your charging station
Find free charging stations
Did you know that you can use charging stations free of charge? Please note that not all charging points are free of charge. In general, these charging points are usually located in the parking lots of stores and shopping centers, such as Leclerc, Lidl or Super U.
To make it easier to find charging stations and plan your journeys, there are a number of high-performance platforms that use geolocation to locate nearby charging stations, or even those in other parts of the world.
Here are just a few examples:
- Chargemap By activating the location function on your smartphone or laptop, the platform will suggest available charging stations nearby, indicated on a map. In addition to finding nearby charging stations, users can also find stations with power ratings adapted to the motorist's electric car, in accordance with the relevant standards:
- normal charging point: power less than or equal to 22 kW
- fast or high-power recharging point: power greater than 22 kW
What's more, if you want to recharge your electric vehicle with peace of mind, the app has a tool that lets you plan your journey.
- Plugshare Plugshare: this free application works like Chargemap. Users can use the map to find charging stations in France and around the world.
These platforms are community-based, as each user can add or remove new bollard locations, and rate and share their charging experience. These platforms are regularly updated.
Good to know: in some public parking lots, recharging may be free, but the parking space may have to be paid for. So be sure to find out where you want to recharge your electric vehicle. What's more, when you've finished recharging, don't forget to move to another parking space, so that everyone can have access to the charging stations.
Rent a charging station
To purchase a charging station, you can either buy it outright or lease it. leasingmore commonly known as leasing.
The principle behind this type of financing is simple and virtually the same as for an electric car the motorist rents a charging station to recharge their electric vehicle. Over a given period (36, 48 or 60 months), the lessee agrees to make monthly payments to the lessor. In return, the lessor gives you the opportunity to use the charging station, by paying for many of the services (included in the monthly payments), such as assistance and maintenance.
As the government encourages companies to use electric vehicles, this means installing charging stations in parking lots. Aware that acquisition and installation are cash-intensive, Beev offers a charging station rental service, available exclusively to businesses and professionals under LOA (Lease with Purchase Option) or LLD (Long-term Lease). The aim is simple: to simplify the low-cost energy transition for all businesses.
A quick reminder: leasing is a means of financing that allows you to rent a vehicle or a charging station by paying a monthly installment. One of the advantages of leasing is that, unlike buying, you don't have to pay the cash price of the asset. So you save on your cash flow.
If you're interested, Beev has the right offer for you. Don't hesitate to contact our Beev experts to discuss your project.
Charging stations + solar panels: two complementary elements
Did you know that it's possible to combine charging stations with solar panels? They work differently, but are highly complementary. Let's see how.
Solar panels: what is the European Commission planning?
To speed up the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energies, Europe (the European Commission) has drawn up aRePowerEU"plan on Wednesday, May 18, 2022.
With Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in addition to envisaging carbon neutrality in a few years' time, Europe wants to strengthen its independence from Russian oil and gas by 2030.
Among the measures included in the "RePowerEU" plan is the installation of solar panels, as these are the environmentally-friendly alternatives for energy production. In fact, from 2025, the European Commission plans to install photovoltaic panels on public and commercial buildingsand on new residential buildings from 2029.
Solar panels and charging stations: what's the link between them?
Charging your electric vehicle using solar energy is characterized by self-consumption of electricity. With photovoltaic panels, solar energy is produced and the surplus is sent to the charging station to recharge the electric vehicle. This innovative system makes it possible to be both a consumer and a producer of clean energy.
There are several advantages to using green energy in this way:
- economic advantage: using solar panels to recharge your electric car will reduce your electricity bill by 20 to 30%.according to Richard Loyen, General Delegate of Énerplan, the French association of solar energy professionals. You'll save even more if you live in the south.
As a result, you'll not only save energy while recharging your vehicle, but also with all the electrical appliances in your home. What's more, despite a substantial financial investment at the time of purchase solar panels are durable over time. The photovoltaic panels panels are highly cost-effective, and there are a number of subsidies available to reduce the purchase price.
- ecological advantage: As we mentioned earlier, photovoltaic panels use solar energy, which is a renewable energy source. In fact, solar energy is "green" because it's a renewable source. So, by using solar panels, you can both benefit from inexhaustible energy and recharge your vehicle in the cleanest possible way.
Find out more :
How about installing photovoltaic solar panels?
With Beev and Otovo, get a turnkey solar panel solution to reduce your electricity consumption.
Charging stations will be part of tomorrow's power grid
If the aim is to accelerate the energy transition with the use of electric vehicles, we need to make sure that energy suppliers can keep pace to distribute enough electricity to users. That's why it's important to think in terms of environmentally-friendly solutions, to ensure a fair balance between energy production and consumption.
Have you ever heard ofV2G" ? V2G (Vehicle to Grid) is a technology that both recharges the electric vehicle and redistributes the energy harvested from the battery to the power grid. The aim of this functionality is to establish a balance between electricity production and consumption.
In France, this technology is currently being tested in a number of companies. For this to happen, the electric vehicle and the charging station must be compatible, and the motorist must agree to contribute to the supply of electricity to the grid. In the future, it may be possible to make this technology available to the general public.
The Nissan brand brand has pioneered this functionality, with 2 100% electric models: the Nissan Leaf and the Nissan e-NV200. The Japanese have also been experimenting with V2G based on the CHAdeMO standard, since 2010.. This technology has enabled over 7,000 households to benefit from significant savings, while smoothing out consumption peaks at household level.
This innovative technology offers economic benefits for electric vehicle drivers. In fact, by supporting the distribution network, drivers will see their electricity bills fall, as they contribute to balancing the power grid.
Plug & charge on charging stations
To make recharging electric vehicles easier, some charging stations have a system that allows you to charge your vehicle without having to take out your badge and bank card: the Plug & Charge. The principle is simple: as soon as the vehicle is plugged in, charging starts. In concrete terms, when the vehicle is plugged into the charging station, it automatically authenticates itself thanks to the digital certificate (based on standard 15118) and charges directly.
However, not all charging stations in France, or even abroad, are equipped with this feature.
The only Plug & Charge terminals currently available are :
- terminals Tesla Superchargers Superchargers: while Tesla owners owners were the only ones who could use these charging stations for their electric cars, Tesla Superchargers are now open to the general public. However, it should be noted that only non-Tesla cars need to use the mobile app to benefit from Plug&Charge. To take advantage of this service, you'll need a Tesla account linked to the vehicle, and to register a means of payment.
- terminals Ionity As with Superchargers, users of Ionity will need to link their vehicle to their account on the mobile application.
- Fastned charging stations: these fast charging stations, with a capacity of up to 300 kW, are located at freeway service areas. They offer the same experience as Tesla Superchargers or Ionity charging stations, where you simply activate charging via the Fastned app.
Charging stations are installed by an approved electrician
As you probably know, it's possible to install a charging station at your home. However, certain conditions must be met. Let's find out exactly what they are:
First of all, the installation must comply with the NF C 15-100 standard. This standard corresponds to the French rules governing the design, construction and maintenance of low-voltage electrical installations.
Secondly, installing a charging station requires expertise in the field. In fact, according to Decree n°2017-26 of January 12, 2017the installation of charging stations with a power rating above 3.7 kW requires the intervention of an installer who has obtained the IRVE qualification(Infrastructure de Recharge de Véhicules Électriques) qualification.
What are the reasons for this? To ensure the comfort and safety of the electric vehicle during recharging and, of course, of the motorist.
What's more, the holder of the IRVE qualification can help you benefit from the ADVENIR program, so that you can benefit from incentives, whatever your situation (private or professional).
Installing a charging station yourself is not up to standard, and can be dangerous and technical for you. As a result, without a professional to install a charging station, in the event of an incident, your insurer may not cover the damage, which could be problematic.
To find out more: choosing the right electric car charging station installer.
In conclusion
To conclude, these 6 points show that charging stations are at the service of motorists, as they enable them to recharge their electric vehicles. In fact, this is their main function.
On the other hand, as the goal is to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, new technologies are enabling tomorrow's charging stations to become direct players in the electricity grid.
What about you? Is there anything you don't know about charging stations?
Don't hesitate to let us know in the comments.
If you would like to find out more aboutsupport for the installation of charging stations for private individuals in 2024please consult our article on the subject.
