“The team at Cosmic have been a delight to work with and have turned our stalled project around in record time. ”
Resident Committee Member - Edinburgh
Overview
Scope: Survey and Strategy Creation
Project Size: 319 parking bays
Date: November 2024
Location: Leith, Edinburgh
Context
In late 2024 the team at Cosmic undertook a survey at a large multi-building premium development in Leith, Edinburgh. It’s fair to say that the client had had enough of deliberating the issue of EV infrastructure at their property.
Over the prior 4 year period they had engaged with multiple providers to survey and propose solutions that would safely and effectively provide EV infrastructure to each Leaseholder. The challenges had been multiple. From poor survey quality and delayed proposal submissions to spiralling costs, conflicting information and eventually and understandably increasing lethargy from the resident group.
Following a desktop review of the site and initial engagement with members of the resident committee Cosmic were instructed to undertake a detailed site survey. The client was convinced to proceed because of the comprehensive approach to appraising the site's viability and the expertise that the Cosmic team were able to demonstrate in discussing technical and commercial options, management issues, grant claims and a clear chronology to the actions required.
The survey
The survey itself was broken into a number of component parts;
Discovery; we sat down with the client to understand the property in detail. Everything from the history of the build to the stakeholders involved in managing the day to day activity. This was of vital importance to understand what can be achieved, who needs (and wants) to be involved in facilitating the project and physical, legal and commercial barriers to proceeding.
Technical survey; we undertook a full survey of the installation area itself. This included a detailed look at the power capacity available, the communication methodologies to be used by future chargers, the cabling routes and mounting locations for the equipment. To assist we also undertook a full 3D scan of the car park which allows us to revisit the site at a later date ‘virtually’ and when doing so we can accurately measure and design cable routes. This approach removes risk and in doing so increases estimating and design accuracy.
Resident survey: we were lucky that the client had previously engaged in detailed dialogue with residents and as such historic feedback and data relating to demand was available to us. The team at Cosmic were able to analyse this data to project adoption rates in the car parks.
Image:
3D car park scan taken at the time of survey.
The report and presenting the findings
Once the technical, legal and financial due diligence was completed, the team at Cosmic compiled a detailed report for residents’ consideration. Contained within was a commercial offer to fund the infrastructure at the property in exchange for a long term licence to operate the infrastructure and administer billing, maintenance and management services.
Also included within the report was a detailed overview of the EV market, content to address frequently asked questions and some ‘myth busting’ information to ensure that residents could fully engage and understand the needs, benefits and next steps.
As is often the case, the resident committee then decided to host a meeting among the wider resident group to canvas opinion, ensure engagement and answer any queries or concerns that may had arisen. Cosmic remotely attended two such sessions, presenting the findings of the report and fielding queries relating to the proposal.
Outcome
At the time of writing (early Jan 2025) the project has been verbally instructed and final contract negotiations are set to conclude. Cosmic have proposed a delivery schedule that will see activity on site commence around 4 weeks after signature of contract with the full installation across all 319 bays concluded within c.3 months.
The survey was quickly turned into a comprehensive project proposal which again managed to provide a simple overview of the proposed solution and deployment process, while also offering sufficient detail for those with a more technical background.
The support from Cosmic didn't stop there however. As a factored development in Scotland, we needed to explain the plan to all of our property owners and ensure there was sufficient interest to enable approval for the project. The Cosmic team engaged with us to co-present the Zoom meetings with the owners, presenting their solution and explaining the technology and benefits to everyone clearly and succinctly. Their participation, and especially their willingness to engage in a live Q&A, truly helped drive project approval forward.
I have found the entire Cosmic team to be very professional. They have made this an amazingly straightforward process compared to all of our previous efforts with other vendors. Their messaging has been clear and effective whatever the technical level of the audience. The team members have also shown their enthusiasm for the solution in a way that is truly infectious.
Truly, I cannot recommend this team more highly.
What did our client have to say?
“When we were first introduced to Cosmic Charging, we had spent over 4 years trying to provide an EV charging solution for our apartment complex with 319 parking spaces.
From the very first conversation it was clear that this team knew the problem space and completely understood the challenges we were facing. This in itself was a relief. Their engagement with our problem was complete and the team quickly agreed to come onsite to perform a thorough site survey.
During the site visit, even though they were busy with the technical tasks involved, one of the team took the time to sit down with members of our Owners Committee and explain not just the details of their solution but valuable background on the EV world in general and the charging systems available. The teams grasp of the problems and their experience in the space were ably demonstrated, reinforcing our belief that we were in good hands.