Here’s What EV Charging Station Maintenance Looks Like In The First Year
Although the average revenue per charging station in the United States is over $6,000 and growing, it’s important to factor in the cost of maintaining your EV charging station infrastructure to gauge profitability accurately.
Especially in the first year, there are maintenance and installation costs that will impact the bottom line. On top of the ongoing cost of electricity, there are numerous hardware and software expenses to budget for.
In most cases, the warranty included in the maintenance contract should address any emergency expenses. However, planned preventive maintenance is the most prudent long-term strategy to avoid costly repairs.
Here are the typical EV charging station maintenance costs to expect in year one.
Preventive Maintenance for EV Charging Stations
The U.S. Department Energy estimates average annual maintenance costs of $400 per charger, but that’s a benchmark figure that may not tally with the total for your particular business. A lot will depend on the type of charging stations you offer in your portfolio and the volume of vehicles that you serve on a daily basis.
Note that there’s a significant jump in maintenance cost from domestic Level 2 chargers to networked commercial DCFC stations that collect customer payments and user data.
If you’re working with a white-label partner like EV Connect, you’ll be able to start year one with a reliable forecast of preventive maintenance expenses, and what pricing structure you’ll need to apply in order to stay profitable through fees and memberships.
Standard EV charging station maintenance checklist
Enclosure condition - corrosion, dents, seals
Presence of moisture and pests
Condition of display panel and emergency signage
Connection points and emergency stop
Just like a vehicle inspection, these are routine checks that will normally have to be carried out by a licensed professional and signed by a city or state official.
For a breakdown of maintenance costs for an electric vehicle, read here
EV Charging Software Costs
The software is the real business driver of your EV charging solution, since it enables pricing, customer retention, troubleshooting, load balancing and more. It also allows your charging stations to be integrated into a larger network and linked to a customer-facing app.
The development costs of an EV charging software platform alone can exceed $150,000 for an advanced customizable solution that is compatible with standard protocols such as OCIP and OCPP.
But any software solution needs ongoing expert development support. There are updates to schedule, connectivity issues to address, and security threats to manage and patch. It’s impossible to put a single figure on expected software costs, but you can limit your exposure by partnering with a white label provider.
EV Charger Connectors and Cables
No business can expect customers in a hurry to take good care of the charging plugs and cables. Inevitably, wear and tear will cause damage that may impair connectivity. The cost to anticipate isn’t so much from the cables and connectors themselves.
These can be relatively inexpensive to replace (and should be covered by warranty). Rather, it’s the cost of downtime to worry about, since just one charging station offline can lower daily revenue and create a negative customer experience.
High Voltage Power Delivery & Supply
Power supply issues are one of the most common causes of EV charging station failure, but ironically most operators are powerless to prevent them. The high voltage systems that AC and DC charging stations connect to are managed by utility companies, not business owners.
However, if you choose to install solar panels as part of a clean energy strategy, power supply (or a portion of it) will be managed on-site, so there are preventive maintenance checks to complete.
Where EV charging station owners can anticipate power supply issues is through troubleshooting and monitoring. That’s one of the features of the software platform referred to previously. If you’re seeing supply interruptions or anomalies in year one, it may be a symptom of faulty installation that needs urgent attention.
What Are The Best Practices for EV Charging Station Maintenance?
In terms of cost, preventive maintenance will always trump repairs and associated downtime. Your service provider will outline a scheduled maintenance plan, and the service plan options available from equipment manufacturers and third-party partners.
There’s an added incentive to keep equipment running smoothly. To qualify for government grants, a station needs to meet uptime and availability standards. For example, NEVI standards require 97% uptime, an ambitious target that is hard to accomplish without a solid preventive maintenance plan in place.
See grants available for each state here
Get Help with EV Charging Station Maintenance from EV Connect
Our white label service platform means you can launch your EV charging station business with confidence, and future proof your operation against the potential issues described above. To find out more about managing your first-year infrastructure costs to scale your business steadily, connect with our friendly team today.
About EV Connect
EV Connect is the comprehensive EV charging platform for companies of all sizes to build, run, and scale their EV charging business. Trusted by CPOs, OEMs, fleets, utilities, and more.
With our industry leading API and white label plans, integrate EV charging into your app and create custom charging solutions that fit your brand perfectly.
Contact us today and find out why EV Connect is the #1 EV charging platform to run your business!