Best Practices for Electric Vehicle Charging

Decided to do my first road trip in an EV, boy did I learn a lot. Thoughts & serious recommendations ( based on Florida, non Tesla ) Clearly Europe /Tesla driving is wildly different. Please note, it made me realize driving an EV far is entirely sensible, just nothing like as easy as it should be. Key Takeaways & Recommendations - Level 3 Chargers or Nothing For daily use, home charging is amazing—like having a gas station at home. But 85% of public chargers are below 50 kW, making them useless for road trips. The U.S. has only 20,000 non-Tesla Level 3 chargers vs. 2 million gasoline pumps that are 10x faster. - More Chargers in Fewer Locations Less than 2 chargers per location is pointless. At least 40% of chargers seem broken at any time, and 50% of “double chargers” are just two plugs on the same unit—only one car can charge. Anxiety comes from uncertainty, so chargers should be in groups of 10+ per location. - Stop “Topping Off” The first 10 minutes of charging are MAGICAL—my Lucid gets 40 miles per minute at first. But charging slows drastically as the battery fills. 10%-70% can take 25 mins, but 90%-100% can take an hour. It’s absurd to see long lines while someone trickles in 2 miles per minute. Chargers should cut off at 80%. People are too ignorant to learn this. - Better Locations Most chargers are where they’re easy to install, not where they’re needed. EV owners need them in safe, well-lit locations near highways with something to do for 20-40 minutes. Huge gas stations with 70+ pumps often have zero EV chargers—makes no sense. - Massive Fragmentation To do this trip, I needed 10 different apps, and even that wasn’t enough. There are 35+ charging networks. You find random ones like 7 Eleven with the best and unused chargers because nobody knows ! Some apps aggregate data, but info is incomplete and unreliable. - Real-Time Info Is Critical You often can’t tell what’s ahead—broken chargers, long queues, chargers in employee-only lots, car parks closed at 6 PM, etc. - Everything Is Too Complicated Imagine if every gas pump required an app. Imagine if 50% of pumps stopped halfway through, and pricing was per kWh, per minute, and had extra fees for entering the station. That’s the EV charging experience today—a bizarre mess from lack of care and thought. Fixing This: A Simple Blueprint - More DC chargers, grouped in big locations (10+ per site). - Stop charging past 80%. - Allow credit card payments, no more apps. - Fine companies for broken chargers. - National chains should own this (Love’s, Racetrak, Walmart?). - One world-class app to show all chargers in real time—spend $10M on this, not $7.5B on 7 chargers ( digital infrastructure is often more vital than physical, it's resourceful allocation) - Clear queuing systems so people know where to line up ( painted lines and signs and only one access point please ) I still love my non-Tesla EV and will buy another, but charging infrastructure needs urgent fixes

Location. UX. Reliability. That’s the trinity of EV charging. Miss one, and you’re not building infrastructure, you’re building frustration. Let’s break it down with real data: Location If it’s not visible, accessible, and well-trafficked, it’s a stranded asset. Top urban markets like Las Vegas, LA, and Miami are seeing DC fast charger utilization rates near 40% during peak hours (12–6 p.m.). Meanwhile, sites in Columbus barely hit 14.3% utilization. Lesson: Location isn’t a design choice, it’s the business model. User Experience (UX) EV drivers are still jumping through hoops, multiple apps, QR codes, random errors. One study showed that over 75% of failed sessions are due to usability friction, not hardware. And 48% of U.S. drivers still say charging is too complicated. Tesla didn’t win because of brand, they won by removing friction. Fix your UX… or watch your customers walk. Reliability Let’s talk field data, not marketing spin. Real-world fast charger uptime is still around 73.7%. Even in the best networks, 1 in 6 sessions fail due to offline units, busted cables, or payment issues. Yes, some operators report “99% uptime.” But when chargers are stuck in a bootloop or locked out, that number means nothing. Paren’s Q1 2025 field report puts overall functional uptime at 82.6%, and that’s after years of effort. We’re improving. But we’re not there yet. Stop bragging about install counts. Start optimizing for: → The right location → The right experience → The right uptime Because a charger that doesn’t work isn’t just broken, it’s brand damage. Location. UX. Reliability. Everything else is just noise. #EVCharging #CleanTech #EnergyTransition #FleetElectrification #SmartCharging #ChargingReliability #UXDesign #EVStrategy #SiteSelectionMatters #EVInfrastructure

Charging Curves: The evolution of EV charging curves is defining the operating requirements for long-distance travel-oriented charging station operators. The main graph shows the state of technology with respect to EV charging. It was generated via a tool courtesy of Out of Spec Studios available here: https://lnkd.in/e6F6BCRy. While there is a bulk of data, it shows the emergence of ultra-fast charging speeds as well as sustained high-current charging deeper into the battery fill. The shift towards 800 volt batteries has propelled charging speeds higher, with dedicated 350kW+ per port infrastructure becoming the target for forward-thinking CPOs. A mix of secondary low-current charging lanes and 80% SOC limits are key strategies for when utilization increases. The transition to 800 volt batteries has notably enhanced charging capabilities, as seen in the 2025 Porsche Taycan's remarkable charge time from 10% to 80% in just 18 minutes. Charge curve data shows acceptance rates of 300 to 320 kW until over 60% fill and sustained 150kW+ until 80%. The massive battery in the 2024 Silverado EV enables acceptance rates of 300 to 350kW from 10% to 50% fill and sustained average charging current of 150kW+ until 80%. Models such as the Hyundai Ionic 5 and Kia EV 6, operating on 800 volt platforms, demonstrate more consistent high-current charging profiles compared to their counterparts. Charging curve data shows acceptance rates nearing 240kW until over 50% fill and thereafter fluctuating at an average of around 150kW until 80%. In contrast, vehicles with 400 volt batteries like the Ford Mustang Mach E, F150 Lightning, and Rivian RT1 are presenting lower charging speeds, but are expected to materially improve with the shift to 800 volt architecture announced for next-generation models. For CPOs focusing on long-distance travel, the strategic provision of ultra-fast charging lanes, complemented by slower charging lane options for smaller and/or older vehicles, can optimize station utilization. Drivers with slower charging vehicles can be incentivized to avoid high current lanes via pricing incentives. Implementing 80% SOC cutoffs and idle fees similarly helps move vehicles through high-current charging lanes, ensuring a balance between speed and station availability. This is a common tactic utilized by Tesla for high-traffic charging stations that effectively maintains high charging current and optimal port availability. Note that this approach caters to the high utilization demands of long-distance charging stations, emphasizing throughput via prioritization of maximum charging current over battery fill. Retail center charging amenities and community/commuter charging setups, on the other hand, may cater to extended dwell times and deep SOC top-offs. They may be serviced with a greater concentration of low-current charging equipment, reflecting the needs of different user behavior and charging patterns.

The New York Times captured what many in the industry have been working toward: an EV charging ecosystem that puts customers first. Leading OEMs treat charging as a full-stack customer experience: 1. Home Charging = Empowerment: Level 2 chargers, solar bundles, and home energy tools give drivers control and enable participation in the energy economy—from the garage. 2. Public Charging = Confidence: 800V architectures enable 10–80% charging in under 20 minutes. But it must also be accessible, reliable, and located at real-world destinations—grocery stores, cafés, and more. 3. Compatibility = Freedom: Supporting CCS and NACS (native or adapter-based) is essential. Interoperability ensures customers can charge wherever they go. 4. Vehicles as Energy Assets: EVs won’t just drive—they’ll stabilize the grid, power homes, and generate savings. V2G and V2H will make vehicles part of the energy ecosystem. 5. Charging Gets Personal: With integrated payments, OTA updates, and driver profiles, charging becomes tailored to each user’s lifestyle. When the #EV charging user experience is designed right, it becomes a reason to go electric—not a barrier. https://lnkd.in/gx-_rbNu