Can hospital car parks deliver EV charging using existing lampposts?

A low-disruption way for estates teams to expand EV charging capacity as patient and visitor dwell times increase

Across the NHS, you’re being asked to support the shift to EVs, including for fleet, staff, and visitors. The challenge is familiar: limited space, disruptive civils, capex pressure, and the uncertainty of grid upgrades.

We’ve had a growing number of enquiries, and recently, a Trust asked us a simple, smart question:

“Our car parks already have lighting columns. Could those columns carry EV chargers too?”

That enquiry sparked this guide.

Below, we outline how to assess lamppost (on-column) charging on NHS estates: what’s feasible, what to check, and why a mix of low-speed AC and high-speed DC often delivers the best clinical-site outcome.

1) Technical feasibility: Power, phasing, and practicality

Start by confirming what your lighting circuits can support.

Realistic power levels from lighting circuits: typically 3.6 kW to 7 kW AC on suitable columns/circuits

• Identify supply type:  lighting columns will always be single phase, but is there three-phase power to tap into on surrounding buildings?

• Capacity & load management: will dynamic load-balancing be required to protect lighting performance?
• Cable routes & isolation: assess any column rewiring, feeders, isolators and fused spurs
• Day vs night: model daytime charging draw alongside lighting load, and overnight draw when lighting is on but EV demand may be highest.

Why it works well for hospitals: staff dwell times (whole shifts) align with 3.6–7 kW charging, avoiding costly grid reinforcement to achieve the same energy transfer.

2) Standards & safety: Compliance first

Hospitals demand high compliance and resilience. Your checks should include:

• BS 7671 / IET Code of Practice for EV Charging: bonding, RCD/RCBO selection, protection, and isolation
• PME earthing strategy: confirm approach (e.g., O-PEN protection where applicable)
• Column integrity: structural checks for additional equipment and cable routing; corrosion checks
• Ingress / impact: suitable IP and IK ratings for clinical-site robustness
• Wayfinding & bay management: clear markings for EV-only or time-limited bays where relevant

There’s now clearer guidance and proven on-column solutions, making this route increasingly viable for public-sector estates.

3) Who’s charging, when?

Hospitals aren’t retail parks. User groups overlap and priorities differ:

• Staff: long dwell times; predictable shifts
• Fleet: scheduled use; can be aligned to off-peak tariffs
• Visitors & patients: variable dwell times; smaller volumes, higher sensitivity

On-column AC suits staff and fleet particularly well.

4) Funding & commercials: Start small, prove value

• Procurement model: capex, opex/lease, or hybrid
• Grant landscape: assess available public-sector funding streams early
• Total cost of ownership: hardware + civils + grid + software + maintenance
• Pilot design: on-column often avoids trenching and reduces grid work, making pilots faster to install and easier to justify

5) Parking strategy & patient experience

Your car park is part of the patient journey.

• Zoning: prioritise staff car parks first to prove utilisation
• Blue badge / drop-off: protect priority areas; avoid adding friction to critical routes
• Capacity: avoid reducing bay count; where you must, communicate clearly
• Comms: simple wayfinding, tariff clarity, and patient-friendly messaging

6) Digital & data: Don’t install blind

• OCPP-compliant back office: keep it open and flexible
• Utilisation & uptime reporting: who monitors and who responds?
• Tariffs & access rules: per user group, time window, and cost-recovery objectives
• Sustainability reporting: export data to support Scope 2/3 tracking

7) Why a mixed-speed strategy makes sense on NHS estates

It’s not AC or DC. It’s AC and DC—deployed where each works best.

Low/medium-speed AC (3.6–22 kW)

• Ideal for long dwell: staff and fleet
• Gentler on the grid: easier load-balancing across many bays
• Lower install cost: more sockets per pound and per kVA
• Battery health: slower charge is kinder on cells for routine daily use

Rapid/ultra-rapid DC (50 kW+)

• Reserved for time-critical use cases (e.g., certain fleet vehicles, time-sensitive clinical users, specific public access points)
• Fewer units, in the right locations, with the right grid provisions
• Complements AC by providing a pressure-release valve for urgent charging needs

The result: better grid utilisation, lower infrastructure cost, and a charging estate that fits real clinical-site behaviour instead of forcing it.

Bringing it back to the brief: Why lampposts?

That original customer enquiry captured the opportunity well: your columns are already there, on known circuits, in the right places. Lamppost EV charging isn’t a silver bullet, but it is a low-disruption way to add dependable capacity for the users who spend hours on site, exactly where AC shines.

Where evpzee fits

We help Estates & Facilities teams scope and deliver fit-for-purpose charging. Our approach is back-office agnostic, with a focus on safety, compliance, and the operational reality of NHS sites.

If you’d like a quick feasibility conversation or to sanity-check a pilot design, get in touch.

Quick checklist for EV charging in NHS car park pilot schemes

• Power survey of lighting circuits and local distribution
• Column structural check and earthing strategy confirmed
• User groups prioritised
• AC first for long-dwell, targeted DC for urgent use
• OCPP back office, tariff logic, and reporting defined
• Clear bay management and signage
• Consider bollard charge points, fed from the lighting network, as a secondary option (lighting columns are likely to be up to 5 car spaces apart)