GLOSSARY

DC Fast Charging (DCFC)

DCFC delivers direct current at up to 400 kW, adding over 100 miles of range per hour, the charging class for dwell times that cannot wait. In a parking facility:

110100400 Level 1 120V AC 1–2 kW Level 2 240V AC 7–19 kW DC Fast DCFC 50–350 kW kilowatts (log scale)
Charging power by level (log scale): each bar is a typical value, the label the common range. Level 1 adds a few miles of range per hour; DC fast charging can add 100-plus miles in under half an hour. Source: U.S. DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center.
  • Installed cost runs $40,000 to $450,000 per port, dominated by infrastructure.
  • NREL’s national analysis puts DCFC at just 0.65% of all ports needed; the honest analysis for most parking destinations is little or none.
Try it
Will this charger pay for itself?

One 150 kW DC fast charger, installed for about $140,000. Set how often drivers use it, what they pay and the utility rate, and see the monthly result and the payback.

At 8 sessions a day and $0.50 per kWh, a fast charger on a utility rate with a $15 per kW demand charge loses money: the $2,250 monthly demand charge outweighs the energy margin. On an EV rate without a demand charge, the same charger nets about $1,850 a month and pays back in a little over 6 years. Utilization and the utility rate decide the case more than the price per kWh.

Illustrative: 30 kWh a session, $0.18 per kWh energy cost, $15 per kW demand charge on 150 kW, $300 a month for network and maintenance, 5% payment fees, $140,000 installed cost before incentives. Rates and costs vary widely by utility and site.

Considerations

  • Manufacturers currently advise limiting routine DCFC use to protect batteries, though chemistry changes may reverse this. DCFC belongs where the dwell is short and the need is real, not on the all-day floor.