Enterprise Level Scale
With a global push to adopt electric vehicles (EVs), hotel enterprises increasingly have to think about how best to meet guest expectations for EV charging.
Properties in multiple locations are subject to differing local regulations. It’s difficult to know where to start when you’re talking about integrating EV charging at an enterprise-level scale.
At Future Energy, we’ve found that many businesses aren’t yet asking the right questions. For example, asking about the cost of an EV charger doesn’t account for complexities related to energy management, especially over many properties.
All of Future Energy’s discussions begin at the end: with identification of your business objectives and specific use cases. Then we can plan a roadmap for each individual property as well as your entire business at enterprise level scale.
Consultants to Provide Expert Guidance
EV charging is a complex undertaking, and there aren’t many subject matter experts to help your enterprise along the way.
Scalable Knowledge and Experience
When you work with Future Energy, you have access to key talent from many industries that are relevant to EV charging. We have subject matter experts in:
- Automotive
- Electric utilities
- Construction
- Professional services
- Software development
Our experts contribute their knowledge and experience to your hotel’s EV charging projects. Furthermore, our experts train your hotel personnel and provide them with materials so that they can pass along information to your guests.
Use Case Analysis
Any conversation about the integration of EV charging into your business model should start with a discussion of your goals. What does your business hope to achieve through offering EV charging to your guests?
Once we’ve worked with you to establish your objectives, we use our expertise to analyze your current state of readiness.
EV Impact Study
Future Energy helps scale EV charging across your properties by conducting an EV Impact Study. The EV Impact Study is simultaneously scalable across your enterprise and specific to each individual property. Future Energy has put together more than 500 customized EV Impact Studies across many industries.
For your hotel business, the EV impact study provides a comprehensive overview of tasks designed specifically to help you achieve your business objectives. Additionally, it analyzes the value that your company can extract from EV charger installation. We measure value not only in monetary reward but also in brand enhancement and sustainability metrics.
Brand Standards
As you incorporate EV charging into your various properties, Future Energy can help to ensure that the project meets the standards you have established for your brand. Loyal guests have expectations regarding the quality of amenities that you offer, from coffee in the room to the on-site gym. Similarly, they will expect a certain standard of consistency when it comes to EV charging.
Data to Drive Decision-Making
Businesses are increasingly scaling up their adoption of IoT solutions to optimize costs and improve efficiency. IoT devices contain sensors and other technologies so that they can process and exchange data—that’s what makes them “smart.”
Networked EV chargers are another example of smart technology. Chargers can communicate over the internet with the utility company and with other IoT devices.
Future Energy supports your business with data that provides insight into your hotel operations. Our proprietary platform Interface provides a simple way to connect all of the smart systems on all of your properties.
The combination of business analytics, data mining, data visualization, and data tools promote best practices to help your organization make better decisions and create new opportunities.
Energy Management
The installation of EV chargers undoubtedly will have an effect on your energy consumption. Interface helps your business carefully monitor electricity use in real-time so that you don’t exceed peak load.
A single spike in your electricity use could affect your bill for the entire year, which is why it’s key to carefully monitor electrical load. Over many properties, even a slight miscalculation could result in significant unexpected charges.
Automated Alerts
With multiple properties to manage, you benefit from a centralized platform that helps to monitor EV charging at all locations. Interface constantly monitors for any anomalies. This includes potential issues in your EV charging hardware as well as alerts related to energy use.
Sustainability Goals
Increasingly, business reporting has to account for sustainability initiatives at the corporate level. Using Interface, you can collect data that provides greater visibility into your carbon footprint.
Upgrades and Modernization
Future Energy is continuously developing and improving upon Interface. Our use of artificial intelligence is just one way that we help your business increase productivity and quality. Greater visibility into the energy use, health, and success of EV charging improves reporting across your brand’s multisite portfolio.
Relationships to Optimize Hardware Purchases
There are three primary types of EV chargers, and your specific business use case will determine how many of each type you choose to acquire for your properties.
Level 2 chargers run off 240-volt power and deliver about 40 miles of charge per hour. That means that a level 2 charger typically can completely replenish the battery of an EV overnight, which may be ideal for accommodating overnight guests.
Level 3 chargers are also known as direct-current fast chargers. They run off 480-volt, three-phase power and can charge an EV in about a half hour. There are many reasons why a hotel might choose to use level 3 chargers to accommodate guests, such as offering a quick charge as an amenity.
When you implement EV charging at scale, it’s possible that each property will have different requirements.
Hardware Purchasing
Future Energy has established contractual partnerships with industry leaders in EV charging hardware. That means we can provide whatever equipment your business requires at scale across your enterprise. Additionally, we have the expertise to understand how the nuance of each of your locations affects hardware requirements.
ChargeParc Environment
Future Energy provides a completely scalable EV charging environment called ChargeParcTM. Although you can customize ChargeParc for each location, it’s a complete solution that you can easily repeat across multiple properties.
ChargeParc provides:
- EV charging stations according to your use case
- Bollards, signage, and striping that you can customize with your brand
- Security hardware with available remote monitoring
- Parking enforcement intelligent hardware
- Intelligent lighting
- Power management network-connected hardware
Infrastructure Requirements
You may not be planning to use level 3 chargers now. Few hotels have the infrastructure to accommodate level 3 chargers, because 480-volt power is typically found in industrial plants. However, we recommend that you still think about installing the electrical infrastructure required to support them in the future. That way you avoid another costly construction project down the road.
Future Energy has relationships with utilities across North America, each of which has its own set of requirements to request an electrical upgrade. We can help each of your individual properties identify the necessary electrical requirements and then work with the utility to see the project through to completion.
Comprehensive Help to Incorporate EV Charging into Your Hotel’s Offerings
Looking for help to implement EV charging at an enterprise-level scale? Contact Future Energy today to learn how our scalable EV charging solutions can benefit your business and help enhance the guest experience.
