AC vs DC charging for depots — which, and how much?
AC is cheap and ideal for the overnight fleet; DC is fast, pricey and hard on your grid. Most depots need mostly AC with a little DC.
Last updated 15 August 2026
The AC-versus-DC decision shapes both your hardware bill and your grid demand, so it’s worth getting right rather than defaulting to “fast is better.”
AC: the overnight workhorse
AC charging (typically up to 22 kW) uses cheaper hardware and draws less power. For vehicles that sit for hours — which is most of a depot overnight — it’s ideal. Give a van eight to twelve hours on an AC charger and it’s full by morning, gently and inexpensively. Because it draws less, it’s also kinder to your grid connection, so you can run more AC points before hitting your limit.
DC: fast, but expensive in two ways
DC charging (50 kW to several hundred kW) refills quickly, but it costs more twice over: the chargers themselves are far pricier, and they draw big peaks that eat your grid capacity and can trigger an upgrade. DC earns its place only where vehicles genuinely can’t sit — tight double-shift operations or a mid-shift top-up.
The usual answer: mostly AC
Most depots land on a mix that’s heavily AC for the resting fleet, with a small number of DC chargers where the timetable demands a quick turnaround. The way to decide is to look at dwell time: long dwell means AC is plenty; short dwell is where you pay for DC speed. Buying DC everywhere “to be safe” is the most common way depots overspend on both hardware and grid.
Run your intended mix through the Grid Capacity Estimator to see what it means for your connection before you commit.