With the increasing popularity of the electric vehicles, the layout of charging infrastructure has become a critical link in supporting the development of the electric vehicle industry. As two core charging devices, fast charging piles (over 60kW) and slow charging piles (7kW-11kW) require deployment strategies that comprehensively consider different scenarios’ user needs, grid capacity, and operational costs. The following analysis explains the differentiated deployment strategies for fast and slow charging piles from nine specific scenarios: standalone residences, newly built residential communities, old residential areas, commercial office buildings, etc.

1. Standalone Residences : Recommend Slow Charging Piles

Users in standalone residences are mostly home owners with “high-frequency, low-power” charging needs. For example, commuters usually park their cars at night (19:00 - next day 6:00), and the 6-8 hour charging time required by slow charging piles perfectly matches this scenario. Therefore, equipping with slow charging piles is most suitable for this use case and does not require additional power expansion costs.

2. Newly Built Residential Communities : Slow Charging Piles as the Mainstay, Fast Charging Piles as Supplementary

Newly built communities can reserve space during the planning phase, avoiding the complexity of later modifications. This allows for greater redundancy in grid capacity. In addition to individual users installing slow charging piles on their private parking spaces, a small number of fast charging piles can be centrally deployed in public areas such as ground-level parking lots to facilitate quick energy replenishment for temporary visitors or users with low battery levels.

3. Old Residential Areas : Recommend Slow Charging Piles, Combined with Energy Storage

Old residential areas face problems such as tight parking spaces, aging grids, and high population density. Although there is strong demand for charging, it is difficult to install enough full-capacity charging piles. Therefore, increasing energy storage equipment can help improve the grid capacity of the community. During periods of low charging demand (e.g., daytime), the grid can charge the energy storage system, and during peak hours (e.g., nighttime), the energy storage system can discharge to compensate for insufficient grid capacity.

4. Commercial Office Buildings : Slow Charging Piles as the Mainstay, Fast Charging Piles as Supplementary

Users in commercial office buildings are mostly office workers whose parking times are concentrated on weekdays (8:00 - 18:00), and their charging needs are primarily for “daily top-ups”. If only fast charging piles are deployed, it may cause an overload on the building’s grid. Therefore, slow charging piles should be the main option to meet the charging needs of office workers, while a small number of fast charging piles can be deployed to serve visitors.

5. Public Service Centers : Recommend Fast Charging Piles

Public service centers (such as community service centers, government offices) are high-frequency locations where residents make short stops. Users have high requirements for charging convenience, and these places generally have sufficient space to plan parking lots and dedicated power supply equipment. Therefore, deploying fast charging piles in parking lots ensures that users can quickly replenish energy during brief visits.

6. Large Commercial Centers : A Combination of Fast and Slow Charging Piles

Large commercial centers (such as shopping malls, large supermarkets) have users who stay for long periods (2-4 hours), and charging behavior is highly overlapping with consumption activities. Installing charging piles in commercial centers attracts electric vehicle users to come for shopping. Therefore, a combination of fast and slow charging piles can be adopted, using fast charging piles to provide convenience for users needing “quick top-up and rapid departure”, and slow charging piles to fully charge users who stay for extended shopping periods.

7. Transport Hubs : Recommend Fast Charging Piles

Transport hubs (such as airports, train stations) are “high-frequency dispersal points” for new energy vehicles, with users often being short-distance commuters or temporarily parked vehicles. The typical parking time in these places is about 0.5-1.5 hours. Deploying slow charging piles would greatly affect commuting efficiency. Therefore, it is recommended to deploy fast charging piles to meet the demand for quick energy replenishment, improve commuting efficiency, and also alleviate traffic pressure at transport hubs.

8. Highway Rest Areas : Recommend Fast Charging Piles

Highway rest areas are essential stops for long-distance travel, where users need to quickly replenish range to continue their journey. For example, the average parking time at highway rest areas is about 30 minutes, requiring high-power fast charging piles to solve range anxiety and ensure that the vehicle’s battery can be charged from 20%-30% to 80%-90% within 30 minutes.

9. Urban Main Roads : Recommend Fast Charging Piles

Areas around urban main roads are regions with frequent vehicle passage and heavy traffic flow. Whether it’s users stopping along the way to charge or nearby residents due to insufficient charging piles in their communities, they all have high requirements for refueling speed, as users are generally stuck in their cars at this time. Therefore, it is also necessary to deploy high-power fast charging piles to improve commuting efficiency and reduce waiting time at charging stations.

10. Summary

The deployment strategy for fast and slow charging piles must be “scene-specific”: in scenarios like standalone residences and commercial office buildings where parking time is fixed, slow charging piles are the core; whereas in high-demand short-stop scenarios like highway rest areas and transport hubs, fast charging piles are indispensable. By precisely matching user needs, scientifically managing grid load, and optimizing cost sharing, we can build a “fast-slow complementary, wide-area coverage” charging network to provide solid support for the popularization of new energy vehicles.