FAQ's

What are the benefits of electric car charging points for business?

here are many benefits of electric car charging points, the main ones are listed below.

Provide valued facilities to staff and visitors that own an EV in addition to providing onsite electric car charging for company-owned EV’s such as delivery vans and pool cars.

Convenience
It’s a large convenience for your staff and visitors to charge their EV’s whilst at the workplace. This can be displayed as a perk of working at the organisation, coinciding with your sustainability goals.

Enhance your CSR
Having commercial EV charging stations and encouraging EV ownership/usage will have a positive impact on your Corporate Social Responsibility. The amount of energy used for charging electric vehicles can also be regularly presented as a tangible benefit in terms of carbon reduction.

Educational schemes
Internal schemes (incentivised or non-incentivised) can educate your workforce about EV’s and increase ownership.

Sell electricity to staff and visitors
There’s the option to charge staff and visitors a competitive price for EV charging (compared to plugging in at home). This can be done via coins, tokens, smartphone apps or bank cards on a ‘Pay as You Go’ basis.

Why install commercial EV charging stations?

Air pollution in the UK is currently at an alarming level. This is largely due to the huge volume of petrol and diesel vehicles on the road today.

Thankfully, ownership of electric vehicles – both private and commercial – is increasing year on year. However, many businesses are failing to provide valued electric car charger stations for these owners.

If your business doesn’t already own electric vehicles, or doesn’t have any staff/customers/visitors that need such facilities, it’s inevitable that this scenario will soon change given the growing rate of EV ownership and external pressures for greener business and transport.

For example, many forward-thinking businesses are now operating a fleet of electric vans for deliveries to reduce their impact on the environment, creating the need for commercial EV charging stations onsite.

What is the cost of electric charging points for business?

The cost of charging and running electric cars is low compared to running a diesel or petrol car. A typical EV (charged from flat to full) could cost from as little as £4 to £10, depending on the type of EV and your energy tariff. This cost could fall further if electric car charging stations utilise green energy from a solar PV installation onsite.

As part of a wider energy solution, electric car charging points for business can be integrated with solar carports, utilising the carport’s rooftop solar panels to contribute to the charge of the electric vehicle during daylight hours. Green vehicles charged with green energy.

How to use electric car charging stations at night?

Businesses may choose to install commercial EV charging stations because they already have a solar PV system or solar carport onsite, and they see the benefits of the two working together. If battery storage is also utilised onsite, then company EVs can be charged overnight from the energy that is stored in the battery.

This stored energy may have come from unused electricity generated by rooftop solar PV during the day, in addition to electricity purchased from the grid when the unit rate is cheap.

What are the benefits of solar panels?

The benefits of solar panels are vast, some of the main ones include:

Save money
Solar panels help your business save money. By generating free green electricity to be used onsite, you can lower your energy demand from the grid during daylight hours and save thousands of pounds every year on energy bills.

Save the environment
Generating your own electricity from solar reduces your carbon output and could offset most (if not all) of your business’ carbon emissions. With climate change a major topic of concern at the moment, green initiatives are a popular strategy for a business to achieve competitive advantage in their industry and strengthen relationships with their supply chain and customers.

Energy security
It’s an alarming reality that the grid is currently struggling to generate significant electricity supply to meet the growing demands of the UK. The cost of your business going off-grid needs to be considered against a solar panel installation that would keep you in supply should the unthinkable happen. The Government has already introduced mandatory energy audits from large businesses through the mandatory Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme, hinting that future energy usage from the grid could also be regulated.

What finance options are available for solar panels?

Even though the feed-in tariff scheme ended in 2019, it’s still possible for your business to make good financial returns if buying a solar PV system outright. However, for businesses that don’t have the capital, or would like the benefits of solar but prefer to invest their capital elsewhere, we can offer advice on your options for financing

If your business meets certain criteria, you may be eligible for a fully funded system through a power purchase agreement, where solar panels are installed on your roof at no cost to your business and generated electricity is purchased back from the funder significantly cheaper than your existing supplier, saving you thousands of pounds a year off your energy bills.

Do solar panels work in winter?

It’s easy to look outside in the summer and think that solar panels are a great idea, but looking out of your office window in winter might not have quite the same effect.

But does this need to be the case? Do solar panels work as well in winter as in summer? If not, does it matter that they don’t?

Answer: Yes, they still work in winter but will only produce around a fifth of the energy which they produce in the summer. Read on for more information.

What is HV & LV infrastructure?

Simply put, we help businesses increase their energy efficiency by upgrading their electricity infrastructure. Our HV/LV installation and maintenance service can update any buildings’ electrical infrastructure, no matter how old the building. HV and LV stands for high voltage and low voltage. HV/LV infrastructure refers to the systems that are concerned with transforming an electrical current from one to the other, altering the voltage as it reaches different areas and components.

In the case of a house or smaller building, the National Grid does much of the work that is needed to keep your electricity supply appropriate for your needs. Larger, industrial facilities have very different requirements. They often need to have their own HV/LV infrastructure in place to keep their electrical supply as efficient as possible.

What are the commercial benefits of HV and LV infrastructure?

If your facility has been around for a while, it’s likely that its infrastructure is unsuited to its current uses. If the facility has only ever been used by one business, that business’s requirements will still have changed over time, which means that the old systems might not be able to power the site as effectively as possible.

Even if your requirements haven’t changed all that much, older infrastructure will have lost efficiency through natural wear and tear. Updating or replacing it is a natural part of its lifecycle.

Carrying out these changes will result in your business working on a site that is fully prepared to deal with your most up to date processes and needs. The commercial benefits from your increased capacity to run the machinery you want to run at the levels you need it to operate. If your machinery is running more efficiently, you will see greater productivity compared to previous timeframes and get more value from the electricity you use.

What are the benefits of installing commercial solar battery storage?

Store solar or wind energy

Battery storage can hold energy from commercial solar PV or wind generator systems, acting as a store for surplus electricity generated on-site rather than exporting it.

Generate additional revenue
You can also seek additional revenue from on-site battery storage, using it purely as an income generator. You can even use it solely for the benefit of your business’s operations, modulating your use of grid electricity to reduce costs. Alternatively, you may use a combination of the two – that’s the advantage of our batteries’ flexibility.

Storage of excess solar energy
Due to passing clouds and varying weather conditions on a typical day, solar or wind, electricity generation will fluctuate frequently during daylight hours. By incorporating battery storage, your business can create a controlled output and smooth generation profile by storing green energy above a certain generation (kW) in the battery. This energy can then be released back into your infrastructure at other times when the solar energy generation is not so high.

Reduced reliance on fossil fuels
When combined with solar PV, battery storage will help reduce your dependence on fossil fuels. Moving away from unsustainable methods of energy generation that are damaging our environment will shrink your carbon footprint.

Improved frequency response
This is onsite battery storage ability to quickly supply electricity to, or absorb electricity from, the grid at critical times. This might be in the event of a power station shutdown or the over-supply of electricity from wind during a weekend. Batteries are able to switch quickly to charge or discharge, making them ideal to meet frequency market requirements.

What is commercial battery storage?

Solar batteries are large energy storage units typically found outside a building that charge up during sunny periods if linked up to a solar PV system, or during the night from the grid if there are low energy demands.

The batteries’ Dynamic Firm Frequency Response (DFFR) will monitor and discharge the stored energy. The solar batteries themselves are made up of rechargeable lithium-ion, stored in smaller battery packs within the units.

We offer a full turnkey solution for solar battery storage that includes analysing your suitability and opportunities, specifying the right solutions and installation. We have strong relationships with some of the world’s biggest technology brands that help us to deliver industry-leading energy storage solutions and expertise to your business.

Batteries can be installed as part of a wider energy strategy with commercial solar PV or as a stand-alone solution that creates an additional income stream by providing a dynamic response service to the grid. A solar battery is intended to be used for commercial energy storage and stores electricity for solar self-consumption, time of use, load shifting, backup power, and off-the-grid use.

Is battery storage viable for my business?

The installation of a battery provides many benefits, though the ability to install a battery depends upon both your site’s infrastructure and the ability of the local electricity grid to accommodate it; we can make early enquiries on behalf of your business to ascertain the viability of a battery.

The value of a battery will also depend upon the use and charges that your business experiences and, if grid services are procured, on the value that an aggregator will pay for use of a battery.

We can give you indicative revenue streams, according to current market conditions and energy prices, and work with you to assess your opinions of where inflation will sit and how you value your network access.

Understanding how Smart Grids work

Combining the intelligence of multiple energy technologies onsite can help your business introduce an energy strategy that provides significant financial and carbon savings, whilst also creating independence from the grid.

The Smart Grid technology can allow your company to take advantage of the cheap cost of overnight energy to charge up your renewable energy facilities such as electric vehicles and batteries. This allows the stored energy to be used throughout the day to power your site’s operational activities saving you money.

The onsite panels will also begin generating energy throughout the day to fuel the site’s operations and any excess being used to charge the battery so it’s available later in the day. The use of the battery allows your site to avoid being charged for peak imports from the grid between 5pm – 7pm, delivering savings on energy bills.

With sub-second response times, batteries offer a valuable service to the National Grid, who must balance the transmission network by ‘supplying’ power or ‘absorbing’ excess power to/from the grid when needed. The National Grid pays the site for this service.

This is why understanding how Smart Grids work is important to your business.

What is the benefit to my business?

Need For Increased Accuracy
A Smart Grid can allow your business to take HV electricity and then step down the voltage through transformers, before then distributing around the site. The benefit of this is that each unit on site can have their own dedicated meter, owned and monitored by you, which can provide half hourly records of consumption that can be monitored for data analysis.

More Reliable
The decision to install a Smart Grid can allow your company to become less dependent on the national electricity grid. This prevents your site’s operations from being disrupted from variation in power quality or power outages which could potentially cause you to lose money in productivity. What’s more, a smart grid system can also help your business identify where an issue is located in the electrical circuit, allowing it to be addressed with minimal disruption.

Visibility Within The System
The use of a Smart Grid system improves visibility across the site as a whole. With the use of a user interface, your business is able to see how much power is being generated and then supplied to the site along with the amount of energy that is stored in the battery. This will provide more accurate data on achieving a carbon neutral status, therefore ensuring that you’re staying in line with the government’s environmental recommendations.

Can smart grids work with all technologies?

The Smart Grid acts as a central communication hub between all of our technologies that we offer. The power that is generated from the solar panels can be used to power multiple electric vehicle chargers or to top up the battery energy storage system, all of which can be easily observed live via a user-friendly monitoring software.

The smart grid uses a bespoke software to collect energy data from the different technologies located on the site, including the energy generated and the usage and the carbon which is offset. This is displayed on a user-friendly dashboard on a screen for operators to monitor on a day to day basis, allowing for more transparency and closer monitoring of the different site’s energy output.

Why Choose EvoEnergy for Your Smart Grid Technology?

We are the market leaders in smart grid solutions for businesses. Having worked with a variety of different businesses – from public sector organisations to the hospitality and leisure industry – our team is well placed to design a bespoke solution that meets your company’s needs.

Take a look at our smart grid technology case studies to learn more about how we’ve helped businesses like yours to achieve their sustainable energy goals.

If you think that smart grid technology could benefit your business, contact us so we can discuss the requirements of your business and offer our advice on a bespoke solution that will work for you.

What maintenance is involved with each of our technologies?

We are the trusted renewable energy solar panel maintenance and servicing partner for many blue-chip businesses in the UK. Even if your systems were not installed by us, you can find confidence in us as your new partner.

Solar PV

Solar panels are a common way of generating renewable energy, but occasionally they can incur performance issues lowering their effectiveness overtime – therefore, we offer a wide range of services in our maintenance.

• Solar panel maintenance inspections
• Solar panel repairs
• Solar panel cleaning
• An expert to call when an incident occurs
• Performance monitoring
• Manage your warranty claims on failed components

Battery Storage

Batteries are large and complex pieces of equipment. Regular maintenance can highlight possible issues before they become a problem.
Our Operation and Maintenance package include:

• Thermal Imagery, Torque Checks, Calibration Checks and Visual Inspection (rodents, etc)
• Radiator and Cabinet Cleaning
• Refrigerant Refill
• Battery Pack, Fan, Pump and Harness Checks and Replacements
• Replacement
• Paint Touch Up and Site Maintenance

EV Chargers

EV chargers have low maintenance requirements. However, they can be hazardous and potentially lethal if issues arise. It is important to be maintained by a qualified expert.
Our EV charger operation and maintenance package include the below:

• EV Charger Repairs
• Visual Inspection
• Check Charging
• Incident Call and Performance
• Performance Report
• Remove and Refit
• Replacement

HV/ LV

Should a power failure occur, it could be expensive and cause major disruption to your business. Our engineers will regularly inspect that your network is mechanically sound and mitigate potential issues before it is too late.
We can carry out a visual or full electrical test and inspection of HV/LV installations and provide routine maintenance of all mechanical or electrical elements, including oil filled transformers and switchgear. Our service includes:

• Protection Testing
• Inspection of Substances and Equipment
• Transformers
• Paint Touch Up & Site Maintenance
• Low Voltage Switchgear
• Electrical and Mechanical Site Maintenance

How do you monitor my system?

During the installation of your technology we have the capability to implement a monitoring system to allow our expert team of engineers to track and analyze data to ensure that your system continues to perform at an optimum rate.
Renewable electrical infrastructure is complex and needs expert knowledge to benchmark and identify those subtle changes to prevent gradual deterioration or critical incidents happening. Therefore, investing in a monitoring service ensures that your system produces its maximum output and has the potential to prevent a significant financial loss in the future.

What levels of system monitoring are available?

Depending on what your goals are for your system, you can choose the level of monitoring service which is right for you. The range we offer stretches from recommended daily production target monitoring to deeper observations and analysis through the use of inverters and optimizers.
All of these options are available with monthly/quarterly reporting of electrical and carbon performance so you can sit back and watch your investment contribute towards both your financial and environmental goals.

How far would your engineers travel?

We have strategically located site engineers placed across the UK which allows us to operate nationwide. Our friendly team have been monitoring and maintaining renewable energy systems up and down the country for over a decade, and so we’re well versed in resolving a wide range of tricky issues for countless clients over the years.