Parkkisähkö plans to expand Finland’s charging network by converting electric heater poles

3 August 2017

Finland has an advantage when it comes to the development of the charging network as although it only has a car parc of about three million units, it has more than one million parking spaces which are already equipped with electric poles for engine heaters. These are used to heat cars during the winter months and could easily be converted to also be charging points for electric vehicles, according to the company Parkkisähkö (Parking Energy). 

Parking Energy operates like mobile phone operators; the subscriber pays a monthly fee and is invoiced for the electricity consumed. The subscription service is available anywhere you see the Parking Energy sign, with no need to send text messages or enter credit card information or PIN codes or to use coins or separate payment cards. The user can set the time for heating the car using an Android or iOS smart phone or via the Internet but for unplanned journeys, the user can turn on the heating immediately using their smart phone. The smart pole also saves electricity as the heating can be adjusted depending on the prevailing outdoor temperature. 

With reference to the reported 500,000 orders for Tesla’s new compact Model 3, Parkkisähkö CEO Jiri Räsänen is encouraging the uptake of electric vehicles in Finland, saying ′Elon [Musk, Tesla founder], we are ready!’