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AC Or DC: Choosing Chargers For Your Site
Adding chargers is rarely limited by space. It is limited by power. This guide explains how to estimate what your site needs, where load management helps, and when a grid upgrade is worth the cost.
1. Start With The Power You Already Have
Your current supply capacity, shown on your electricity bill or by your network operator, sets the starting point. Subtract your existing peak demand from that capacity to see how much headroom is available for chargers. Many sites have more spare capacity than they expect, especially outside office hours.
2. Add Up The Chargers You Actually Need
Count the vehicles that will charge at the same time, not the total number of parking bays. A 22 kW AC charger running flat out draws 22 kW, so 20 of them could demand 440 kW at peak. In practice, most vehicles arrive with partly full batteries and leave at different times, so real demand is far lower.
“Size for the vehicles you’ll have in five years, then let load management decide how the power is shared today.”
Evolta Engineering Team
3. Use Load Management To Do More With Less
Smart load management shares available power between chargers in real time, so you can install more units without upgrading your connection. It can also give priority to certain vehicles or time slots. Before you decide on a connection size, check:
- Your half-hourly electricity data for the past 12 months
- The maximum capacity of your supply and main distribution board
- Peak demand times for the building, such as heating or production
- Whether chargers will be used overnight, in the day, or both
- How many vehicles will plug in at once, now and in five years
4. Plan Cabling And Space For Growth
Running larger cables and ducts during the first installation costs a fraction of digging up the car park later. We usually specify capacity for the next phase even if chargers are added in stages. A short survey can also flag the best location for any new transformer or switchgear.
5. Know When An Upgrade Is Worth It
If load management still can’t meet your needs, a grid upgrade may be required. Network operators can take several months to approve and complete works, so it pays to apply early. Our team prepares the application and compares the upgrade cost against the savings from a larger charger network.
. Closing section: Get The Numbers Right Before You Build.
Every site has a different power profile, but the method is the same: measure, model, then design with room to grow. Talk to an Evolta engineer before you commit to a connection size, and start your project with a plan that fits your budget.
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