As Oy Vantaa Varsta: Fluent Finnish electric cars charging to the housing company
The procurement process for the acquisition of the housing company Vantaa Varsta Varsta began in the spring of 2022, when the housing association's board began to explore various opportunities for the charge of electric cars to implement the charging infrastructure.
The first goal was to understand what solutions were available and what they would cost. Miikka Nordström, chairman of the housing association , says that early cooperation with a candidate candidate was unexpectedly long. "For some reason, the study lasted for a very long time. In the end, we decided to go looking for a new actor to get the project off properly," he says.
Nordström started as Chairman of the Board at the same time as the acquisition of charging equipment was seriously promoted. The matter was particularly important to him because he was a charging hybrid driver himself at the time. Later, he has switched to a full electric car: "For a long time, I had to be without a home. Now, as an electric car in my life, it is much easier when the equipment is finally in place!"
In the end, Vantaa Varsta chose Wallen 64Ts as the charging devices, and Water as an application for an application entity. The commissioning took place in August 2024, when the first downloads were made. It took about two and a half years for the whole process.
In Vantaa Varsta, the most significant criteria for choosing the charging devices were the price, the implementation model and the domesticity.
Domestic and reliable versatility
The number of car parks in the housing association had a significant impact on the implementation of the project. "We have a total of 67 parking spaces, so there was a lot of cabling and excavation work. The project built a whole new infrastructure. The report showed that it would not be worthwhile to use old cabling because it would not get enough power out," Nordström recalls the process. The housing company ended up in a solution that built a whole new electrical headquarters and subscription. This ensures that, according to the housing association's wishes, even if the charging subscription does not work for some reason, it would not endanger the operation of the house's elevators or ventilation.
The most important criteria for choosing the charging devices were the price, the implementation model and the domesticity. "Of course, the price played a big role. But it was also of great importance that we were recommended to have a solution where each place has its own pole. It makes changing the device much easier than in a traditional model where one charger is divided between two users," says Nordström. In addition, the solution allows the decision of the shareholder on the neighboring place to affect the charging opportunities of another shareholder: if one of the parking spaces does not want charging and the other wants, then this arrangement does not have a problem. The domesticity of the equipment and the equipment manufacturer also weighed in decision -making. The WALLE charging equipment selected for the housing company is manufactured at the domestic manufacturer Trafomic Oy's own factory in Raisio. They have a durable metallic shell and are designed specifically to withstand the varying weather conditions of the Nordic countries.
The Wallen 64T charging devices have both Type 2 connector and Suko outlet. "We wanted the equipment to be used to heat the car or, for example, to use a vacuum cleaner or other electrical equipment when needed. The device that allows just charging would not be so versatile that would make it difficult to use." Modularity and equipment life cycle in the housing association were not much considered. Of course, Nordström states that it is always an advantage that you don't have to change everything if there was any problem or other need for upgrading.
The decisions that are preparing for the future
The number of electric cars in Vantaa Varsta is still relatively moderate: the housing association currently has three full electric cars and two charging hybrids. Thus, the availability of charging has not yet caused a major car exchange. "However, changing a car is a big investment, so there will be no change in an instant," Nordström ponders.
The housing association has introduced both the charging devices purchased by the housing association and the owners purchased by the shareholders. Currently, five housing company chargers and six equity chargers are installed, a total of 11 devices. One of the chargers purchased by a housing association is in use and the rest can be used as needed. According to Nordström, in the current situation, four chargers are actively used for charging the car and two for heating. Five devices are still waiting for their users. "We did not start making a huge initial investment, but this solution can make additions as needed," he sums up.
The ease of valuable users in your own backyard
The user experience has been positive. The first comment received by Nordström was related to the housing association's decision, just slightly at a low -cost charging price than the average charging price. "The idea is not that the home background is significantly cheaper, but that it is easy: you come home, you close the charging cable, and the car charges just as you want," he describes.
The Wallen 64T charging devices have a power of 11 kW and there have been very few technical challenges. The 4G modem, which has been stuck a couple of times, has worked great after the software update. According to Nordström, Eparking's customer service has also worked very well. "Here in Pakkala, there are an estimated one kilometer radius of about 50 public charging devices, so if the home background sometimes does not work, other options are easily accessible."
The billing service and the use of the application have worked smoothly in Vantaa. "The payments can be easily accepted in the system, and that's it," he describes. However, Nordström, one development proposal, raises: "I use a company car, but the system does not allow for separation of different car charging reports. If I also downloaded another car in our family, it would be good to distinguish between different cars.
As a whole, the project has progressed successfully, although early stages and decision -making took more time than expected. Now the housing association has a functional charging infrastructure that enables the needs of a scalable system and provides reliability for both existing and future electrical automotive residents of the housing association.
For the reference, Miikka Nordströmm, chairman of the As Oy Vantaa housing association, has been interviewed for the reference.
