EV Charging for Commercial Property

EV charging and on-site solar are two assets that earn more together than apart. A commercial roof generates most of its power during the working day — exactly when staff cars sit on the car park and customers visit the site. Direct those solar units into vehicles instead of exporting them at a low SEG rate, and you turn surplus generation into charging revenue or a saved fuel cost rather than a grid handout. For an owner or landlord, charging also reshapes the asset itself: it makes a building more lettable, supports a green-premium argument on rent and value, and gives a reason to put a solar canopy over an under-used car park. This guide sets out how the two technologies combine, the charging types and ratings that matter, the planning route for car-park canopies, the landlord-value angle, and the grid constraints that decide what is actually buildable.

Why EV charging and solar belong together

The core return driver in any commercial solar project is self-consumption — the share of generation you use on site rather than export. Solar-only sites typically self-consume 30–50% of what they generate; adding storage lifts that to 60–80%, and a well-matched load can push it to 90–95%. Every unit you self-consume is worth roughly 24–28p (the retail price you avoid paying) against the ~12–16p you would earn exporting it under a Smart Export Guarantee tariff. EV charging is one of the best loads for closing that gap because it is large, daytime-weighted and flexible.

A car charging at 7kW for several hours absorbs a meaningful slice of a rooftop array’s midday output. Where a site has a fleet that returns during the day, or staff who plug in on arrival, the solar can feed those vehicles directly rather than spilling onto the grid. The effect is that the same panels earn at the higher self-consumption rate, the payback on the solar shortens, and the charging is partly powered by generation you have already paid for. For an owner-occupier capturing 100% of the value this is direct; for a landlord it depends on how the supply is structured (see the split incentive guide for who pays for and benefits from on-site generation).

Solar, battery and charging also stack. A battery can store midday solar and release it to chargers in the late afternoon or evening peak, and can buffer the grid draw of a rapid charger so you avoid an expensive supply upgrade. The economics of pairing storage with generation and load are covered in more depth at batterystorageforbusiness.co.uk.

Workplace, destination and fleet charging

Commercial charging falls into three broad use cases, and the right mix shapes both the hardware and the solar match.

Workplace charging serves staff vehicles parked through the working day. This is the closest fit for rooftop solar: cars dwell for 6–9 hours, so slower AC charging at 7–22kW is enough to deliver a useful range top-up, and that long dwell time lets the chargers soak up daytime generation. It is also the most relevant case for the OZEV Workplace Charging Scheme.

Destination charging serves visitors — at retail parks, offices with client parking, hospitality or leisure sites. Dwell times are shorter and more variable, so chargers tend to be faster, and the charging itself can become an amenity that pulls footfall or supports a tariff. Retail and office investment owners should weigh this alongside the broader retail property and office investment cases.

Fleet charging serves a business’s own vehicles — vans, pool cars, last-mile delivery. Patterns are predictable, which makes solar matching easier, but if the whole fleet returns and charges in a tight window the peak grid demand can be high, which is where storage and smart charging earn their place. Logistics and warehouse owners will recognise this profile; the industrial and logistics property vertical covers the wider picture.

AC versus DC rapid charging

Charger choice is largely a question of how long vehicles stay and how much grid capacity you have.

AC chargers (7–22kW) are the workhorse of workplace and destination charging. A 7kW unit suits single-phase supplies and long dwell times; 22kW needs a three-phase supply and suits faster destination turnover. AC charging is cheaper to install, easier on the grid connection, and pairs well with solar because its slower draw lines up with the steady output of a rooftop array.

DC rapid chargers (50kW and above) convert power for the vehicle on the charger side and deliver a fast top-up in 20–40 minutes. They suit forecourts, transport hubs and high-turnover destinations, but they draw heavily on the grid, often need a dedicated supply or reinforcement, and are far harder to power directly from solar without a battery to buffer the peak. As a rule, lean toward AC where dwell time allows — it is kinder to both the connection and the solar match — and reserve DC rapid for sites where fast turnaround genuinely earns its keep.

The table below summarises the trade-offs.

Car-park solar canopies under Class OA

An under-used car park is one of the most overlooked assets on a commercial site. A solar canopy turns it into a generating surface while sheltering vehicles and providing the obvious structure to mount chargers.

Since changes to permitted development rights, car-park solar canopies fall under Class OA, which permits the installation of solar canopies subject to limits and prior approval. The canopy must not exceed 4 metres in height, must sit at least 10 metres from a dwelling, and is subject to a prior-approval process covering matters such as glare — so it is a defined planning route rather than a free pass, but a far lighter one than full planning permission. (Note this is distinct from the separate rooftop permitted development route, Class J, that applies to building-mounted commercial solar.)

A canopy lets the same footprint generate power, charge vehicles and improve the customer or staff experience in one structure. The generation-plus-charging combination is the strongest version of the self-consumption argument, because the power is produced and used in the same place. For the design, structural and cost detail of car-park solar specifically, see solarcarparks.co.uk, which covers canopies and carports in depth.

The landlord and amenity angle

For owners and investors, EV charging is increasingly a leasing and valuation lever rather than just an energy measure. Tenants are setting their own net-zero and fleet-electrification targets, and a building that already offers workplace and visitor charging answers a question they would otherwise have to solve themselves. That makes the space easier to let, supports rent, and feeds the wider green-premium case for solar-equipped commercial property set out in the green premium and asset value guide.

Charging also strengthens an ESG and reporting position — relevant where buildings sit in funds measured against frameworks like GRESB, covered in the ESG, GRESB and net-zero funds guide. And because charging usually rides on the same investment as the solar and any car-park canopy, it can be folded into one capital case. Where charging is offered to tenants or the public, the supply and metering structure matters — a landlord may run it through a common-parts supply, a tenant arrangement or a private-wire setup, the same questions that govern how on-site solar is sold; the roof lease, PPA and licence guide and the landlord-tenant PPA and private-wire guide work through the options.

Funding: the OZEV Workplace Charging Scheme

The OZEV Workplace Charging Scheme exists to support eligible businesses, charities and public-sector organisations with the cost of installing workplace charging. Eligibility criteria, the number of sockets supported and the level of support are set by government and change over time, so we deliberately do not quote figures here — check the current rules and eligibility on gov.uk before relying on any support, and treat it as a contribution rather than the basis of the business case. Capital allowances are usually the more material lever on the overall project, and the chargers as plant sit alongside the solar in that analysis; see the capital allowances and funding guide and the grants and funding page.

Grid and DNO considerations

The grid connection is the constraint that most often decides what charging a site can actually run. Adding chargers increases peak demand, and where that pushes the site’s import requirement above the level the existing connection allows, you trigger a Distribution Network Operator (DNO) application. A G99 application is generally required for generation above roughly 50kW, and a separate process governs increases in import capacity for charging — both can involve cost and lead time, and in constrained areas the available capacity is the real bottleneck, not the hardware.

This is where the solar-battery-charging combination earns its keep beyond energy savings. Smart charging can hold vehicle draw within the available connection by spreading or staggering it; a battery can buffer the peak of a rapid charger so you avoid or defer a supply upgrade; and using solar on site reduces import at the times it matters most. Sizing the whole package — generation, storage and charging — against the connection rather than each in isolation is what keeps a scheme buildable and affordable. The planning and grid detail for commercial solar generally is set out in the planning and grid guide, and a roof and site assessment is the right place to start; you can request a quote to scope it.

Frequently asked questions

Can solar realistically power EV charging on a commercial site?

It can power a meaningful share, particularly for workplace and fleet charging where vehicles dwell through the daylight hours. A rooftop array generates most strongly midday, so AC chargers running at 7–22kW can absorb that output directly. It will not power high-turnover DC rapid charging on its own — that needs grid support, often with a battery to buffer the peak — but for slower daytime charging the match is strong, and self-consuming those units is worth far more than exporting them.

Do I need planning permission for a car-park solar canopy?

Car-park solar canopies fall under Class OA permitted development, which means full planning permission is generally not required, but a prior-approval process applies. The canopy must not exceed 4 metres in height, must sit at least 10 metres from any dwelling, and prior approval can cover matters such as glare. It is a defined and lighter route than full planning, not an automatic right, so the prior-approval step should be built into the project timeline.

What grant support is available for workplace charging?

The OZEV Workplace Charging Scheme supports eligible businesses and organisations with installation costs, but the eligibility rules, socket limits and level of support are set by government and change over time. For that reason we do not quote figures — check the current position on gov.uk. In practice the capital allowances available on the chargers and the wider solar investment are usually the more significant financial lever, so treat any scheme support as a contribution to, rather than the foundation of, the business case.