The most efficient and cost-effective option for commercial and multi-residential buildings is Level 2 EV chargers. The goal of a Level 2 charger is not to fill up your EV as quickly as possible. Rather, Level 2 chargers will fill up most vehicles within a couple of hours without putting an unreasonable demand for power on your building’s existing electrical infrastructure.

Level 3 chargers, also known as DC fast-charging, offers 10 to 20 times the charging speed of the more widely used level II mid-speed chargers. In other words, 15 minutes at a Level 3 station could provide the same charge as 5 hours at a Level 2 station. Level 3 charging units come at a substantial premium and requires additional infrastructure.

Please read our post here for a more detailed explanation.

There are two types of network management services for EV charging: open and closed. Open networks use international protocols like OCPP (Open Charge Point Protocol) and empower customers to install a range of charging stations regardless of station manufacturer.

Closed networks use proprietary protocols and typically only service stations manufactured by the closed network provider. In general, open networks are more affordable and flexible, while closed networks have the advantage of tight integration.

When choosing a closed system network, if for any reason you decide to change the software company provider, the charging stations will have to be replaced. This will entail significant additional costs. With open systems (OCCP chargers), the software company provider can upgrade the existing chargers at minimal or no cost.

One of the most important elements you want to make sure the solution provides for is billing and monitoring.

Every smart charger installed by metroEV is fully equipped for billing and monitoring. With smart charging, there is no need for submeters or additional hardware. Usage data is collected directly from your charger and processed by ChargeLab’s (metroEV’s software provider) platform for billing.

As an example, with a Level 2 charger the average electricity cost is $0.80 per hour. Setting the hourly rate that users are charged at $2.00 will both cover costs and facilitate a return on the investment.

metroEV supports both types of multi-family charging: community charging, where EV chargers are installed in visitor parking spots to be shared by multiple residents; and dedicated charging, where each resident gets their own EV charger in their private parking space.

Our exclusive provider of charger management software is ChargeLab. We’ve chosen to work with this Canadian supplier because of the flexibility and convenience of their platform. 

The electric vehicle charging experience for both managers and EV drivers is defined by EV charger management services sometimes called “network management”. This includes software and services bundled with EV chargers that are tailored to the needs of property managers and EV drivers.

Electrical power management allows your building’s electrical infrastructure to support dramatically more EV chargers by adjusting the output of each charger depending on how many EVs are plugged in. Choosing a solution with power management is crucial for future-proofing your building. 

Yes! metroEV is a leader in electrical solutions. Our fully certified and insured electricians are here to make fast and safe installation of your EV station.

Load Sharing manages the electrical capacity by sharing this capacity among all vehicles using the system. This ensures that all vehicles will be charged even in the event that maximum electrical capacity is required.

Load Shedding manages the electrical capacity by shedding a vehicle (i.e. stopping the charge) in order to allow a new vehicle to commence charging. Some vehicles may be left without a charge in the event maximum electrical capacity is required.

metroEV’s software partner uses Load Sharing to manage the electrical power ensuring that all vehicles will be charged.