Electric Vehicle charger for a hotel

Keep_pedalling

You might be better posting your questions over on the SpeakEV forum. 

https://www.speakev.com/forums/

nickhampson

DrEskimo said:

nickhampson said:

DrEskimo said:

You could try something through an App, like Plugshare.

Or this set up from Co Charger will probably be able to handle all the payment and usage side of things:

https://co-charger.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHWhBDgjp1k&t=7s&ab_channel=FullyChargedPlus

I have sent them a couple of messages but had no reply. That seemed ideal to me but it seems i may not be a fit for them???

What exactly did you contact them about? Seems all pretty clear from the website? I'm guessing you would just advertise the fact you have EV charging available to your prospective guests and tell them to download the app if they wish to use it.

Clarity over locking and electricity used. I looked at the app and it looked like i could turn up when everyone is out, plug in and then walk away

It all seems to operate on the honesty side of things. I would make it available to guests in season and probably public out of season. I dont want non guests taking my parking spaces from guests

AdrianC

nickhampson said:

I dont want non guests taking my parking spaces from guests

How do you manage that with the rest of your parking spaces?

The easiest solution is to have the charger in a locked box, surely?

"You'd like to charge your car, Mr Smith? Would £5/night for the charging be acceptable? Once you're settled into your room, just ask and I'll show you where to park and get you connected."

DrEskimo

nickhampson said:

DrEskimo said:

nickhampson said:

DrEskimo said:

You could try something through an App, like Plugshare.

Or this set up from Co Charger will probably be able to handle all the payment and usage side of things:

https://co-charger.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHWhBDgjp1k&t=7s&ab_channel=FullyChargedPlus

I have sent them a couple of messages but had no reply. That seemed ideal to me but it seems i may not be a fit for them???

What exactly did you contact them about? Seems all pretty clear from the website? I'm guessing you would just advertise the fact you have EV charging available to your prospective guests and tell them to download the app if they wish to use it.

Clarity over locking and electricity used. I looked at the app and it looked like i could turn up when everyone is out, plug in and then walk away

It all seems to operate on the honesty side of things. I would make it available to guests in season and probably public out of season. I dont want non guests taking my parking spaces from guests

Is there much risk of that? 

I mean to an extent even my home charger relies on that, as there is nothing stopping someone parking on my drive whilst im out and using it.

It would require someone knowing the charger is there, and they would need the co charger app to find it, where they are probably likely to be people that book through the app in the first place!

I imagine trying to have something that schedules the charger based on bookings may be feasible, but alternatively you could just disable the charger if you know there are long periods where it won't be used. There is this functionality on my charger.

nickhampson

AdrianC said:

nickhampson said:

I dont want non guests taking my parking spaces from guests

How do you manage that with the rest of your parking spaces?

You took that part out of context

"I would make it available to guests in season and probably public out of season. I don't want non guests taking my parking spaces from guests"

There is currently no reason for a non guest to be parking there and therefore they dont. Never had a non guest park in our car park all the time i have been here. If it was out of season I would make theEV public as the facility that is primarily there for me and my guests would not be needed by guests as we wouldnt have any. If I put an EV in place and it was shown on an App then it puts it on peoples radar.

AdrianC

nickhampson said:

AdrianC said:

nickhampson said:

I dont want non guests taking my parking spaces from guests

How do you manage that with the rest of your parking spaces?

You took that part out of context

Yes, because that context is not relevant to my question.

There is currently no reason for a non guest to be parking there and therefore they dont. Never had a non guest park in our car park all the time i have been here.

So what's the odds that somebody's suddenly going to start parking there to charge...? I'm sure your hotel appears on maps and satnavs already, and is probably clearly signed, too.

Would they stay with their car? If so, dead easy.
"Oh, hello, Sir. I'm sorry to bother you, but I'm afraid I don't recognise you as one of our hotel guests. Are you visiting a guest, or will you be eating with us today?"

If not, then where are they going to, and why aren't they currently parking in your car park to go there?

AdrianC

DrEskimo said:

...but alternatively you could just disable the charger if you know there are long periods where it won't be used. There is this functionality on my charger.

Or just flick the breaker for it in the CU...

nickhampson

I mean to an extent even my home charger relies on that, as there is nothing stopping someone parking on my drive whilst im out and using it.

It would require someone knowing the charger is there, and they would need the co charger app to find it, where they are probably likely to be people that book through the app in the first place!

I dont think im explaining myself well at all.
I dont specifically want the co charger app so people can find me. My original questions were:

• How can I set it so that I "authorise" use (I don't want us to become a free car park and deprive guests of spaces)?
• Can I set a fee for the electricity used (profits are tight especially in the current climate and £5-10 of electricity used by a room stops it being worthwhile, given the lack of chargers around I could see there being a lot of power used)
• How can I tell what electricty has been used? Would an app bill them direct or would I have to add to the invoice?
• Whats to stop people just coming up and plugging in?

Im guessing from responses:

- Use an app that offers little more functionality than a booking system and lets anyone know who visits the area that i have an EV charger
- Yes but its more an honesty box relying on users giving information
- See above
- Nothing

Guess there may be a gap in the market here for an EV supplier to produce a solution viable for small businesses and small hospitality outlets

nickhampson

So what's the odds that somebody's suddenly going to start parking there to charge...? I'm sure your hotel appears on maps and satnavs already, and is probably clearly signed, too.

Would they stay with their car? If so, dead easy.
"Oh, hello, Sir. I'm sorry to bother you, but I'm afraid I don't recognise you as one of our hotel guests. Are you visiting a guest, or will you be eating with us today?"

If not, then where are they going to, and why aren't they currently parking in your car park to go there?

It appears in a lot of places but currently there is no reason to visit other than to stay. If a guest at the hotel next door sees on an app there is a charger whats to stop him coming in during the night and moving the charger to his car?

I just see this as reason for guests to end up in confrontation with others.

Think I will just go down the personal charger and flick the power off when not in use route

nickhampson

Keep_pedalling said:

You might be better posting your questions over on the SpeakEV forum. 

https://www.speakev.com/forums/

There is a similar thread to this there in which it appears the OP seems to have gone down the wrong route entirely

TBH the local government should get funds to install more public chargers on streets and in car parks and make the whole point moot