Smart charging infrastructure
Supporting customers by installing smart EV charging infrastructure, user-friendly interfaces and effective usage tracking.
Smith Brothers Stores (SBS) is a prominent player in the UK’s commercial and industrial mechanical services sector. Having embarked on their electrification journey in 2018, they soon identified issues with their existing infrastructure.
In 2022, when the new smart charging regulations were enforced, they turned to ChargedEV for a comprehensive solution. This included replacing their infrastructure, upgrading to 22kW units, and implementing Chargeasy back-office management.
SBS Requirements
SBS aimed to rectify the installation, upgrade the equipment, and add it to its network while managing it on a more effective back-office management system. The infrastructure needed to be adequate to power their fleet of company vehicles across their estate, with a robust maintenance package in place.
ChargedEV, upgraded SBS’s switchgear, and installed surge protection and Protective Earth Neutral (PEN) protection. The existing infrastructure was also not Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP) compliant, meaning they would need to upgrade their whole estate to ensure they could manage their network appropriately.
ChargedEV had custom mounting plates designed to be installed on their existing ground mounts, negating the need for extra civils and saving costs, time, and disruption. With no current tariff, their drivers use custom-branded RFID cards designed and supplied by ChargedEV to start and stop their charges and track usage.
As of December 2023, Smith Brothers Stores Limited’s solution has delivered 1,700 charging sessions for over 80 unique drivers.
Electrifying and upgrading 21 sites
22kW Sockets, averaging 4 per site
Over 36MWh delivered
Over 19,400kg of CO2 saved
The existing structure that we had installed had a number of issues, so we decided to remove the smart charging capabilities. We needed to find a solution that more suited our needs. The team tested the marketplace and met many suppliers at fleet events, etc, but after several months of research, we decided to move forward working with ChargedEV. This decision was based on a better-quality product, with a more stable and user-friendly interface, with a better all-around package, including a warranty, maintenance and future-proofing etc.
Andrew Teer
Transport Operations Manager at SBS
