Charging infrastructure in real estate
Full steam ahead, electrify and share knowledge
It is fantastic that more and more initiatives around Sustainability are being developed to make the world more livable, sustainable and safer. Much has already been achieved since all 193 UN member states embraced the seventeen sustainable development goals in 2015. Every member is determined to achieve the 2030 targets.
Since the Covid-19 crisis, the regional energy transition, the new way of working and digitization are increasingly brought together. Stimulating cooperation has emerged between the public and private sectors. Where previously the discussion 'Electric charging at the office or at home' played a role, the new 'Vehicle to the Grid' principle is now a solution. Vehicle-to-the-grid means that an electric car is not only used as a means of transport, but also to store electricity. New technology in electric cars creates an opportunity to contribute to the energy supply of your home and office with a vehicle. V2G is thus one of the many solutions that makes it possible to take maximum advantage of the produced renewable electricity andbettermanage the fluctuations in the electricity grid.
During the online real estate event of Real Estate Nederland-building Future Proof, a number of experts, including Leo Laanen of Ifmec, held a round table discussion on the theme 'Involving charging infrastructure in real estate'.
In three days and with more than 2000 participants, a lot of information was shared in the construction and real estate sector. In addition to the future-oriented and sustainability within offices and smart cities, among other things, electric charging was discussed. An often underexposed part of a building's infrastructure. The view on this has changed due to the new hybrid way of working.
The new way of working and charging infrastructure
Regulations imposed by the government due to the corona crisis have accelerated the new way of working. The office isn't what it used to be. Commuting traffic is likely to remain less in the future. The facilities work field will play an important role in boosting the sustainability of mobility. There used to be a lot of hesitation among employers about working from home, but due to the current crisis, most employers are now convinced that things can be done differently. A shift is taking place from 'going to the office', to a personal issue 'where am I going to work today?'
Policy will have to focus more on knowledge about the use of electric cars instead of owning them. In order to make progress in the electrification of the vehicle fleet, the charging infrastructure requirement and user information are a key role for the facility work field. If there is knowledge about how often and for how long a user is in the office, the charging infrastructure can be adapted accordingly. The trend around data and data integration is being observed everywhere. The facilities work field currently already has a lot of data about people. If data such as charging infrastructure and user information are linked to this, important geographical data is created. Personal data is used (GDPR). In addition, you open up the network of companies. The aim is to optimize the facilities at various locations, such as combining self-generated energy from, for example, solar panels with the demand for charging infrastructure for cars. This requires links to different systems of various parties. The challenge is to properly shield the various data. It is very important that this is done in a safe manner. In addition to adjusting the number of charging stations to the number of electric cars that use the parking spaces at work, the charging infrastructure must be expanded. From fast loading to slow loading based on user information. Suppose an employee goes to the office for eight hours a day, then this employee can charge here for eight hours and does not have to use a fast charging option. This puts less strain on the electricity network and makes optimal use of the existing charging infrastructure. In addition to the optimal use of the existing charging infrastructure, it is important that the electric car is used as storage. The more charging points (public and private) you facilitate for electric cars, the more the Grid can be supported.
The exchange between charging the electric car at the office and at home is an interesting issue. For example, if you charge the car at the office, you no longer have to charge it at home. This immediately provides the opportunity to intervene on sustainability and/or driving behavior of the employees. In addition, the consumption of the Electric car and the connection to the Grid for both home and office is one of the options for secondary employment conditions. This allows the employer to provide an incentive for sustainability in private use.
The potential surrounding charging infrastructure and user information, especially in rural environments, creates a lot of cohesion between the various parties at regional and local level. We will not get there by policy at the national level alone. We must focus on the local ecosystem such as offices and tenants. The collaboration between local parties accelerates sustainability and the charging infrastructure and electrification file is the ideal file to accelerate the energy transition. For example, you can set up the charging point as a secondary allocation point. This allows you to act as your own energy BV in a sustainable way. A building manager or facility service can therefore offer more services and make progress in sustainability. Are you going to wait for the question or are you going to offer these facilities in advance to determine the interpretation yourself?
There are already very good examples, let's pick them up and bring underlying initiatives together. The Netherlands wants to become more sustainable in a safe and transparent society. Let's move forward!
