The answer may seem easy enough: the higher the power rating, the faster the electric car charges.

But it is not that simple. If you are in a residential or commercial location, the chargers that you can install are most likely going to be AC chargers. DC chargers are a completely different beast and are reserved for service stations/forecourts. The highest power output is currently 22kW for small scale AC chargers.

So you should choose 22kW, correct? Take a look at the factors you should consider.

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Compatibility

Did you know that most electric cars are unable to charge at 22kW with a normal AC charger? The reason for this is, the onboard system on the car is restricted by its size, limiting the amount of electricity in AC the car can accept. Most cars only accept a maximum of 11kW or even 7kW (and sometimes 3.7kW).

So even if you did install a 22kW charger, the car would not be charging at the full speed the charger is able to output. What a waste!

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Supply Load

A 22kW charger takes up 100A of your supply. If you have a single-phase supply (with a capacity of 100A), this automatically means that you would never be able to draw anything else from it.

If you have a three-phase supply, that's 1/3 of your supply in load for just one charging point. Is that efficient? Probably not.

On the other hand, with a 7kW charger with a load of 32A, you can potentially install up to three of them. Your home or business can now charge three electric cars at any one time, compared to one with a 22kW charger.

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Dwell Time

Now if you are business owner, you may be thinking the faster the charging, the better it is for your guests or customers. But that is not necessarily the case. What you want may be looking to increase, is not charging speed, but dwell time.

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Customers spend more time

Most electric car drivers can get enough range on their car with a charge of about 2-4 hours on a 7kW charger. This translates to spending longer time at your business! With our charger hardware and software solution, you can also charge them for parking. This is what people call destination charging. Fast charging should be reserved for in-transit charging. Think service stations and forecourts along motorways.

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Increased Spending

If you had three 7kW chargers as opposed to just one 22kW, you could be servicing three cars simultaneously and earning revenue from them. If the customer charges their cars too quickly, they would be left idle leading to lost revenue and poor experience for other customers.

In a recent study, 95% of 238 customers surveyed said that the provision of charging points make it more likely for them to shop at a specific supermarket. This increased overall spending and profits for businesses.

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Monetise with VoltShare

VoltShare has developed an innovative and simple solution for business owners to monetise their chargers. Simply install a VoltShare charger and register on our mobile app. It will take care of everything from security to payment.

What we're doing is bringing capabilities of expensive public chargers at an affordable price point. Because we're building the nation's first community-powered EV charging network.

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Expect a return on investment (ROI) of about 100% in just a few months. After that, you would simply be profit generating! As a business, you also stand to receive government discounts off the installation of your charger(s).

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Free for life

Our solution has no subscription or ongoing fees. Install once and you have the sharing capability for life.