Councils and charging infrastructure: the lighting column as a charging point

Demand for public charging points is growing

The share of electric cars in the vehicle fleet rises every year, and European policy to phase out the sale of new cars with combustion engines accelerates that. In residential areas with terraced houses and flats, most residents have no driveway of their own. They depend on a charging point in the public space.

Many councils combine charging on request, where a resident applies for a charging point, with proactive placement based on a plan map. Both routes end at the same bottleneck: there is no room left in the street for yet another object.

The pavement is full

A residential street already has lighting columns, waste containers, cycle stands, traffic signs and trees. Every additional charging post costs walking space, draws objections from residents and needs its own foundation, cable trench and connection. Managers of public space are therefore looking for ways to combine functions in objects that are already there.

The lighting column is the obvious candidate. It stands at a fixed spacing along the carriageway, often 25 to 35 metres in a residential street, it is already in the asset register and its position is aligned with parking bays and driveways.

The charging lamp post as a solution

A charging lamp post combines both functions: a street luminaire at the top, two charging points in the base. The CityCharger from our CIVIS series delivers 2x 11 kW from a double-walled, insulated aluminium column with a mounting height of 4 to 8 metres. The charging section is IP54 and IK10, so it withstands rain, knocks and a carelessly parked bicycle.

On top you fit a street luminaire from the VIA series or a post-top luminaire from the POLARIS series; the column top is matched to the luminaire per project. The lighting level stays as the lighting plan prescribes: for a residential street that is typically 5 to 7.5 lux on average. The price is on request, because height, colour, luminaire and connection differ per project.

First point to watch: the grid connection

The charging lamp post does not run on the public lighting cable. That network is designed for a few amps per column and in some municipalities is not live during the day. Two charging points of 11 kW together draw 22 kW, roughly 32 A per phase, and therefore need their own three-phase connection from the grid operator.

Because of grid congestion, the lead time for that connection can be longer than the delivery time of the column. Apply for the connection at the same time as you order the column. The column supports load balancing (among other things via RS485): it shares the available power between both charging points, so even a tight connection can serve both points.

Second point to watch: permits and the traffic order

A charging lamp post replaces an existing column in the same position. That is a simpler process than a new object in a new place: ground conditions, cable route and sight lines are known. Designating parking bays as charging bays does require a traffic order from the road authority, with the associated objection period.

Coordinate early with the manager of the public lighting and with the party that holds the charging concession. Together they decide which column positions qualify and who takes the column into management.

Third point to watch: management and ownership

In the charging lamp post, lighting and charging are two separate circuits with their own protection. The lighting stays on the lighting network, with its own column cut-out such as those in our NEXUS series; the charging section communicates via OCPP 1.6 (JSON) with the platform of the charge point operator. That operator handles billing, fault reports and software updates.

Agree in advance who owns the column, who maintains the luminaire and who settles the damage after a collision. Without those agreements a fault can sit unresolved for a long time, because both parties wait for each other.

Frequently asked questions