Voimakatu Park: Wireless Network can save tens of tons
An electric car charging system was built in the Voimakatu parking garage in Tampere in 2020. The garage was equipped with charging points for over 60 shareholders and charging capacity for 250 parking spaces. The project could have been very expensive, but by optimizing the implementation method, we managed to save the customer a significant amount of money.
How were the savings achieved?
The project started with a tender prepared by an electrical engineer, which took into account both electrical and telecommunications solutions. The plan specified a few charging operators, which initially did not include eParking.
After receiving the tender materials, we realized that this was a large project, but there was still room for cost rationalization. The designer had done careful groundwork for the electrical system, but the telecommunications solution chosen was Ethernet cabling for each charging point. This would have meant more than five kilometers of cabling, construction of cable routes, telecommunications distribution centers, and other components required for telecommunications infrastructure.
We began to consider whether communication could be implemented using a wireless mesh network. According to our calculations, this solution would eliminate the need for long cable runs and communication centers, which would significantly save both material and installation costs.
We offered the customer two options: Ethernet cabling according to the original plan and an alternative implementation with a wireless mesh network. Thanks to the wireless solution, infrastructure costs were reduced by over 30,000 euros. The customer was delighted with the savings found and chose eParking to implement the charging system.
Project in a nutshell
The Voimakatu parking garage is shared by four housing companies, and its electricity supply comes from a single electricity company. The project aimed to enable 11 kW charging for all users of the garage and to upgrade the electrical infrastructure to meet future charging needs. The housing company received a 35% ARA grant for the project.
Implementation of the electrical and charging system:
Four distribution centers were installed and the main electrical center was expanded.
A separate measurement center was built for charging electric cars.
A level 2 load management system was implemented, which monitors the total consumption of the electricity connection in real time.
Residents could choose an 11 kW Type 2 charger with or without a plug.
The charging devices were supplied from our partner Harju Elekter's ElektrA collection.
Costs and implementation figures:
Total cost of the electrical contract (survey, distribution centers, main electrical center and metering center): approx. €120,000
Price of the charger (incl. VAT): approx. €2000 / device
Average cost per charging point (including charging device, installation and cable routing): approx. €2,600
Cable readiness was implemented at 85 locations, and 35 ready-made charging devices were installed (mainly Type 2 11 kW chargers).
Cabling and installation cost per charging point: approx. €350
Billing and payment transactions: The consumption of charging electricity is billed directly to the housing company's account via the eParking system without commission. The housing company determines the price of the electricity, and billing is done at its own VAT rate (in this case 0%). The costs of the billing service are charged directly to the shareholder, so there are no additional costs for the housing company. The property manager's task is only to monitor the arrival of payments.
Notes on the project
Building electric vehicle charging solutions doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated. With the right choices, you can save a significant amount of money and time. In this project, we managed to reduce costs by tens of thousands of euros with a small but effective change – optimizing the telecommunications solution. The customer had not initially realized that upgrading the telecommunications solution could have such a big impact on the overall cost of the project.
This project also shows that the charging capability of parking garages can be tailored to customer needs on a large scale. The Voimakatu garage was designed to be prepared for future electric vehicles, so it was equipped with a capacity for up to 250 half-fast chargers. Initially, 60 chargers were deployed, but the property is now ready to flexibly expand the charging capacity.
The Voimakatu parking garage is not only an investment in the future, but also an example of how an electric car charging solution can be implemented cost-effectively and in a scalable manner. You can read about the implementation of a similar project on a smaller scale in our other reference article , which discusses the construction of charging readiness for a shared parking garage in Helsinki led by a housing association.
