What to expect from a commercial EV charger

The short version

A commercial charger is low effort, but it isn't zero effort. It is connected to the internet, takes payments and is used by the public, so someone has to watch it.

The question is who. That choice shapes your day-to-day experience more than the hardware does. Our how it works page shows what we take on.

A normal day

Most days, nothing happens that you need to deal with.

A driver parks in the marked bay and plugs in their own Type 2 cable. They start the session with an RFID card, the app, or a contactless card where a terminal is fitted. The screen and LED strip show the charger's status.

The car takes power at whatever rate it can accept. When it's full, or the driver unplugs, the session ends and the cost is calculated from the meter in the charger.

At a hotel, sessions bunch up in the evening and run overnight. At a pub or restaurant, they follow lunch and dinner. At a wedding venue, they follow the event diary.

Faults: what goes wrong and how it's fixed

Chargers do have faults. Many are minor, and many can be fixed without anyone touching the unit.

Common problems

• Lost connection. The charger drops off the mobile or internet network. It may still charge, but it can't take payment or report sessions until it reconnects.
• A session won't start. Usually a card, app or account issue, or a car that needs to be woken up.
• A session won't stop. The charger and the car disagree about whether charging has finished.
• A safety trip. The built-in protection cuts power when it detects a fault current. That is the protection working, and it needs checking.
• Physical damage. A cable run over, a socket forced, or a vehicle clipping the pedestal.

How they get fixed

With remote monitoring, the back office flags a fault as soon as the charger reports it. Many can be cleared with a remote restart or a configuration change.

If it needs a visit, an engineer attends. Under a managed service that is arranged for you, and you only hear about it if it affects your guests.

Without monitoring, the first you hear of a fault is often an unhappy guest at reception. That is the situation to avoid.

Firmware and software updates

A modern charger is a small computer. Its firmware gets updated over the network.

Updates fix bugs, improve compatibility with newer cars and payment methods, and patch security issues. They are normally scheduled for quiet times so nobody's session is interrupted.

The back office matters here. Our chargers use OCPP 1.6J, an open protocol, so the charger isn't locked to one software company.

Cleaning and upkeep

Upkeep is light. Think of it like a card terminal in your car park.

• Wipe the screen and the area around the sockets now and then.
• Keep the bay clear of leaves, gravel and snow.
• Check the bay markings and signs are still readable.
• Report damaged sockets, cracked casings or loose parts straight away.
• Keep non-charging cars out of the bays. A blocked bay means nobody can charge, even when the charger works perfectly.

Our charger is rated to work from -30°C to +55°C, so North East winters are well within range.

Payments, prices and disputes

Payment questions are part of running any charger. A driver may say they were charged twice, charged for a session that failed, or charged the wrong price.

Whoever runs your back office should handle these. They can see the session data, check the meter readings and issue refunds. Your staff shouldn't need to.

If your charger is open to the public, the Public Charge Point Regulations apply. The main points for a destination site:

• The maximum price must be shown in pence per kWh, including any fixed fees.
• New public chargers of 8kW and above must accept contactless payment.
• Operators must run a free helpline, staffed 24/7, all year.
• Charger data must be published openly, with status updates within 30 seconds.

Micro-businesses running their own chargers are exempt from everything except the pricing rules. Whether a charger kept for staying guests only counts as public isn't addressed in the guidance, so check the current guidance before you decide.

Reports you should expect

You should be able to see how the charger is doing without asking. A good back office gives you:

• the number of sessions and the energy delivered, in kWh
• income and, where relevant, your share of the profit
• uptime and any faults, with how long they lasted
• busy times, so you can judge whether you need more sockets

These reports also help with business decisions. If the bays are full every Friday and Saturday, that's the case for a second pedestal.

Who you call

Agree this before the charger goes in. There are two kinds of contact.

Drivers need a support number or link on the charger. They contact whoever runs the back office, not your reception.

You, the site owner, need one contact for everything: faults, damage, payment queries and reports. With us that's hello@victuscharging.com.

Under our Shared Investment package, we run payments, the back office, monitoring, maintenance and driver support. Under Owned & Managed, you own the chargers and can still pay us to run those parts. The packages page sets out the difference.

Checklist: what a good commercial charger should have

Use this when comparing quotes. It applies to any charger, not only ours.

1. An open back-office protocol such as OCPP, so you can change provider later.
2. Built-in energy metering so every session is billed on what the car actually took.
3. Several ways to pay or start a session: RFID, app, and contactless where the regulations or your guests need it.
4. Two sockets per unit where space and supply allow, so two cars can charge at once.
5. Load management to share your supply with the kitchen, laundry or spa without tripping the main fuse. See our load management guide.
6. Built-in protection against electrical faults, such as a Type A RCD with 6mA DC leakage detection.
7. A wide operating temperature range for an outdoor car park.
8. Remote monitoring with alerts, so faults are spotted and dealt with quickly.
9. A clear maintenance arrangement: who visits, how fast, and who pays for parts.
10. Listing on charging maps such as Zapmap, so drivers can find it.
11. Proper signage and bay marking at the bay itself.

You can see how our dual 22kW pedestal measures up on the charger page.

Next step

If you're weighing up a charger, a free site survey answers the practical questions for your car park. Have a look at the packages first to see who runs what under each option.