More power is not always better. The right charger power matches how long drivers stay, how many arrive together and how much electricity your site can supply. Oversize and you pay for capacity that sits idle; undersize and drivers leave before they are charged.
Start with dwell time
How long a typical driver stays is the single most useful number for sizing a site.
- Several hours (workplaces, apartments, hotels overnight): AC charging or a 30 kW DC charger is usually enough.
- One to two hours (malls, cinemas, restaurants): 30–60 kW DC gives a meaningful top-up during the visit.
- 20 to 40 minutes (highways, quick city stops): 60–120 kW DC and above.
- Heavy vehicles and busy corridors (buses, trucks, high-traffic highway hubs): high-power systems that can scale towards 1.2 MW across multiple guns.
Match the vehicles you expect
A car can only accept as much power as its battery and electronics allow. Most cars on Indian roads today accept somewhere between 30 and 100 kW on DC. Buses and trucks accept far more. Size for the vehicles that will actually use the site, with headroom for newer models.
Count arrivals, not just chargers
If five cars arrive in the same hour, one powerful charger serves them worse than three moderate ones. Number of guns often matters more than peak power per gun.
Check what the grid can give
Every kilowatt needs to come from your electrical connection. A 120 kW charger needs a very different supply from a 30 kW one, and multi-megawatt sites usually need a dedicated transformer. A site assessment confirms your sanctioned load and what an upgrade would involve.
Consider power sharing
Many DC systems share a power cabinet across several guns, sending more power to whichever vehicle can use it. This gives high peak speeds without paying for full power on every gun.
Plan for growth
Lay cables, conduits and panel space for the next phase now. Adding chargers later is far cheaper when the groundwork is done.
A quick guide
- 30 kW: workplaces, apartments, destination parking.
- 60–80 kW: malls, restaurants, city corridors.
- 120 kW and up: highways, logistics hubs, fleet depots.
- Up to 1.2 MW: large highway hubs and heavy-vehicle charging.
EVee Buddy designs sites across this range. Talk to us for an assessment of your location.