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EV Charging Parking Sensor

Practical guide to EV charging parking sensors: detection types (geomagnetic, radar, hybrid, camera), radio & battery standards, installation checklist, O&M best practices, and how to specify sensors in municipal tenders.

ev charging parking sensor
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LoRaWAN
OTA

EV Charging Parking Sensor

EV Charging Parking Sensor – geomagnetic detection, LoRaWAN battery‑life planning & anti‑ICEing overstay detection

An EV Charging Parking Sensor is the field hardware that detects vehicle presence at a charging bay and turns that event into authoritative occupancy state for enforcement, billing and operations. In practice this means combining a detection head with a communications stack and device management so the sensor becomes the primary source of “charger occupied” for enforcement officers, charge‑point operators and the city dashboard. See the deployment checklist below and the tender checklist recommendations for procurement teams.

Key operational benefits:

  • Maximise EV charger uptime (reduced ICEing + overstays).
  • Convert occupancy events into billing / pay‑as‑you‑go records (real-time occupancy).
  • Lower enforcement operational load with reliable presence data (violation detection).
  • Feed occupancy to charger management and city dashboards for demand forecasting (parking occupancy analytics).

Standards and regulatory context

Standards and regional radio rules materially affect which sensor hardware you can propose in tenders. In the EU the ETSI short‑range device standard (EN 300 220 family) was updated in 2025 (EN 300 220‑2 V3.3.1) and is the harmonised reference for many sub‑GHz devices used in parking sensors — procurement must therefore require a radio test report against the currently applicable EN 300 220 edition. (portal.etsi.org)

Safety for battery‑containing devices is normally proven to EN 62368‑1 (product safety); manufacturers typically supply a safety test report and a battery‑handling / protection matrix as part of the tender package. For the Fleximodo family there are lab test reports showing EN 62368‑1 pass results.

Regulatory checklist for procurement (minimum):

  • Radio test report to the current EN 300 220 edition (or national adaptation). See the device RF test report for example tests and TX duty‑cycle evidence.
  • EN 62368‑1 or equivalent safety report for battery/electronics.
  • Firmware / OTA update policy and delivery SLA (firmware-over-the-air, ota-firmware-update).
  • Network / privacy architecture (VPN / private APN / secure data transmission). (secure-data-transmission)

Vendor claim vs evidence: prefer measured evidence (test reports, duty‑cycle calculators, battery ageing data) over single "years" numbers in brochures. The EN 300 220 update in 2025 expanded requirements for SRD devices and is worth reviewing before finalising any EU tender. (compliance.globalnorm.de)

Types of EV charging parking sensors (how they differ)

Sensor type Detection method Coverage / footprint Typical power source Best use case
Geomagnetic / magnetometer Measures ferrous disturbance under the tyre footprint Single‑space, per sensor Battery — very low power (3‑axis magnetometer). 3‑axis magnetometer Low‑power single charger bays where long battery life matters.
Radar / mmWave / nanoradar Doppler / presence, small beam 1–4 spaces depending on beam Mains / PoE preferred; some low‑power radar exist (nanoradar-technology) Where pavement depth or surface mounting prevents an in‑ground detector.
Hybrid (geomagnetic + radar) Magnetometer + radar for reduced false positives 1 space Larger battery pack or mains Best balance of accuracy + battery life in cold climates (dual-detection-magnetometer-nanoradar).
Edge‑vision / camera + AI Camera with on‑device inference; multi‑space 4–8 bays per device PoE / mains Adjudication/evidence & multi‑space coverage (camera-based-parking-sensor).
Charger‑integrated telemetry Charger reports EV connected / charging 1 space Mains via charger Most reliable for billing when combined with presence sensor to detect ICEing/idle‑connected.

Notes:

  • Battery life claims are duty‑cycle dependent; always request a vendor duty‑cycle calculator and a winter‑condition test case to model realistic field life (see the product datasheet and battery annex).

System components (what to include in tender & acceptance tests)

A production EV charging sensor deployment is a system, not just a head unit. Minimum components to list in a technical schedule:

Procurement tip: require a factory acceptance test (FAT) and an on‑site acceptance test (SAT) template with thresholds for detection accuracy, battery telemetry and join/retransmit behaviour. Refer to the vendor installation manual for sensor placement and acceptance thresholds.

How EV Charging Parking Sensor is installed / measured / calculated / implemented (step‑by‑step)

  1. Survey & radio validation: measure RSSI/SNR at the proposed mounting point and confirm LoRa/NB‑IoT link budget before drilling (lorawan-connectivity).
  2. Mark chassis location relative to charger centre line and enforcement sight lines; follow the vendor installation guide for offset and orientation.
  3. Prepare surface or core‑drill for sleeve (if using in‑ground); use dust control and vacuum to protect electronics. (standard-in-ground-2-0-parking-sensor).
  4. Install sensor module in the sleeve or surface housing; seal per instructions to maintain IP68 rating. (ip68-ingress-protection).
  5. Antenna placement & radio test: confirm orientation, perform a TX test and record results (attach to SAT). If a cellular SIM is used, validate APN / private VPN or private APN security. (nb-iot-connectivity).
  6. Pair sensor with backend & permit card (if used), configure reporting interval and thresholds; verify OTA / DOTA connectivity. (firmware-over-the-air).
  7. Calibrate detection algorithm: run controlled in/out cycles and validate detection accuracy against ground truth (camera or manual observation) and log false positive/negative rates.
  8. Integrate with charger telemetry (CAN/serial/API) where available to correlate charging state against occupancy for enforcement and billing (ev-charging-parking-sensor).
  9. Commission and document: tag asset IDs, GPS location, attach test reports, and schedule battery replacement windows.

(These steps form the core of a HowTo commissioning procedure and can be used to build the HowTo schema included with this article.)

Maintenance and performance considerations

  • Battery strategy: require the vendor calculator and a test case for your reporting interval and expected retry behavior. In cold climates add a winter margin as battery capacity falls with temperature (cold-weather-performance).
  • Temperature & environment: confirm operating window (common ratings: −40 °C to +75 °C on robust devices). Verify freeze‑thaw and flood resistance where relevant. (freeze-thaw-resistance).
  • Remote health telemetry: battery voltage, TX retries, join/ADR status and tamper alerts must be delivered to the management platform and used to trigger automatic work orders (sensor-health-monitoring).
  • Firmware & security lifecycle: procurement should define an OTA window, CVE response SLA, and rollback capability (ota-firmware-update).
  • MTTR & spares: define spares per 1000 sensors and an SLA for first response (typical municipal SLAs: 24–72 hours depending on criticality).
  • Calibration & drift: magnetometers can require recalibration after surface works or reseating; maintain calibration kits and procedures (autocalibration).

Current trends and how to apply them safely

Hybrid magnetometer + low‑power radar heads are widely adopted for EV charger bays because they combine high detection reliability with a conservative battery budget. Edge processing, remote parameter tuning and intelligent firmware reduce truck rolls and O&M cost. Camera/edge‑vision remains the choice when enforcement evidence is required and mains / PoE is available, but privacy impact assessments and GDPR compliance must be considered for camera solutions. (edge-computing-parking-sensor, camera-based-parking-sensor).

LoRaWAN itself is a mature LPWAN with a certification program and active working groups that maintain interoperability and certification tooling; this is important if you plan to use LoRaWAN as the network layer for your sensors. (lora-alliance.org)

The EU Smart Cities / Lighthouse programmes publish replication guidance and show that sensor-based parking pilots are frequently recommended as part of wider mobility and energy strategies. When your procurement asks for energy/demand forecasting integration, reference the EU Smart Cities findings during evaluation. (smart-cities-marketplace.ec.europa.eu)

Key takeaway from a recent municipal pilot (example)

Graz / local pilot (example data) — in local Q1 pilot telemetry the chosen hybrid sensors maintained uptime through sub‑zero events and the vendor projected extended battery life when using the recommended winter duty cycle. Use local pilot numbers to sanity‑check vendor duty‑cycle calculators. (See regional pilots and publications for replication guidance.) (interreg-central.eu)

Practical tip for tenders

Require the vendor to submit a single ZIP containing: RF test report (EN 300 220), EN 62368‑1 safety report, a battery duty‑cycle calculator, an OTA policy, and a step‑by‑step FAT/SAT template. This speeds evaluation and allows quantitative scoring.

Summary

An EV Charging Parking Sensor is a mission‑critical element in any smart‑charging rollout: it enforces charger availability, supports billing and reduces OPEX through remote diagnostics and OTA management. In tenders insist on radio and battery evidence, device management (DOTA) and a vendor battery‑calculation report for your local reporting interval and winter profile. For Fleximodo deployments, request the DOTA integration and the vendor battery‑calculation report during tender evaluation.

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. What is an EV Charging Parking Sensor?

An EV Charging Parking Sensor is a field sensor (geomagnetic, radar, hybrid or camera) that detects presence at an EV charging bay and reports occupancy state to a backend for enforcement, billing, or analytics.

  1. How is an EV Charging Parking Sensor installed/implemented?

Installation follows survey → mount → radio test → pairing → calibration → integration. Vendors normally provide an installation manual and a mobile app for commissioning and calibration.

  1. How long does a typical sensor battery last in the field?

Battery life is use‑case dependent. Require a vendor duty‑cycle calculator and a test case matching your reporting interval and winter conditions rather than relying on a single "years" claim. (battery-life-10-plus-years).

  1. What’s better for EV bays: in‑ground or surface‑mounted sensors?

In‑ground (sleeve) sensors are flush and durable but require drilling; surface mounts are faster to install and swap but may be more exposed. Choose based on pavement type, maintenance plan, and enforcement needs (standard-in-ground-2-0-parking-sensor, standard-on-surface-2-0-parking-sensor).

  1. How do sensors handle ICEing and overstay enforcement?

Sensors provide timestamped occupancy events; integrated stacks correlate occupancy with charger telemetry and permit/payment status to trigger enforcement. Require timestamp fidelity, audit trails and integration tests for enforcement workflows (ev-charger-overstay-detection).

  1. What O&M guarantees should be in tenders?

Require RF/EMC test reports, battery cycle test cases or calculator evidence, OTA policy & SLA, spare units per 1k sensors, field swap procedures and a warranty period tied to battery/electronics failure. Ask for the FAT and SAT templates during bid evaluation.

Optimize your parking operation with EV Charging Parking Sensor

Deploy proven sensor hardware with a device management platform to reduce enforcement cost and maximise charger availability. For municipal tenders insist on full device test evidence, remote diagnostics (DOTA), and a battery duty‑cycle report for your reporting interval — this delivers the lowest TCO and highest uptime. (dota-monitoring, real-time-data-transmission).

References

Below are curated, real projects (internal operational data) that illustrate scale, sensor type and field life. These are taken from operational project records and are useful benchmarks when sizing spares and MTTR planning.

Pardubice 2021 — 3,676 sensors (SPOTXL NB‑IoT)

  • Deployed: 2020‑09‑28. Reported device type: SPOTXL NBIOT. Field life reported in the dataset: 1,904 days. Use this as a large‑scale NB‑IoT benchmark for density and spare‑part planning. Link recommended: NB‑IoT parking sensor.

RSM Bus Turistici — 606 sensors (SPOTXL NB‑IoT), Roma

  • Deployed: 2021‑11‑26. Useful as an example of mixed public/private deployment and multi‑operator connectivity planning.

Chiesi HQ White (Parma) — 297 sensors (SPOT MINI, SPOTXL LoRa)

Skypark 4 Residential Underground Parking (Bratislava) — 221 sensors (SPOT MINI)

  • Deployed: 2023‑10‑03. A good example for underground installations and multi‑floor telemetry; check IP and temperature ratings for underground microclimates. (ip68-ingress-protection).

Wroclaw — 230 sensors (SPOTXL NB‑IoT)

  • Deployed: 2020‑05‑22. Longest running projects like this are useful to validate long battery life claims in the field.

Peristeri debug — 200 sensors (SPOTXL NB‑IoT)

  • Deployed: 2025‑06‑03. Shorter life so far (debug/flashed sensors) — useful for planning firmware rollout risk and spares.

(These operational records are provided for benchmarking only; include similar project evidence in your tender evaluation pack.)

Learn more (recommended reading)

Author Bio

Ing. Peter Kovács — Technical freelance writer

Ing. Peter Kovács is a senior technical writer specialising in smart‑city infrastructure. He writes for municipal parking engineers, city IoT integrators and procurement teams evaluating large tenders. Peter combines field test protocols, procurement best practices and datasheet analysis to produce practical glossary articles and vendor evaluation templates.