With nearly 1,500 apartments and over 36,000 square metres of commercial space, Wiksténs Fastigheter is the largest privately owned property company in Boden, Sweden. After several years of evaluating different systems, the family-owned business has chosen Zpark’s solution for EV charging and engine heating.
We asked CEO Dennis Wikstén five questions about the choice of technology, the results from their pilot projects, and their plans for the future.
What challenges were you looking to address when you started reviewing your EV charging infrastructure?
We wanted to find a solution that would put energy consumption and control as close to the customer as possible, while allowing us to make use of our existing infrastructure to keep costs down.
We also saw a need to offer regular, low-power EV charging. Our ambition isn’t to provide fast charging at our residential properties, but rather to create a flexible solution where customers can manage their own energy consumption according to their needs.
What were the deciding factors in choosing Zpark and PowerBay?
There were several reasons. Most importantly, the solution gives us the functionality we need. Customers can manage their own energy consumption and charge their vehicles on their own terms, while we can continue using our existing infrastructure.
Finding a local supplier from Norrbotten was also a major advantage. Having a reliable supply chain is important to us, as is avoiding too much dependence on suppliers outside Sweden and Europe.
Why do you think other property owners should consider this type of solution?
As property owners, we need to look at the bigger picture of our energy consumption. We want to take a long-term approach, reduce our dependencies, and achieve more stable energy consumption with lower peak demand.
In our pilot projects, we’ve seen a clear reduction in energy consumption almost immediately. This also reduces our power demand, and in some cases, we’ve even been able to lower the contracted power capacity for an entire property.
This is particularly important here in northern Sweden, where access to sufficient power capacity is a challenge. By reducing our power demand, we can lower costs and free up capacity for other investments.
What made you feel that now was the right time to act?
We’ve been evaluating different systems for six to seven years and have maintained an ongoing dialogue with Zpark over the past three years. With nearly a thousand parking spaces, it’s important to find a long-term solution before expanding further. We want to stay ahead of developments, but we don’t always need to be the first.
We’ve now found a solution we feel confident in and can begin rolling it out across our property portfolio.
What do you hope to achieve with PowerBay that wasn’t possible before?
Today, most of our engine heaters operate on three-hour timers, and we’re planning to start converting our facilities to PowerBay over the coming years.
Our goal is to give customers greater control over their own energy consumption and ensure a fairer distribution of costs for everyone involved. We also want to make it easier for those considering switching to an electric vehicle, while preparing for the challenges of tomorrow.
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Would you like to know how Zpark can help you make use of your existing infrastructure and create a flexible solution for your properties? Contact us here and we’ll help you take the next step.
