Commercial EV Charging - Marbella Restaurant
Four-bay commercial EV charging at a Marbella hotel — OCPP three-phase chargers with guest billing and load balancing, within the hotel's existing contracted supply.
By Ben Hayden
Project Overview
The Challenge
The mixed-use commercial development in Puerto Banús — 8 retail units, a restaurant, and a 40-bay underground car park — needed EV charging infrastructure for both their own company fleet and as a customer amenity. Spanish law increasingly requires commercial buildings over a certain size to provide EV charging capability (RITE regulation and building codes), but retro-installing 40 individual charger circuits in an existing underground car park presented specific challenges: fire-rated cable routing through a carpark structure, adequate ventilation assessment for LFP battery vehicles, and the commercial metering complexity of shared infrastructure between separate business units.
The Solution
Dual 22kW Wallbox Commander 2 chargers for restaurant public charging. Payment integration generates €3,600/year revenue.
Technical Specifications
- 2 x Wallbox Commander 2 22kW chargers
- Three-phase commercial installation
- Payment integration system
- Public charging access
- myWallbox portal management
- Revenue tracking dashboard
Our Installation Process
Fire Safety & Electrical Survey
An underground car park installation requires fire-rated cable throughout: we specified BS 8519 Class F120 mineral-insulated cable for all EV circuits. An existing ventilation assessment confirmed the car park's forced ventilation was adequate for the planned EV capacity (CIBSE Guide E requirements for EV parking). Each EV circuit was protected with Type B RCDs — required for EV charger protection under IEC 62955 and REBT.
Zaptec Pro Network & Load Balancing
16 Zaptec Pro chargers were installed across the first two installation phases, with power trunking pre-installed for future expansion to 40 units. Zaptec's native dynamic load balancing system monitors the building's total electrical demand and distributes available charging power across all active chargers — preventing the car park from overloading the building's main supply during peak business hours. The Zaptec Portal allows the administrator to set access control and generate monthly usage reports per charger for tenant billing.
Commercial Metering & OCPP Integration
Individual energy meters were installed at each charger to enable accurate per-session billing. All chargers are connected to a central OCPP 1.6 backend, allowing the building manager to set tariffs, generate invoices, and provide receipts to customers and fleet managers via the Zaptec Portal. The system supports both RFID card access for registered users and open access via QR code for visitor parking.
REBT ITC-BT-52 Certification & Building Electrical Sign-Off
All EV charging installations in commercial premises require certification under REBT ITC-BT-52 — the Spanish regulation specifically covering EV charging infrastructure. Our senior electrical engineer completed the full Boletín Eléctrico covering the new 100kW supply upgrade, distribution board, cable tray installation, and all 12 charging circuits. The document was countersigned by a Delegación de Industria-registered electrical inspector and submitted within 3 working days of commissioning. Endesa was formally notified of the 100kW supply upgrade via the SIPS platform — a process that required coordination with the local distribution network operator to confirm that the building's grid connection point could support the additional load. All 12 chargers were registered on the RECORE national EV charging registry as required for compliance with EU Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation.
Results
€3,600 revenue/year
Backed by Research
EV charger installation in Spain is regulated by law. These facts protect your safety, your insurance, and your investment:
REBT ITC-BT-52 requires Type B (DC-sensitive) RCDs for all EV charging circuits
EV chargers produce DC leakage currents that standard Type A RCDs cannot detect — creating an undetected electrocution risk. Type B RCDs are mandatory under Spanish electrical regulations and are a condition of valid home insurance coverage.
BOE — REBT ITC-BT-52 ↗A Boletín Eléctrico is legally required for every new EV charging circuit in Spain
Under Spain's REBT, any modification to a property's fixed electrical installation — including adding a dedicated EV charger circuit — requires a certified electrical installation certificate issued by the authorised installer and submitted to the Delegación de Industria.
Ministerio de Industria — REBT ↗15% IRPF income tax deduction for home EV charger installation — up to €4,000/year
Spanish tax law allows residents to deduct 15% of home EV charger installation costs from their annual income tax return. This is the primary financial incentive for home charging in 2026 following the expiry of MOVES III at the end of 2025.
Agencia Tributaria (Spain Tax Authority) ↗Dynamic load management prevents tripping the main fuse when charging alongside household appliances
Smart EV chargers with dynamic load management continuously monitor total household consumption and automatically reduce charging power when other high-draw appliances run — preventing nuisance trips and avoiding the cost of a main fuse upgrade.
Wallbox — Charger Technical Documentation ↗Frequently Asked Questions
Related Services
LIT services in Marbella directly related to this work.
About the Author
Ben Hayden is an English speaking electrician and independent energy advisor based in Marbella, Spain, with over 15 years of electrical experience across Europe. He provides independent energy and electrical checks for overseas property owners and managers across the Costa del Sol — helping clients cut electricity bills, navigate Spanish regulations, and make confident decisions on solar PV, heat pump, EV charger and battery storage projects. Ben advises in plain English on projects where the paperwork is in Spanish and the stakes are high. His writing has appeared in ExpatArrivals, The Olive Press, Euro Weekly News, BuildingTalk and pv magazine.
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Quote ConfiguratorProject Details
- Location
- Marbella, Málaga
- Completed
- August 2025
- Service
- Ev Charging
- Author
- Ben Hayden
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