AC charging delivers alternating current to the vehicle, whose onboard charger converts it to the DC the battery needs. Because that onboard converter is power-limited (often 7–22 kW), AC charging is slower than DC — well suited to places where a car sits for hours rather than minutes.
AC charging uses the Type 2 connector in Europe and Türkiye and dominates home, workplace and destination charging. Its lower cost and simpler hardware make it the backbone of everyday, overnight and top-up charging even as DC handles highway needs.
In data terms, AC sites and connectors need to be clearly separated from DC ones: their power, pricing and use cases differ so much that mixing them produces poor routing and misleading cost estimates.
In the Data for EV model
Data for EV distinguishes AC and DC at the connector level (current_type plus the canonical connector standard), so AC destination charging and DC fast charging at the same station are represented and priced separately.