Short answer: A slower AC charger installed at hotels, restaurants, or parking garages, designed for charging while you are parked for hours.
Explanation
A destination charger is an AC charger installed at a place where you are going to spend time anyway: a hotel, restaurant, shopping mall, office building, or tourist attraction. The idea is that you charge while you eat, sleep, shop, or work, rather than making a dedicated stop at a fast charger.
Destination chargers are typically 7 kW to 22 kW AC, which is slow compared to DC fast chargers but perfectly adequate when you are parked for several hours. Overnight at a hotel with an 11 kW destination charger, your car gains about 60 km of range per hour, which means a completely full charge in 5-7 hours.
Some destination chargers are free (the hotel or restaurant covers the cost as a perk for customers). Others require payment through an app or RFID card. If you are planning a trip, looking for accommodation with destination chargers can eliminate the need for separate fast charging stops entirely, saving both time and money.
Where you'll see this
- In charging network apps
Common confusion
Some drivers bypass destination chargers because they seem 'too slow.' But if you are sleeping at a hotel for 8 hours anyway, a 7 kW destination charger gives you 250+ km of range for free or cheap. That is time-efficient because it requires zero minutes of dedicated waiting.
Example
A hotel with 11 kW destination chargers: you arrive at 18:00, plug in, go to dinner and sleep. By 06:00, your car has gained about 80 kWh, a full charge for most EVs.
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