Workplace EV charging and solar — why they belong together

EV charging and office solar — natural partners

Workplace EV charging and office solar share the same demand profile: Monday-to-Friday daytime occupancy, predictable load patterns, and a strategic alignment with corporate net zero commitments. Increasingly, employee recruitment in engineering, professional services, and tech roles depends on access to workplace EV charging — particularly in regions where home charging access is constrained (urban flats, on-street parking).

The strongest commercial case for office solar in 2026 typically includes workplace EV charging as part of the integrated project — not as a separate later phase.

The OZEV Workplace Charging Scheme

The UK government’s Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) operates the Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS), which provides grants for businesses installing EV chargers at workplaces.

Grant value: £350 per socket, up to a maximum of 40 sockets per applicant business across all sites — total maximum £14,000.

Eligibility: Any business with off-street parking. Chargers must be from an OZEV-approved installer using OZEV-approved models. Must be claimed within 4 months of installation.

Process: Voucher application through OZEV portal, installer commissions chargers, voucher redeemed by installer who passes the grant value through to customer as discount on invoice.

The scheme is straightforward and well-administered. For a 16-socket workplace install at 4 typical 22 kW dual-output 7-pin chargers, the grant covers £5,600 of typical £40-60k installed cost — meaningful but not transformational.

Where solar amplifies the EV business case

Combining EV charging with solar PV produces three economic effects beyond the standalone OZEV grant.

First, charging from solar generation cuts the operating cost of the EV charging asset to nearly zero. A 22 kW charger drawing 8 hours of midweek daytime use from solar generation rather than grid electricity saves £30-£40 per day in displaced grid cost — £6,000-£8,000 per year per charger.

Second, solar-charged EVs strengthen the employer ESG narrative. “Workplace EV charging” delivers a moderate ESG signal. “Workplace EV charging from on-site solar” delivers a strong one — particularly to engineering recruits, sustainability-minded clients, and Scope 3 emissions reporters who can claim displaced commuting emissions.

Third, EV charging absorbs Monday-Thursday daytime solar generation that would otherwise export to SEG at low tariffs. A bank of 10-20 workplace chargers operating 4-6 hours/day per charger lifts office self-consumption by 8-15 percentage points and improves overall solar economics.

The integrated business case

A worked example: a 4,000 sqm office with 60 parking spaces in Reading.

Solar only (240 kWp):

Capex: £204,000
Annual generation: 221,000 kWh
Self-consumption: 76%
Annual benefit: £55,000
Payback: 3.7 years

Solar + 12 × 22 kW workplace chargers:

Solar capex: £204,000
EV capex: £45,000 less £4,200 OZEV grant = £40,800
Total capex: £244,800
EV charging revenue (£0.18/kWh × 8,000 sessions × 12 chargers × 22 kWh avg): £37,400/year
Solar self-consumption rises to 88%, annual benefit £63,000
Total annual benefit: £100,400
Payback: 2.4 years

The integrated business case is materially stronger than either component alone — payback drops from 3.7 to 2.4 years, total annual benefit nearly doubles, and the strategic ESG case is meaningfully more compelling.

What workplace EV charging actually requires

A typical workplace EV install requires:

Power capacity: 22 kW per socket on three-phase. A 12-charger install needs 264 kVA of incoming supply capacity. Many older office buildings have 200-400A three-phase landlord supply that can accommodate this with switchroom modification but not always major capacity uplift.
Cable runs: Trenching from switchroom to parking bays, plus surface ducting in car park.
Charge management: Load-balanced charge management software to throttle individual charger output during peak demand events. Without this, simultaneous full-power charging can trip the building’s main supply.
Payment systems: Backend platform for employee vs visitor billing, RFID access control, integration with payroll for employee benefit accounting.
Network connectivity: Each charger needs 4G or wired LAN connectivity to its backend platform.

We deliver this as an integrated package with the solar install, with full OZEV WCS handling, charge management software setup, and a 5-year managed service that handles maintenance and software updates.

Salary sacrifice EV schemes

For employees driving EVs, salary sacrifice schemes through HMRC-approved programmes (Octopus, Zenith, Tusker) offer 20-40% effective cost reduction on a leased EV over a 3-4 year contract. Pairing the workplace charging facility with employee salary sacrifice scheme participation is increasingly common — and where a business runs both, employee EV adoption rates typically reach 25-40% over 3 years.

We don’t run salary sacrifice schemes ourselves but routinely refer customers to the major UK providers as part of the integrated workplace EV proposition.

Request a free feasibility study including solar plus EV charging integrated modelling.