Designing Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure (EVCI) for fleets is not just a simple matter of adding EV chargers. To avoid hidden costs of electrification, it’s important to understand utility upgrades, take time to conduct a feasibility study for new electric loads, minimize demand charges from your local utility and more. This comprehensive approach to EVCI design will help fleets deliver an efficient and sustainable approach that provides the scalability, modularity and flexibility needed to support an all-electric future.

Eight  overarching considerations for EVCI design

An ideal approach to EVCI design should optimize the integration of charging infrastructure with existing energy infrastructure to minimize space and labor while maximizing safety and reliability. This approach enables smart, cost-effective, seamless, space-saving deployment and operation while creating modular and scalable infrastructure that can handle the needs of the future. Whether you’re designing EVCI for commercial or fleet applications, there are common design considerations in the early planning process:

1. Determine essential functionality today and what you’ll need in the future. What does the EVCI need to support and where is it needed? From access control to collecting payments and load management, charging infrastructure typically needs to do a lot more than deliver power. The International Organizations for Standardization (ISO) 15118 protocols are important to consider from a future proofing standpoint to support grid communications.
2. Decide how many chargers are required—today and in the future. Expanding electrical capacity is expensive and time intensive. While building the charging infrastructure needed today, electrical system design needs to be ready for whatever will come next.
3. Assess available electrical capacity. This involves looking at what’s available in the building infrastructure as well as the local utility grid constraints. It’s important to note that the National Electrical Code (NEC) Article 625 requires EVCI to be considered a continuous load, which means the overcurrent protection should be sized for 125% (at minimum) of the maximum charging load and the power distribution must be sized for 100% of the EV Supply Equipment (EVSE) load. However, the use of intelligent load management features such as those found in Eaton’s Charging Network Manager software can help stretch what is possible from existing infrastructure and is allowable per the NEC Article 625.42 (A).
4. Engage with the local utility early. Specific utility requirements for EVCI vary and it’s important to understand and engage with the local utility at the beginning of the design process. For example, some utilities require new service and meters for EVCI. If the project requires additional service capacity, it will likely necessitate a utility interconnection study to determine if the existing infrastructure can support the additional load; this process takes time and working with the local utility upfront is essential. In some cases, leveraging intelligent load management software may mitigate the need for increased utility service, but all cases are unique and should be examined closely.
5. Determine which charging configuration is best for your application. The distance between your chargers and power distribution infrastructure and whether you’re charging vehicles in a covered or uncovered parking lot or garage will determine the type of chargers you need. Smart breaker chargers can be installed in EV charging panelboard or switchboard. Alternatively, overhead EV charging busway can provide a powerful solution if you have a depot style parking with active loading. Depending on the vehicle type and site layout, charging can be dispensed through J1772 or NACS cord-sets terminated from pedestals installed on the floor or junction boxes installed on a wall.
6. Plan how to connect chargers to a network. A solid communication backbone is vital to charging system uptime and reliability. Robust network connectivity is necessary for centralized monitoring, access control, collecting payment and other important functions related optimizing the EV charging infrastructure. Common options include cellular, Wi-Fi and Ethernet. Each have their pros and cons. For example, if you use Wi-Fi connectivity for charging, it’s highly recommended to use industrial-grade Wi-Fi hotspots or routers and install signal extenders to cover all EV chargers. Whereas if you plan to use cellular, it’s important to check the signal strength at the exact locations where your EV chargers are installed; if there are weak signal areas, consider using cellular signal boosters. It’s important to evaluate which communication model is best for specific needs.
7. Interoperability and cybersecurity are vital. As electrical systems become more complex, everything needs to work together. At the same time, electrical systems including EVCI need to be connected—making cybersecurity a must. It’s important to work with vendors that utilize a secure development lifecycle process and comply with third-party cybersecurity criteria for network-connected products and systems to provide confidence that systems will remain cybersecure throughout their entire lifecycle.

For example, networked EV charging solutions should adhere to open standards (including NACS) and comply with the industry’s Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP), which is governed by the Open Charge Alliance (OCA) and formally certifies products for compliance. The cybersecurity aspect of OCPP defines an end-to-end security design architecture and implementation guidelines for charging devices and management software.

On the hardware side, cybersecurity should be integrated at every level, including all communication interfaces and controllers. Additionally, the software element of the EV chargers should be continuously monitored for potential vulnerabilities including malicious firmware, which will not be accepted by the chargers.

8. Intelligent, flexible energy systems are a must. As energy consumption skyrockets, the ability to closely monitor and strategically manage electrical systems becomes a major competitive edge. Intelligence from smart electrical devices is a game changer— enabling new insights, control and access needed to make the most of electrical capacity.

Software, like Eaton’s Charging Network Manager, enables more chargers and allows electrification in more areas of the parking lot without overloading the electrical system. It also provides essential abilities to simplifying deployment and management of charging by reporting on uptime, overseeing charging locations and stations, providing access control and monetizing infrastructure.

For greater resilience and flexibility in large-scale fleet electrification projects, combining the management and control of distributed energy resources (DERs) into a microgrid can be beneficial. Whether there are challenges with exceeding electrical capacity, controlling energy costs, reducing the carbon footprint, seeking to ensure energy resilience in the face of severe weather, or all of the above, a microgrid can help. A microgrid offers a flexible approach to scale energy systems over time as demand increases with clean, affordable energy that’s generated onsite.

Designing for an electric future

Fleets require a comprehensive infrastructure solution for sustainable, resilient and cost-effective performance. For existing energy infrastructure, intelligent EVCI is essential to maximize the existing system capacity without overloading. In new system designs, current and future charging needs must be carefully considered to avoid costly updates down the road.

Today’s electric systems need to do much more than receive power from the grid to distribute to building loads and equipment. Instead, building infrastructure needs to act like an energy hub—effectively and affordably balancing supply and demand, while accelerating decarbonization.

It is an incredibly exciting time to managing fleets. There are once-in-a-generation opportunities to transform energy systems into the foundation for a low-carbon, electrified future that’s safe, affordable and resilient.

Sai Murahari, EVCI product manager at Eaton