For a fleet, a vehicle waiting at a charger is a vehicle not earning. The goal is to fit charging into time when vehicles would be parked anyway: shift changes, breaks, loading and overnight.
1. Map your shifts
List every vehicle's typical day: start time, distance, breaks, end time and how long it stays parked. Patterns appear quickly, such as all vans returning between 7 and 8 pm.
2. Find the charging windows
- Overnight: the longest and usually cheapest window.
- Shift changes: short but predictable, good for top-ups.
- Driver breaks and loading: ideal for fast charging on the route or at the warehouse.
3. Match power to each window
Work out how much energy each vehicle needs and divide by the time available. A van needing 60 kWh over a 10-hour night needs only modest power; the same energy in a 30-minute break needs fast charging.
4. Stagger and prioritise
If every vehicle plugs in at once, you need more grid capacity. Smart charging gives priority to vehicles leaving first and spreads the rest across the night, keeping peak demand within your supply.
5. Keep a buffer
Plan for traffic, detours and hot days. Aim for vehicles to leave with a margin, and keep at least one faster charger free for emergencies.
6. Monitor and adjust
Track actual energy use, charging times and departure readiness. Adjust schedules and charger assignments as routes change.
What good looks like
- Every vehicle leaves on time with enough charge.
- Charging happens mostly in off-peak hours.
- Chargers are shared efficiently, so you buy fewer of them.
EVee Buddy's fleet services combine depot chargers, smart charging and reporting so you can plan charging around your roster.