Does your site need destination or en-route EV charging?

Destination charging serves a visit already being made; en-route charging helps a driver continue a journey. DfT’s location definitions even classify hotel and restaurant devices differently around the 50 kW boundary [S1]. Choose your equipment from visitors’ required energy and available time, rather than the label alone. Then compare supply needs, parking turnover, operating costs and funding terms. Checked October 2026.

Last checked 16 October 2026

What is the difference between destination and en-route charging?

At a destination, the visit gives the driver time to charge. En route, charging is a reason to stop before continuing the journey. DfT’s location definitions distinguish these uses and include power-specific rules for hotel and restaurant devices [S1]. Those categories help describe infrastructure; they are not a charger specification for your business.

Start with the visitor’s task. An overnight guest, a lunch customer and a van making a brief delivery have different time available, even if they use the same car park. Ask what energy each needs before leaving, rather than assuming all electric vehicles need a complete refill.

Read dwell time and charger speed before deciding which market your bays should serve.

How much charging can fit into a meal, visit or overnight stay?

Kilowatts (kW) measure power. Kilowatt-hours (kWh) measure energy. Alternating current (AC) charging uses the car’s on-board conversion equipment; direct current (DC) charging supplies the battery through the charging equipment. The CMA explains this distinction in its market study [S2].

Use energy = average accepted power × time as a screening calculation. The table uses assumed constant average power, not a prediction for a vehicle or product. It excludes connection time and any further losses.

These are possible design questions, not rules assigning a charger to a sector. Replace the assumed average with evidence for the vehicles you expect. A power label describes capability, rather than energy delivered throughout a session.

Ask the installer for examples of slow-accepting vehicles, simultaneous charging and the output available while your building is busy. Compare AC and DC charging on that basis.

Which approach fits your visitors and parking?

Map the visit from arrival to departure. Identify who occupies the bay, whether the driver can return easily and how the parking policy works if charging finishes before the visit does.

Use this table as a survey brief. Record the barriers a driver would encounter: closed gates, a confusing entrance, a long walk to the building or a parking limit shorter than the intended visit. Agree who will correct each problem before using expected charging sessions in a forecast.

For hotels and holiday parks, compare overnight guest bays with separately managed short-stay bays. For pubs and restaurants, check the length and timing of actual visits.

Should you offer free charging, paid charging or a customer discount?

Treat free charging as a costed amenity. Here is an illustration with assumed inputs: 10 kWh supplied to each of 20 guests a week at an all-in electricity input cost of £0.25 per delivered kWh costs 10 × 20 × £0.25 = £50 a week, before any service costs. This is not evidence of extra bookings.

For paid charging, separate electricity income from parking income and retail sales. Test whether a discount would reward customers already coming to your site or attract additional visits. Specify how your team applies it, what happens outside opening hours and who handles disputes.

Government public charging guidance includes customer car parks and restricted opening hours within potential public scope. It also addresses separate charging-price display when parking is bundled [S3]. Check the policy and applicable exemptions with your solicitor rather than assuming a customer-only sign settles compliance.

How should you compare the funding and operating offers?

The driver’s use case does not determine who owns the charger. Compare fully funded, part funded and self funded offers against the same charging requirement.

Under fully funded charging, the provider pays, installs, owns and operates; you provide the site and receive agreed income. Under part funded charging, you contribute capital for a larger agreed share and defined rights. Under self funded charging, you pay for the installation and retain income after energy and operating costs.

Ask for an annual host-income forecast under fully funded terms. For the other models, request annual net income, return on investment and simple payback using the host’s contribution. Do not compare a gross sales forecast with a net revenue share. Use the business-case template for a consistent calculation.

Include control of bays, opening hours, tariff changes, maintenance, insurance and removal in the agreement. Check the property terms with your solicitor and tax treatment with your accountant. Public customer use and grant eligibility are separate questions: the Workplace Charging Scheme has applicant and parking-use conditions [S4]. Deduct support only after confirming those conditions for the specific bays.

What should you do next?

Gather visitor dwell information, vehicle requests, parking rules and your building’s electrical information. Ask for a proposal that states the useful energy delivered during each type of visit. Compare it with choosing where to put chargers before allocating bays.

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