Before an installer quotes chargers at a business, three checks have to close: permits — what this site needs and who issues it; load — what the electrical service can actually carry; and signage — which marking, wayfinding and accessibility decisions the site must make, and who confirms them. Every check left open is a quote risk: each can change the scope, the programme or the price after the client has signed.
Key Takeaways
- Close three checks before quoting: permits, load and signage — each open one is a scope, programme or price risk.
- Load is arithmetic: every charger at 125% of set current, totalled against confirmed capacity.
- Signage and accessibility are the owner’s decisions under local rules — your job is to get them made and to price or exclude the work explicitly.
- The permit split between installer and business is written into the scope, never assumed.
The Pre-Quote Checklist
| Check | The questions it answers | Confirmed by | What it changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Permits | Does this job need electrical or building permits, drawn plans, an inspection at the end? | The local permitting authority, asked before the quote | Programme, filing work and who carries it — client or installer |
| Load | What capacity does the service have, and what do the planned chargers total at 125%? | The site’s records and the utility, summarised in your load calculation | Unit count and ratings — or a service upgrade entering the scope |
| Signage & access | Which bays get marked, what signs and wayfinding are needed, what do accessible-bay and price-display positions require? | The site owner, against the local rules in force at the site | Marking and civils lines in the quote — or named exclusions |
| Utility | Is a service study or upgrade in play, and on what lead time? | The utility, contacted at survey stage | The earliest honest start date in writing |
Load: the 125% Arithmetic
This check has hard numbers, from the NEC: EV charging is a continuous load, so each charger is designed at 125% of its set current — 32 A becomes a 40 A design load, 40 A becomes 50 A, 48 A becomes 60 A. The quote-stage exercise is addition, not optimism: total the design loads of every planned unit and set the sum against the capacity the site has confirmed. If the sum does not fit, the options are decided now — fewer units, lower set currents, or the upgrade quoted as its own scope. Our explainer on building load calculation basics covers the assessment; what affects installation cost shows how often this check moves the total.
Signage Is a Confirmation, Not a Guess
The installer’s job on signage is not to write the site’s rules — it is to make sure the decisions exist before lines are painted. Which bays are EV-only, how drivers find them, what an accessible bay at this site requires, and — where the business sells charging by the kilowatt-hour — what price display and metering positions apply: each is set by the site owner under the local rules in force, and differs by place. The pre-quote questions go to the owner and, where the owner is unsure, to the enforcing authority locally; the operator-side approvals are mapped in our guide to charging station permits and approvals. What lands in your quote is either the marking and signage work as a priced line, or an explicit exclusion that names it as the owner’s scope. Silence is the only wrong answer: a bay nobody marked is a bay everybody parks in.
Hardware for Business Bays
With the three checks closed, hardware selection is the easy part. The EV-ACT3204PE (22 kW three-phase wallbox, Type 2, RFID and app, IP66) fits staff and fleet bays where access control matters; the EV-AC03201T dual-connector AC station (up to 43 kW shared across two connectors, OCPP 1.6J, RFID, IP54) serves shared and public bays from one supply point. Both are on the commercial EV charging page; model files for a permit pack come via contact us.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who pulls the permit — the installer or the business?
Usually the installer, as the contractor doing the work, with the business supplying site documents and signatures. It varies by jurisdiction and contract, so the check ends with the split written into the scope, not assumed.
Can signage be sorted out after the chargers are in?
It can, if the quote says so. What it cannot be is unmentioned: either marking and signage are a priced line in your scope, or an exclusion naming them as the owner’s work, with their own contractor.
What if the load check fails?
Then the quote changes shape early: fewer units, lower set currents, a staged install, or a service upgrade priced as a separate scope.
Related Reading
- How to Get an EV Charging Station License: Permits and Approvals
- Adding EV Chargers to a Building: Load Calculation Basics
- What Affects EV Charger Installation Cost? 8 Factors to Check
- How Much Does It Cost to Install a Commercial EV Charging Station?
