Quote:
Originally Posted by redpoint5
$20k might include demand and electricity costs?
A charger needs to gross more than $50k to break even given that demand and electricity costs need to be accounted for, and maintenance, and interest on the construction loan, and repaying the principal amount.
Assuming your $50k gross figure, and assuming an average of 50 kW rate of charge, that's 2000 hours of charging that needs to occur for each and every charger. That's about 6 hours of utilization each and every day, which represents a 25% utilization rate. The figures I've seen said it needs to be a 33% or more utilization rate to break even, especially for the faster chargers.
Gas pumps need something like 5% utilization rate to break even.
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The money would be for hardware:
1) on the 'amplifier' portion of the DC-fast-charge power electronics, a 277- 480 VAC, 3-phase power input must be converted to up to 920- volts, involving some sort of forced-air cooled power transistors ( MOSFET, IGFET, ect. ) thermally bedded onto a heat sink.
2) after ' amplification', this AC voltage must pass through a rectifier section full of Shotkey barrier diodes, also thermally bonded to a forced-air-cooled heat sink.
3) if you've lived off the grid, you'll know that inverters and PV power limiters/ trackers, have a limited service lifespan ( PACE, Heart-interface, Sunny-Boy ).
4) perhaps the CCS connectors wear out after so many 'plug/ un-plug' cycles.
5) the oil-cooled, 11,794-lb, 1500 KVA transformer, which all power passes through may also have some fixed lifespan.
6) same for the single ' Trilliant' electric meter.
7) 'Carrington events '
