How long until a charging station pays back? It is the question every committee, property and investor asks first - and the one most easily blurred with vague numbers. This tool lays the account flat: what you invest once, what comes in monthly, what electricity and O&M eat, what the property takes, what the operator actually keeps, and how many months to payback - all on your own parameters.
Step 1 - pick a device type
Switching loads the typical defaults for that project type; every number stays editable.
Step 2 - project parameters
Uses per port is the variable that moves the answer most: busy communities reach 2+, new or bay-rich ones sit at 0.8–1.2. Share is computed on gross margin (revenue minus electricity minus O&M), never on revenue.
Step 3 - results
| One-off investment | — |
|---|---|
| Monthly revenue (what users pay) | — |
| Monthly cost (electricity + O&M) | — |
| Monthly gross margin | — |
| Property monthly share | — |
| Operator monthly net | — |
| Annualised return on capital | — |
| Static payback (operator view) | — |
| 5-year cumulative net | — |
Utilisation sensitivity (60%–120%)
| Utilisation | Uses per port | Operator net / month | Payback |
|---|
Static model: no cost of capital, depreciation, residuals, taxes, channel fees or insurance. Change any input and everything recomputes instantly.
How to use it
- Pick the device type - e-bike, 7kW AC or 120kW DC loads that type's typical defaults.
- Adjust three numbers - scale, daily uses per port, purchase tariff. Those three explain 80% of the spread between projects.
- Read the sensitivity table - never trust a single payback number; ask what happens at 60% utilisation. That is the real test.
Parameter guide by device type
| Parameter | E-bike station | 7kW AC | 120kW DC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billing basis | Per session, by time or energy | Per kWh (electricity + service fee) | Per kWh, service fee dominates |
| Typical uses per unit per day | 1–2.5 | 0.8–1.5 | 4–10 |
| Energy per session | about 0.5 kWh | 20–40 kWh | 60–120 kWh |
| Investment driver | Ports × unit price | Units + cabling | Units + transformer and connection |
| Watch out | Utilisation collapses without shelters | Capacity for the count installed | Reinforcement cost and approval time |
The formulas, in the open
- Monthly revenue = ports × daily uses × price per session × 30
- Monthly electricity = ports × daily uses × kWh per session × purchase tariff × 30
- Gross margin = revenue - electricity - O&M (annual O&M per port divided by 12, plus site fee)
- Operator net = gross margin × (1 - property share); property share = gross margin × share
- Static payback = one-off investment / operator monthly net; annualised return = operator net × 12 / investment
Sharing is computed on gross margin by design. Sharing on revenue silently hands the electricity bill to the sharer - the most common trap in Chinese charging contracts, and the reason our contracts define the base explicitly.
About these results: the tools compute ideal-condition, static estimates from public industry parameters and the values you enter, for early communication, option comparison and feasibility screening only. They are not investment advice, not a promise of return, not a quotation. Actual investment, revenue and payback depend on site conditions, grid capacity, equipment selection, real utilisation, tariff and service-fee policy, O&M quality and sharing terms, and may differ substantially. Entrepreneurship involves risk; decisions should rest on survey data, formal contracts and real operations. The company accepts no investment risk for decisions made on these figures.