Charging stations for electric cars: reality is worse than promises

The number of electric vehicles on the road is constantly growing, and the infrastructure of charging stations is also developing. However, a new study shows that the experience of charging electric vehicles in the United States is still far from ideal. After analyzing the work of 20 thousand charging stations in the United States over 4 years, researchers from ChargerHelp have identified the biggest problems in the infrastructure.

It turned out that the actual uptime of charging stations is only 73.7%, while station network providers claim 84.6%. So, the reality is worse than the promises.

The study concludes that electric vehicle chargers can break down in a variety of ways. These problems include broken cable retraction systems, broken screens, and inoperable payment systems. General damage to the case and broken cables and connectors are also common.

The study showed that 26% of all analyzed stations do not correspond to the declared status of chargers presented in the network software. This means that some charging networks overstate the number of available stations, which undermines the trust of electric vehicle owners in the charging infrastructure. This is especially problematic when someone is in dire need of charging and arrives at a station that, despite the status in the app, is not currently available.

The study lists various situations when an electric vehicle driver cannot successfully connect to a charger. It mentions the cases of «ghost» stations, when stations are listed in the app, but they either do not exist or are faulty. There are also «zombie stations» that exist and work, but are not displayed in applications, so drivers do not visit them. And «occupancy confusion» — is when the app tells drivers that certain stations are available, but they are not. «Dead-end path» ─ this is a situation where a non-working charging station becomes clear only after the car is connected to it.

ChargerHelp claims that robust software interoperability and network data exchange can help solve these problems.

Source: The Verge