Automakers are inclined to quote a determine usually: That about 85% of EV drivers cost at house the vast majority of the time.

That mentioned, survey outcomes out this previous week from EV charging software program firm ChargeLab underscore that the fact is extra nuanced. 

Wanting particularly at these with house charging, the agency discovered that whereas that could be the case, 59.6% of these with entry to house charging nonetheless use public chargers no less than a couple of days every week, whereas 8.2% of that home-charging group really flip to public charging day-after-day. 

Office charging performs an vital function, too. Simply over 40% of the EV drivers surveyed have EV charging out there there. 

The outcomes come from a periodic public charging survey launched final week. ChargeLab offers an working system for EV chargers constructed for the Open Cost Level Protocol (OCPP) communication normal. It’s primarily based on a ballot of simply 500 EV drivers within the U.S. within the fourth quarter of 2023.

GM and Pilot Firm’s EV charging community

Throughout all use instances, greater than half of EV drivers had been discovered to make use of public chargers each week. ChargeLab discovered that 30.9% of the EV drivers it surveyed use a public station “a couple of occasions every week,” whereas 22.7% use one “most days.”

Simply over two-thirds of respondents mentioned that they like apps as a technique to discover public charging, whereas greater than two out of 5 mentioned they use Tesla’s system. About 35% of respondents mentioned that they primarily drive a Tesla EV, so it underscores that not all Tesla drivers hold to that ecosystem. 

The outcomes are the newest to level out that U.S. public charging points aren’t so simple as laying out a freeway road-trip community, and plenty of EV drivers are counting on the general public charging networks to complement their charging at house. As J.D. Energy identified with survey outcomes final yr, practically half of buyers see public charging as a dealbreaker. Charging station availability has ranked excessive amongst causes for rejecting EVs.  

ChargeLab survey – EV charging knowledge privateness questions

ChargeLab additionally requested about knowledge and privateness, and it famous that People are comparatively open about sharing fundamental particulars just like the make, mannequin, and yr of their EV—if it leads to higher charging efficiency or reliability. 

In keeping with the survey, which didn’t ask instantly about EV charger cybersecurity issues, practically 70% of EV drivers can be prepared to decide in to share no less than a few of their charging knowledge for the sake of bettering the expertise. However that assist wasn’t with out boundary; it discovered about 57% had been comfy with that, whereas lower than half had been comfy with the gathering of particular person charging habits or billing knowledge.