EV Charging as a Service (CaaS): Everything You Need to Know
As electric vehicles (EVs) rise in popularity, businesses are beginning to seriously consider purchasing electric vehicles to comply with green initiatives. However, there is still a lot of hesitation amongst fleet owners due to a lack of EV charging infrastructure.
Public EV charging stations, in addition to being more expensive, are few and far between which creates a problem known as “charging deserts”. Charging deserts ultimately disrupt routes, increase vehicle downtime, and add to your fleet’s operational expenses (OpEx).
What is Charging as a Service?
Charging as a service (CaaS) is typically used as a way for businesses to purchase and install electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) with minimal upfront costs. Instead, the costs can be bundled into a monthly or an annual fee. Traditional charging as a service refers to the installation and management of fixed infrastructure meaning there is still construction and lengthy lead times.
What are the Three Types of EV Chargers?
There are a few different options when it comes to choosing the right type of charger for your electric vehicles. The type of charger you need depends on fleet size, route, and what the vehicles are being used for. The three main types of EV chargers are Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 (also known as DC fast charging).
Level 1 chargers are what typically come with the EV when it is purchased. This type of EV charger plugs into a standard wall outlet, but it is the slowest type of charger. It can take between 40-50 hours to charge a fully electric vehicle from empty with a Level 1 charger. This is far too slow for most electric fleets.
Level 2 EV chargers are the most common type of charger. These are often what is used for public charging stations. Level 2 charging is faster than Level 1 but often it is still not fast enough to keep up with demands; charging at a rate of about 100 miles every 8 hours.
Level 3/DC fast chargers are the fastest option for EV chargers. Because traditional infrastructure is tied to the grid, installing a Level 3 EV charger requires a lot of installation and maintenance. With permitting, construction, installation time, and grid updates Level 3 installation can cost up to $120,000+ and take up to 18 months for installation.
What is the Best Way to Charge Electric Vehicles?
Innovations that help solve the hurdles of electric vehicle charging are starting to emerge. SparkCharge has developed a new way of using DC fast charging to help electric fleets improve their operations and management without large upfront costs and long installation times.
As a solution to EV charging infrastructure, SparkCharge established mobile Charging as a Service. The SparkCharge Charging Network delivers the EV charge to your fleet vehicles without any installation or equipment purchasing. Mobile charging as a service bundles your business’ capital expenditures (CapEx), operational expenses (OpEx), and energy costs into a fixed rate enabling fleet management to forecast and manage costs long-term, all with the guarantee of 99.9% uptime of EV chargers. Additionally, the SparkCharge Network includes site design, installation, ongoing operations, and maintenance. This turnkey EV charging solution allows for a seamless transition to electric fleets and management.