Evaluation of Electric Vehicle Charging Usage and Driver Activity
As the country moves toward electric vehicles (EV), the United States is in the process of investing over USD 7.5 billion in EV charging stations, and Indiana has been allocated $100 million to invest in their EV charging network. In contrast to traditional “gas stations”, EV charging times, dependi...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-11-01
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| Series: | World Electric Vehicle Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2032-6653/14/11/308 |
| _version_ | 1797457449869901824 |
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| author | Justin Anthony Mahlberg Jairaj Desai Darcy M. Bullock |
| author_facet | Justin Anthony Mahlberg Jairaj Desai Darcy M. Bullock |
| author_sort | Justin Anthony Mahlberg |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | As the country moves toward electric vehicles (EV), the United States is in the process of investing over USD 7.5 billion in EV charging stations, and Indiana has been allocated $100 million to invest in their EV charging network. In contrast to traditional “gas stations”, EV charging times, depending on the charger power delivery rating, can require considerably longer dwell times. As a result, drivers tend to pair charging with other activities. This study looks at two EV public charging locations and monitors driver activity while charging, charge time, and station utilization over a 2-month period in Lafayette, Indiana. Over 4000 charging sessions at stations with varying power levels (350 kW, 150 kW, and 50 kW) were monitored, and the median charge time was between 28 and 36 min. A large variation in station utilization was observed at Electrify America charging stations that had a range of stations with 350 kW, 150 kW, and 50 kW available. The highest utilization rates by hour of day on average were observed at 25% at the 150 kW Tesla station. Driver activity during charging influenced dwell times, with the average dwell time of drivers who waited in their vehicles to charge being 10 min shorter than those who would travel to the shops. Rain in the forecast also impacted the number of users per day. Although there are no published metrics for EV utilization and associated driver activities, we believe examining this relationship will produce best practices for planning future investments in EV charging infrastructure as public and private sector partners develop a nationwide charging network. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T16:21:23Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-11c68c2022844d1381131a6d91457898 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2032-6653 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T16:21:23Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | World Electric Vehicle Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-11c68c2022844d1381131a6d914578982023-11-24T15:11:44ZengMDPI AGWorld Electric Vehicle Journal2032-66532023-11-01141130810.3390/wevj14110308Evaluation of Electric Vehicle Charging Usage and Driver ActivityJustin Anthony Mahlberg0Jairaj Desai1Darcy M. Bullock2Joint Transportation Research Program, Lyles School of Engineering, West Lafayette Campus, Purdue University, 207 S. Martin Jischke Drive Room 204, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USAJoint Transportation Research Program, Lyles School of Engineering, West Lafayette Campus, Purdue University, 207 S. Martin Jischke Drive Room 204, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USAJoint Transportation Research Program, Lyles School of Engineering, West Lafayette Campus, Purdue University, 207 S. Martin Jischke Drive Room 204, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USAAs the country moves toward electric vehicles (EV), the United States is in the process of investing over USD 7.5 billion in EV charging stations, and Indiana has been allocated $100 million to invest in their EV charging network. In contrast to traditional “gas stations”, EV charging times, depending on the charger power delivery rating, can require considerably longer dwell times. As a result, drivers tend to pair charging with other activities. This study looks at two EV public charging locations and monitors driver activity while charging, charge time, and station utilization over a 2-month period in Lafayette, Indiana. Over 4000 charging sessions at stations with varying power levels (350 kW, 150 kW, and 50 kW) were monitored, and the median charge time was between 28 and 36 min. A large variation in station utilization was observed at Electrify America charging stations that had a range of stations with 350 kW, 150 kW, and 50 kW available. The highest utilization rates by hour of day on average were observed at 25% at the 150 kW Tesla station. Driver activity during charging influenced dwell times, with the average dwell time of drivers who waited in their vehicles to charge being 10 min shorter than those who would travel to the shops. Rain in the forecast also impacted the number of users per day. Although there are no published metrics for EV utilization and associated driver activities, we believe examining this relationship will produce best practices for planning future investments in EV charging infrastructure as public and private sector partners develop a nationwide charging network.https://www.mdpi.com/2032-6653/14/11/308electric vehiclescharging station utilizationcharging patternsdriver activity |
| spellingShingle | Justin Anthony Mahlberg Jairaj Desai Darcy M. Bullock Evaluation of Electric Vehicle Charging Usage and Driver Activity World Electric Vehicle Journal electric vehicles charging station utilization charging patterns driver activity |
| title | Evaluation of Electric Vehicle Charging Usage and Driver Activity |
| title_full | Evaluation of Electric Vehicle Charging Usage and Driver Activity |
| title_fullStr | Evaluation of Electric Vehicle Charging Usage and Driver Activity |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluation of Electric Vehicle Charging Usage and Driver Activity |
| title_short | Evaluation of Electric Vehicle Charging Usage and Driver Activity |
| title_sort | evaluation of electric vehicle charging usage and driver activity |
| topic | electric vehicles charging station utilization charging patterns driver activity |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2032-6653/14/11/308 |
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