The catch in a free EV charger installation
The catch is site control. A provider pays for the equipment and the installation and recovers it out of energy margin over a term of years, and during that term they typically set the price drivers pay, keep most or all of the revenue, and hold exclusive rights over the stalls — in some drafts over the whole property. That is a real trade and for some properties it is the right one. Whether it is right for yours comes down to six clauses: the term, the scope of the exclusivity, the revenue split and how it is calculated, who sets pricing, what happens at the end, and who restores the pavement.
Updated 2026-08-20
What free actually means here
It means the capital comes from someone else's balance sheet and is repaid out of the energy sold at your property.
The six clauses, one at a time
Read these before the revenue split, because five of the six change what the split is worth.
Exclusivity is the clause worth fighting over
There is a large practical difference between exclusivity over the stalls the provider installs and exclusivity over EV charging at the property, and drafts often use language that reads like the first and means the second.
The revenue split, and the word that decides it
The percentage matters less than what it is a percentage of. A split of gross revenue and a split of net revenue can differ by a third or more on the same site.
Who sets the price drivers pay
Under most host agreements, the provider does, and that decision reaches your tenants and your customers rather than theirs.
End of term, which is where the surprises live
Three outcomes are possible and the draft should name which one applies: the provider removes the equipment, the equipment stays and becomes yours, or you buy it.
The incentive interaction almost nobody asks about
Eligibility for utility programs commonly follows the customer of record on the meter, which under a host agreement is frequently the provider rather than you.
When the free model is the right answer
For plenty of properties it genuinely is, and dismissing it is as lazy as signing it unread.
Is free EV charger installation a scam?
No, it is a financing structure. The provider funds equipment and installation and recovers it out of energy margin over a term of years, holding pricing authority and exclusivity in the meantime. That is a legitimate trade. What makes a specific deal bad is not the model but the terms: property-wide exclusivity, an automatic renewal, an open-ended deduction list on the revenue split, or silence on restoration.
What is a typical revenue split for a host site?
We do not publish a typical figure, because the percentage is meaningless without the base it applies to and the two are always negotiated together. What is worth knowing is the mechanism: a share of gross and a share of net at the same percentage can differ by a third, and the deduction list is what makes the difference. Ask for the base defined line by line before you discuss the number.
Can we get out of a host agreement early?
Only on the agreement's own terms, which is why the termination clause deserves reading before the revenue clause. Expect either a fixed termination fee or a buyout of the provider's unrecovered investment. Ask for the formula in the draft and for a worked example at a stated year, so the number is knowable rather than discoverable.
Who owns the chargers at the end of the term?
Whatever the agreement says, and many drafts leave it ambiguous. The three possibilities are removal, transfer to you, and purchase by you. Each needs a named payer and, in the removal case, a defined restoration standard. Take a photographic baseline of the stalls before installation, because it settles the restoration argument in one step.
Does the provider get the utility rebate?
Frequently, because eligibility usually follows the customer of record on the meter and that is often the provider. Ask who applies, who receives the money and how it flows into the split. Also ask what operating obligations the program attaches, because those normally attach to the site and can outlast the agreement that brought them.
Is there a federal tax credit that changes this math?
Not any more. Section 30C terminated for property placed in service after June 30, 2026 and there is no federal replacement, so the federal contribution to any comparison you are shown is zero. Decks built before mid-2026 routinely net a thirty percent credit against the owner-funded column, which understates the free option by comparison. Check the date on any model you are handed.
- IRS — Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit (§30C status)
- US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center — Law 10513, alternative fuel infrastructure tax credit
- US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center — utility and private incentives search
- GreenLancer — guide to commercial EV charging stations (per-port baseline)
Price what you are being offered
A free installation is only readable next to what the same installation would cost you. Tell us the port count, the service size and the distance from the panel, and the estimate returns a modelled installed range you can hold the agreement against.