How EV charging TCO is modelled
Charging hardware is usually the smaller half of the cost. Connection capacity, civil works and utilisation decide whether a site pays back.
Cost lines in a charging model
| Line | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Hardware | Chargers by port count and power class, with cabling and protection. |
| Site works | Groundworks, canopies, signage, and the electrical infrastructure up to the point of connection. |
| Connection | Grid capacity, transformer or upgrade charges, and metering. |
| Operation | Back-office and network fees, maintenance, spares and electricity purchased for resale. |
| Utilisation | Sessions or energy delivered per port per period — the variable that most often decides the outcome. |
What stays open until confirmed
Utilisation is an assumption until the site has traffic data. Grid connection cost is site-specific and often unknown before a network study. Interoperability and payment requirements vary by market and are not established by a product reference alone.
Worked example
The 100-port depot charging study sets out a multi-port fleet case with its utilisation assumptions stated on the page. Treat its figures as scenario estimates for that case.
What this model does not tell you
It does not tell you the utilisation your site will achieve, what your network operator will charge for capacity, or what uptime the hardware will deliver in your climate. Those are the inputs that most often break a business case.
How this differs from the other classes
Charging is the only class where revenue depends on traffic you do not control. The hardware cost is knowable before purchase; the utilisation that justifies it is not.
Questions to put to a supplier
- What continuous power is available per port, and is that power shared between ports?
- What uptime is committed, and what remedy applies if it is not met?
- Which payment, authentication and roaming arrangements are supported in this market?
- What electrical capacity does the site need, and what protection is included?
- What maintenance and spares commitment applies over the service life?
The input most often left unverified
Utilisation. Sessions per port per day is the number that decides payback, and it is usually assumed rather than observed. A site with traffic data and a site without it are not the same investment, even with identical hardware.