New Home EV Charging Solution For Fleet Managers

Join CleanTechnica’s Weekly Substack for Zach and Scott’s in-depth analyses and high level summariesjoin our daily newsletterand/or follow us on Google News!

The howling maniac who occupies the White Home snuffed out the $5 billion public quick charging NEVI program earlier this 12 months, however he can’t do something to cease the house EV charging juggernaut. In any case, the overwhelming majority of EV homeowners want to recharge at dwelling. Fleet homeowners additionally like the house EV charging thought, however first somebody has to determine an correct reimbursement system…. Oh, wait….

Why All The Fuss Over Fleet Electrification

The media highlight has shone on Tesla so brightly and for therefore lengthy that generally it’s straightforward to overlook that the EV market is way extra expansive than the enduring US automaker’s longstanding dedication to sedans and SUVs.

You probably have any ideas about how the corporate’s Edsel-adjacent Cybertruck and the forthcoming Tesla Semi Class 8 truck match into that image, drop a notice within the remark thread. In the meantime, there’s some severe EV gross sales momentum happening amongst commercial fleets that rely bigger, heavier vans and vans on their rosters. It’s not a headline grabber, but it surely’s there.

Cox Automotive is amongst these paying consideration. The agency took the temperature of the commercial fleet electrification movement final 12 months and got here up with this nugget:

“Fleet operators that currently employ EV, the new study reveals, have a striking 90% likelihood of acquiring additional EVs in the next acquisition cycle. Among the total sample of fleets owners (those with and without EVs), a vast majority – 87% – expect EVs to be added to their fleets in the next five years.”

The fleet electrification motion additionally deserves props from a save-the-planet perspective. In accordance with a 2022 report from the US EPA (such because it was again then), solely 5% of autos on the highway fall into the medium- and heavy-duty courses. Nevertheless, they collectively account for an outsized 23% share of transportation-related greenhouse gas emissionsbecause of using diesel gasoline amongst different components.

The House EV Charging Distinction

When you’re questioning the place dwelling EV charging comes into the business fleet image, that’s query. Some business fleet homeowners require drivers to return to their depot on the finish of a shift. Nevertheless, parking at dwelling can also be widespread and that’s the place the EV gross sales momentum will be sustained. House-parked fleet managers can speed up their electrification plans when extra staff have an EV charger at dwelling.

As for workers with out an EV charger, maybe some forward-thinking fleet homeowners will increase their worker advantages bundle to incorporate incentives for putting in a brand new dwelling EV charging station. That’s a win for the fleet proprietor’s car electrification plans, and it might encourage EV-curious drivers to exit and purchase an EV for his or her non-public use, too.

Having each a business and personal car use the identical dwelling EV charging station offers rise to an accounting problem, however options are rising. Amongst these to floor on the CleanTechnica radar is the “Depot360® Home Charging Reimbursement” system, newly launched in the USA by the US department of Siemens.

As described by Siemens, Depot360 permits fleet managers to reimburse staff for dwelling EV charging precisely, even when different vehicles are charged on the similar port. The system deploys telematics knowledge distinctive to the fleet car primarily based on its location.

“Siemens works with telematics providers to access real-time vehicle data to provide insights into home charging sessions to enable fair and accurate reimbursement,” Siemens explains.

There Is So A lot Extra To House EV Charging Than Meets The Eye

House EV charging is widespread from a comfort perspective, and residential charging can also be cheaper than public charging. As well as, EV homeowners are starting to make the most of utility incentives for off-peak charging. Deploying the EV battery as a grid-connected energy storage platform is one other avenue of alternative starting to open for particular person EV homeowners.

Siemens is already wanting ahead to making use of these advantages to the fleet electrification discipline, starting with itself. The corporate’s US fleet presently consists of 11,000 vehicles, vans, cargo vans, bucket vans, and tractor trailers, amongst others, and Siemens expects all of them to be lined by Depot360 throughout the subsequent 5 years or so.

“Depot360 Home Charging Reimbursement offers multiple benefits for fleet operators,” Siemens enthuses. “These benefits could include cost reduction by avoiding the need for networked chargers and dedicated meters, simplified management through automated payroll integration, and the ability to reimburse only fleet vehicles, while allowing private vehicles to use the same charger.”

“This solution not only reduces upfront infrastructure costs and ongoing operational expenses, but streamlines home charging reimbursement programs, enabling operators to scale their electrification plans with greater efficiency, flexibility, and confidence,” emphasizes Adam Orth, the US Head of Fleet at Siemens Mobility Companies.

Optimizing House EV Charging For The Fleet, Trump Or No Trump

Siemens plans to make use of knowledge from its Depot360 deployments to high quality tune the system and apply it on a whole-of-operations foundation. “If a fleet is charged at different locations — such as depots, public chargers, and homes — the platform may predict the optimal charging mix for these locations and suggest options to reduce the overall cost of charging,” Siemens explains.

“This makes home charging an integral part of broader corporate charging strategies,” the corporate emphasizes, suggesting that the fleet electrification motion will proceed to achieve momentum whatever the malevolently incompetent Commander-in-Chief who presently occupies the Oval Workplace.

In that regard, it’s essential to notice that the rosy fleet electrification report from Cox Automotive was primarily based on a survey taken in January of 2024, a full 12 months earlier than the Trump–Musk continuum erupted in a tsunami of damaging policy-making. Amongst different disasters to boil out of the chaos, delivery business observers anticipate vital fleet shrinkage because the Trump tariffs kick in.

Though that might impression fleet EV gross sales, the unfolding disaster additionally underscores the underside line benefits of a fleet electrification plan that features dwelling EV charging.

“Home charging will also give the opportunity for fleet operators to reduce energy costs by leveraging scale via aggregation,” Siemens explains. “It will play a key part in the continued development of Depot360 solutions to support fleet operators in unlocking additional energy savings and revenue streams, for example, by enabling fleets to participate in energy programs.”

Wait, What About Renters?

An enormous, as-yet untapped alternative for EV gross sales lies within the residential rental market, the place an estimated 19 million potential EV buyers have been all however boxed out of the chance for dwelling EV charging.

Landlords sometimes don’t need to take care of the set up bills, and tenants aren’t keen to fork over the cash to enhance another person’s property. New home EV charging-as-a-service methods are starting to crack that market broad open, so hold a watch out for indications that muiltifamily and rental residences will dovetail with the fleet electrification motion, too.

Picture (cropped): Siemens is introducing a brand new accounting system for dwelling EV charging, geared toward enabling US fleet managers to speed up their electrification plans (courtesy of Siemens by way of e-mail/Google drive).