Parking and charging in commercial buildings: what to settle before you order chargers
Most building owners we talk to already have a few charge points. Their questions are rarely about the charger itself, but about everything around it: who gets to charge, what it should cost, who follows up the car that finished charging hours ago, and what happens to the electricity bill when ten cars plug in at eight in the morning. Here are the questions we suggest settling first.
Why parking and charging belong together
Traditionally, parking and EV charging have been two separate systems: one for the barrier/access, one for the charger. The result is double administration, user confusion, and poor utilization of charging infrastructure.
With an integrated system, everything is connected: employees reserve a charging space via the same app they use for parking, the charger starts automatically upon connection, and the building owner has one platform for oversight of both parking and energy consumption.
Load balancing: Avoid power peaks
The biggest technical challenge with EV charging in commercial buildings is power capacity. If 20 cars need to charge simultaneously in the morning, power peaks can be enormous — and expensive.
Load balancing solves this by intelligently distributing available power among charging points. Cars that need the most charging are prioritized, while cars already at 80% are automatically reduced. The result: everyone gets enough charge without upgrading the building's power subscription.
The point is that the power peak, not the number of kilowatt hours, drives the grid cost in a commercial building. Managed charging shifts consumption to where there is spare capacity, and usually makes it possible to add charge points without touching the main supply. How much there is to gain depends entirely on the building's grid agreement and load profile – it should be calculated, not assumed.
Access control and fair allocation
A common problem: charging spaces are blocked by fully charged cars all day while colleagues with empty batteries can't charge. With integrated parking and charging, the system can automatically send notifications when charging is complete, and optionally impose an idle fee.
Some buildings implement rotation systems: employees are allocated charging time based on need, and encouraged to move their car after charging is complete. Everything is managed automatically via the app.
Revenue opportunities for building owners
Decide the pricing model before ordering equipment, because it determines what metering and invoicing the building needs. Three common variants: pay per kWh, pay per hour, or charging included in the rent and allocated to tenants by consumption. If employees, tenants and visitors are to pay differently, the system has to tell them apart – which in practice means access control on the charging zone.
Additionally, EV charging increases the building's attractiveness to tenants. Companies with green profiles and employees with EVs prioritize office buildings with good charging infrastructure — and are willing to pay more in rent.
BREEAM and sustainability requirements
An increasing number of commercial buildings are certified under BREEAM or similar sustainability standards. EV charging infrastructure provides direct credits in the Transport category and can be decisive in achieving BREEAM Excellent or Outstanding.
Additionally, Norwegian building regulations (TEK17) require new buildings to have preparatory infrastructure for charging. An integrated system ensures the building meets these requirements from day one.
Implementation: From assessment to operation
The order matters more than the speed. First map the available power in the building and how the bays are actually used through the day. Then place the charge points where they require the least rewiring and allow the most flexible zoning. Installation and the link to the parking system follow, and finally user information – the step most projects underestimate.
We're happy to do that first assessment together with the building's electrician and facility manager, so charge points, zones and pricing match how the facility is actually run.