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Writer's pictureGreen Energy Technology

How To Charge Electric School Buses


Charging for electric school buses


Many school districts are beginning to transition to electric school buses. As electric buses become more commonplace, fleet operators are finding that keeping their vehicles operational can become complicated and expensive. Between knowing when to charge, balancing energy costs, charger maintenance, and more, electric bus charging is not easy to manage.

In this quick start guide, we'll go over basics of running an electric bus fleet and solutions that can simplify the process.


What you need to run an electric school bus fleet

Fleet electrification plan

If you're looking at how to transition to electric school buses, creating an electrification plan early on is critical for smooth operations. There are key infrastructure decisions to consider such as the installation of chargers, whether your facility has enough electric capacity, and even the selection of electric buses themselves.

Regardless of your fleet’s specific needs, every project should start by clearly defining the operating requirements for the EVs you are planning to deploy. This exercise allows you to build all other project components around properly charging the selected EVs so that you can operate them in a way that best fits your fleet’s bottom-line characteristics and most common duty cycles.

There are services available that can simulate vehicles, infrastructure, and energy models, based on the unique operational characteristics of each bus fleet. A data-driven analysis allows stakeholders to understand the impact on their fleet, and what to expect as they electrify.

Electric infrastructure at your facility

As part of your electric bus operation, having access to a facility with charging stations is crucial. After all, this is where the electricity comes from that will fuel your vehicles. A typical facility will have:


Fleet electrification plan

If you're looking at how to transition to electric school buses, creating an electrification plan early on is critical for smooth operations. There are key infrastructure decisions to consider such as the installation of chargers, whether your facility has enough electric capacity, and even the selection of electric buses themselves.

Regardless of your fleet’s specific needs, every project should start by clearly defining the operating requirements for the EVs you are planning to deploy. This exercise allows you to build all other project components around properly charging the selected EVs so that you can operate them in a way that best fits your fleet’s bottom-line characteristics and most common duty cycles.

There are services available that can simulate vehicles, infrastructure, and energy models, based on the unique operational characteristics of each bus fleet. A data-driven analysis allows stakeholders to understand the impact on their fleet, and what to expect as they electrify.

Electric infrastructure at your facility

As part of your electric bus operation, having access to a facility with charging stations is crucial. After all, this is where the electricity comes from that will fuel your vehicles. A typical facility will have:

Find out the total cost of ownership (TCO) of your electric school bus fleet so you know what to expect. Electriphi helps you visualize the cost and benefits of going electric like identifying maintenance and energy savings with electric school buses.

What we can do for your electric bus fleet

1 - Plan

Find the right set up for your fleet, including grants and incentives, and begin the transition process. During the planning process, we'll simulate the day-to-day activity of your buses to determine optimal energy levels and route planning. Software helps with route planning and energy management, so you know when to charge your buses to keep them running.

2 - Deploy

Once your electric school bus blueprint is prepared, we work with you to deploy the pieces, including vehicle and charger infrastructure. We give you turnkey solutions that combine the best of Electriphi’s fleet and energy management with partners specializing in construction, site installs and permitting, utility, and more.

3 - Operate

With our industry-leading software, we make it easy to manage your bus fleet as they run their routes and need to be charged. We make it easy to measure the performance of your fleet and ensure your vehicles are fueled for the next day’s operation.

4 - Scale

As you partner with Electriphi, we’ll work with you on a plan to expand the size of your fleet as you scale your EV operations.

Conclusion

By knowing when to charge your electric school bus fleet and how much to charge, you can ensure your fleet is running smoothly while saving on energy costs.

To learn more about how Electriphi can help with electric school bus fleet management, contact our team by clicking the contact us below:

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