By Ryan Sodamann, Vice President, National Solution Services (NS2) at Faith Technologies Incorporated (FTI)
While scrolling through the morning news, I saw a headline that grabbed my attention. A “fearsome dust storm” had rolled into Phoenix. I clicked through and was struck by the sheer scale of the dust cloud in the photo.
My first thought was for the people facing the storm’s danger. But I couldn’t stop there. If a wall of dust can disrupt daily life in a city, what does it mean for something as exposed as electric vehicle (EV) chargers?
Chargers sit on the frontlines of the environment, taking whatever the local climate throws at them. In everyday conditions, a dust-damaged or offline charger might mean a delay or detour. In more extreme cases, outages can leave EV drivers stranded and vulnerable.
That’s why resilience needs to be built into the way we think about EV infrastructure. Unfortunately, too many site owners treat maintenance as a one-size-fits-all checklist, applying the same schedule to every location across the country. The reality is that chargers live outdoors, enduring snowdrifts, sandstorms, humidity, salt spray, pollen and everything in between. Each region brings its own risks and ignoring those differences leads to premature failures and expensive repair bills.
The Problem with One-Size-Fits-All
I’ve been in this industry a long time, and I’ve seen things that keep me awake at night: Chargers with snow piled against their vents. Salt corrosion eating away at cabinets. Filters so clogged with dust they can’t cool properly. Cable connectors sitting in puddles after a rainstorm.
When site owners stick to the bare-minimum, one-size-fits-all maintenance approach recommended by manufacturers, problems pile up fast. I tell owners all the time, “Your investment sits out there 24/7, in all conditions. If you want it to take care of you, you need to take care of it.”
The costs of ignoring this reality aren’t limited to financial considerations. One inoperative charger can create frustration, enhance range anxiety and turn away drivers for good. For businesses trying to attract customers and build loyalty, downtime isn’t an option. That’s why I believe we need a smarter way to align maintenance with the environments our chargers actually live in.
The Solution: Think Like a Gardener
Maybe it’s because I grew up in Kansas, but I just can’t resist a gardening analogy. If you’ve ever bought a packet of flower seeds, you’ve seen the map on the back showing different U.S. climate zones that tell you when and where to plant based on your region’s conditions. Gardeners know a one-size-fits-all approach won’t work. If you plant too early in the wrong zone, the frost kills pretty much everything.
We should use the same concept for EV charger maintenance. A climate-zone-based maintenance model!
At FTI, we’ve divided the U.S. into climate zones that reflect everything from temperature extremes to humidity, rainfall, salt exposure, dust and wind. We then align our maintenance schedules with those zones so site owners can anticipate the unique challenges their chargers will face.
Our goal here isn’t to create busy work and needless check-ins. We want to prevent problems before they start and extend the life of the equipment, so it improves reliability for drivers. It’s a new way of thinking that should be part of your planning.
Let’s Get Extreme: Minneapolis vs. Phoenix
To draw a clear comparison, let’s look at two very different climates. In Minneapolis, chargers endure long, snowy winters with ice, freezing rain and road salt. Those conditions are followed by warm, wet summers. Preventive maintenance here means:
- Clearing snow from vents so cooling systems can breathe.
- Inspecting and replacing door seals and gaskets to keep moisture out.
- Washing away de-icing chemicals before they corrode metal components.
- Ensuring cables stay off the ground so connectors don’t sit in puddles.
Now, compare that to Phoenix, where the problems come from relentless heat, blowing wind and even dust storms. Here, maintenance focuses on:
- Cleaning and replacing filters more frequently.
- Checking cooling systems to prevent overheating.
- Inspecting enclosures and cable connections for sand infiltration.
- Watching for signs of damage after high-wind events.
It’s the same equipment but based on the location, you’re facing completely different realities. A rigid, one-size-fits-all schedule simply won’t work for either environment.
Front End Investment
When maintenance is mentioned, I inevitably hear concerns about cost. Won’t more frequent maintenance in some regions drive up expenses? Not really. Skipping maintenance only saves money in the short term, and you’ll likely pay for it later.
I’ve seen the same issues over and over. Companies buy and install chargers, do the bare minimum to maintain them during the warranty period and then face major problems once the warranty expires. Broken screens, failed power modules, corroded cabinets and offline sites aren’t cheap to fix and even more expensive to replace.
A little work on the front end, such as investing in a tailored plan to match the climate, helps keep EV chargers running longer and reduces emergency repairs. This is the key difference between investing in reliability versus gambling with downtime. For EV drivers, a well-maintained site goes a long way toward building trust. When they don’t have to wonder if a charger is going to be working, they’re more likely to pull in.
Technology Simplifies Charger Maintenance
We already use real-time monitoring to track uptime and performance. The next step is integrating climate data and predictive analytics to anticipate issues before they happen.
For example, what if you received automated alerts to inspect equipment ahead of a tropical storm in Florida, a sandstorm in Arizona or the first deep freeze in Minnesota? Those notifications could make all the difference in the life of your equipment. Proactive maintenance helps chargers stay online when drivers need them most, whether it’s during evacuations, severe weather or peak travel times.
That said, technology alone isn’t enough. Site owners need service partners who understand both the equipment and the environment it operates in. It needs to be said that not every technician is qualified to work on EV chargers. Cutting corners on service always leads to spending more in the long run.
Future-Proofing
Call it climate change or just ongoing unpredictable weather patterns, it’s raising the stakes on maintenance. We’re already seeing more intense storms, longer heat waves and devastating environmental occurrences across the country. If we don’t adapt maintenance practices now, these challenges will continue to grow, and bottom lines will suffer.
As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. A little extra effort today sets us up for success tomorrow, and that is true no matter what the climate throws our way.
In the end, we can’t control the weather. What we can control is how ready our EV charging units are for it. That’s a responsibility we can’t afford to ignore.
Bio:
Ryan Sodamann, Vice President, National Solution Services (NS2) at FTI, is a driving force behind innovative EV charging solutions. With extensive expertise in service level agreements, nationwide distributive services and Network Operations Center (NOC) management, Ryan optimizes uptime and efficiency for EV infrastructure. His strategic leadership in asset management and preventative/reactive maintenance ensures seamless operations, making him a trusted authority in EV servicing.
