential administration, and past experience, the rise in EV numbers will be slow and steady rather than immediate, even for fleet vehicles. The factors above show that charging of EVs doesn’t automatically mean that major electrical infrastructure changes are immediately needed. To the contrary, continued adoption of EVs and associated power controls systems could provide significant benefits to demand management and end up reducing the need for already-planned electrical upgrades.

All this to say: don’t fear the coming of electric vehicles. The electrical demand can be easily managed, so there is no need to put off installing a modest amount of charging equipment that is aligned with the actual number of EVs. When evaluating charging equipment, research the scheduling capabilities offered by manufactures. Be sure to take a realistic look at the number of EVs, both fleet and personal, you’re likely to see in the next five years. From there, compare to your site’s usage profile and look at scheduling opportunities to limit loads. The increased adoption of EVs may require some changes, but overall, it provides far more benefits than downsides.

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Miss a part of our Electric Vehicle series? Read Part 1: Planning for the Installation of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations here and Part 2: Planning For Facility Changes to Accommodate Electric Vehicles here.

Planning for the Electrical Power Demand of EV Charging On-Site Utilities at Federal Installations

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