The number of electric cars is increasing, and now the charging infrastructure must also be set up.
Marco Piffaretti
published23. August 2022, 04:47
electric carsThis is how you organize a charging infrastructure in rented buildings
The number of battery-powered electric vehicles is constantly increasing, so that the charging infrastructure now has to be set up in a short time. The solutions are simple for single-family houses, but it becomes more complex for multi-family houses.
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- Marco Piffaretti / A&W Verlag
In the first half of 2022, every fourth car registered in Switzerland was equipped with a socket: a result that far exceeded the most optimistic forecasts and which might have been even higher if delivery times for electric cars were “normal” and not often more than twelve months would be. The Swiss Association of Official Automobile Importers has conducted a survey among the CEOs of its member brands to find out what they think the market share of new cars that can be charged from the grid will be by 2025; the result: 52%. In fact, the radical and definitive electrification strategies of automakers appear to be a competition to be the first to phase out production of internal combustion engines altogether, which means, among other things, the extinction of hybrid engines. In fact, the European Union’s recent decision to ban internal combustion engines from 2035 has not been officially criticized by any manufacturer except for the CEO of Stellantis. That’s because everyone else has long since decided to get there before 2035. By 2030, almost all new cars will be electric: an epoch-making revolution, the scope of which not everyone is aware of.
More charging stations, more problems?
It also means that the charging infrastructure needed for this avalanche of electric cars must now be deployed quickly. The solutions are known for single-family houses and in this case the implementation and combination with photovoltaic is easy. In the case of apartment buildings, developments, entire neighbourhoods, multi-storey car parks and public car parks, the matter is more complicated, both in terms of the decision-making process (a positive decision of the owners’ meeting is required for multi-family buildings) and implementation, since this is usually done in stages.
With the increase in electric cars, there is also a need for more charging stations – especially in apartment buildings, overbuilds and in underground car parks.
Marco Piffaretti
However, there are a few things to consider when installing charging stations in apartment buildings.
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Intelligent load management that controls the power distribution is particularly important.
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Intelligent charging management required
In the typical case where an entire car park or garage is set up to equip – over time – each parking space with a charging station, the power available is usually limited by the maximum amperage of the house connection. Charging during the typical eight-hour period of parking (either at home or at work) must allow all cars to charge their average daily mileage, not just the first to connect. The distribution of the charging power must therefore be actively managed and the charging stations must necessarily be equipped with «load management», software that (automatically) distributes the available power to all active stations by proportionally reducing the current strength of these charging stations or the cars charges alternately, e.g. in 15-minute cycles (“carousel charging”). The requirements for intelligent electricity management are twofold: you need charging stations that can communicate with the “master” and with each other, and you need software that is specially programmed and customized for each location.
design and sizing
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Apply the SIA2060 standard and use the online configurator.
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Prepare the system so that you can charge with both AC columns and DC wall boxes (which enable bidirectional charging), ideally with eleven kW (three-phase) per charging column.
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If you already have a photovoltaic system (or want to have one in the future), you should plan for storage: large batteries (ideally as «second-use» from the car industry) and/or bidirectional charging stations, which enable the use of «batteries on wheels».
Charging stations and system
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Select a single brand of charging stations (to ensure compatibility of communication between stations and load management system) and prescribe this via the regulations.
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Vehicle side: choose charging stations with integrated cable and plug.
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On the network side: provide 100% of the boxes, ideally with plug&play (red CEE socket) – i.e. expansion stage C2.
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Don’t forget a possible DC charging station for visitors and/or guests.
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Choose and enforce a (single) load management control system.
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Prefer systems with APP to prioritize charging according to actual needs
administration
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Prefer products developed in Switzerland that are compatible with the regulations of the CH electricity companies (PAE-CH, also known as VSE factory regulations).
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Introduce “Regulations for the installation and use of charging stations for electric cars” in accordance with leaflet SIA2060 (“Infrastructure for electric vehicles in buildings”, Art. 2.7.3).
The power line that supplies the garages is (almost) always separate and equipped with separate fuses and meters. In the garages of newer buildings in Switzerland you can often find a three-phase 63A fuse. This corresponds to a power of regarding 44 kW, which, although it may seem limiting, is sufficient for a large number of electric cars, since it can deliver more than 300 kWh over a period of eight hours, enough for a total of 1500 km per day! Since the average driving distance in Switzerland is well under 50 km per day and an average consumption of 20 kWh/100 km is expected (this means four times less energy than with combustion vehicles), this results in a capacity with which more than 30 electric cars with only 63 A can be charged. But only if the power is optimally distributed.
tips and assistance
For new buildings or buildings to be renovated, it is enough to comply with the SIA2060 standard, which provides ideal sizing. Anyone can use the free online calculator sia2060online.ch use for this. In the case of existing buildings that are to be electrified, before dimensioning the charging system, the actual availability of the power supply must be clarified, both in terms of the building’s consumption and any energy production by PV systems. Help is also available via the platform energie-cluster.ch. She organizes courses aimed at property managers and owners of multi-family houses and condominium buildings with four to 40 residential units.
In both cases, regulations according to Art. 2.7.3 of SIA2060 are required, which define the installation and operation (including commissioning, energy billing, maintenance, etc.) of charging systems in apartment buildings.
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