Electric vehicles are the solution to environmental pollution due to fossil fuels. However, the adoption rate for EVs is truly minimal. Hence, there are fewer charging stations when compared with fuel stations for conventional vehicles. When you want to go out for a long drive on your EV, you need to consider a lot of things, but the most important is the availability of charging stations at regular intervals during the entire journey road. Here come EV route planner solutions like web apps and mobile apps. Continue reading to learn more about EVs and the personal vehicle market, EV ownership risks, and the best EV route planner apps for EV owners.
Personal Vehicle Space and EV
More consumers are buying electric vehicles instead of fossil fuel vehicles because they are concerned about the environment. Also, the cost of fossil fuel is comparatively higher than electricity. This consumer sentiment has driven the sales of light electric vehicles in the USA to more than 607,600 units in 2021, according to a Statista report. This figure is 83% more than the EV sales in 2018 when the Model 3 Tesla became highly popular. So far, there are 14.9 million units of EVs in the USA, according to the above report from Statista. Furthermore. the share of renewable energy-based light vehicle sales in the US is 12.67%. And not to mention that the American car owners have saved the world from harmful fossil fuels by replacing 500 million gallons of fossil fuel with electricity in their EVs. That is not all! The automotive industry is now planning to increase the number of charging stations since electricity is the vital resource that every EV needs. If an EV runs out of electricity on the road during a long journey, it might be highly inconvenient for the vehicle owner.
Problems With EV Ownership
Charger Compatibility
Finding a compatible charging station is one of the major concerns for an EV owner, especially when covering long distances. The followings are the standards of EV charging:
SAE Combined Charging SystemCHAdeMOTesla Supercharger
As you can see that there are 3 different standards for various EV manufacturers. Hence, you need to know the charging station’s routes to become confident that you will find the right charging hub for your car.
Battery Charge Range
The battery charge range is another vital issue that may become a headache. Though the newer EV models offer a great charging range, more improvement is welcome in battery performance. For example, when the temperature drops, the battery charge reduces sharply. Again, when you use the heater in the winter seasons, the battery charge drops even faster. Now, on long drives when the weather changes quickly, you can be in great danger if the EV battery runs out.
Charging Time
EV batteries take a few hours for a full charge. For example, the Tesla Supercharger can fully charge your EV battery in just 1 hour. Tesla Model S, on the other hand, require 8 hours for a full battery charge. Other standard EV chargers may take up to 2 hours. Hence, you will get stuck in the charging station when you are going for a long drive. It is more convenient if there are charging stations at frequent intervals where you could stop to charge the vehicle to moderate levels and then go on with your journey.
Cold Weather
Cold weather affects the EV battery in multiple ways. For example:
It eats up the battery energy faster.Cold temperatures reduce the charging speed of some EV chargers. If the EV charging stations do not have any shelter, then you also get affected.
How Do EV Route Planner Apps Help You?
Deliver Information
Most EV route planning apps are there to help EV owners with the information they need. Hence, the car owner can focus more on other things when planning a long trip on their EV vehicle. Otherwise, EVs will only stick to the short trip segment.
Un Biased Data
Most of the factory-provided apps offer information on charging stations that the vehicle manufacturer has set up. However, third-party EV route planners collect and deliver detailed information about the charging stations on your route. It could include charging infrastructures from your EV manufacturers or third-party charging solution providers.
Optimal Route Planning
EV route planner apps come with a great deal of granular data about your chosen route. First off, most standard apps offer standard data like locations, numbers, and availability of charging stations. Secondly, more advanced routing apps will offer you an itinerary of EV battery charging on the way of the route. It may include where to stop, for how long to charge the EV battery in a certain location, and so on. Thirdly, the next-generation EV route planner apps simply offer many complex data. For example, they analyze weather, traffic, topography, vehicle load, and more. Then they offer you a personalized battery charging schedule on a long drive. So far, you have gone through the basic problems related to EV owning. You have also learned how the EV route planner app helps EV owners. Now, find below the ultimate list of EV route planners that are reliable and effective.
A Better Routeplanner
A Better Routeplanner is the perfect choice for EV owners and users who want to plan their routes for a safe and hassle-free journey. When it comes to planning and learning about EVs, it is considered one of the most appreciated services in the world. All you need to do is to choose your vehicle model and enter your current location and destination. That’s it! This app will provide you with a complete trip plan that contains charge stops and trip duration. Drivers can also add multiple waypoints to get an accurate and precise route plan. Additionally, you can add restaurants, hotels, and shopping amenities charging stops. Drivers can go to driving mode and start using this app as a real-time plan follow-up tool. It is also convenient to use it as a navigator since you can replan as needed and get regularly updated trip data. Download: A Better Routeplanner for Android | iOS
PlugShare
If you are looking for a reliable and accurate EV charging point map for your road trip, PlugShare is a platform you must check out. It boasts the largest EV driver community in the world. Here, drivers themselves contribute reviews and photos of the stations so you can make an informed decision about your journey route. With PlugShare, one can easily find public charging stations for their vehicles based on station functionality and current availability. If there is a station you discovered on your way that was not present in the app, you can easily add those. Also, you can receive notifications upon new charger installations in the nearby area. EV drivers get the option to filter the map on this platform by plug type, charging speed, food, bathroom, parking, Wi-Fi, shopping, grocery, and many more. Using the Pay with PlugShare feature, drivers can pay for charging on selected locations and monitor the session. Furthermore, it lets you link this app to your preferred navigation app to get directions to the chosen charger. Download: PlugShare for Android | iOS
ChargePoint
ChargePoint operates one of the world’s greatest and most accessible EV charging networks. Its network of charging infrastructure consist of over 100,000 charging stations. However, you can only discover these charging locations on the ChargePoint app. The app not only helps you locate the charging spots but also enables you to get an accurate station direction, find out if a charging slot is available, and initiate the actual charging by making secured payments. That’s not all! You can also uncover third-party charging stations from all other top EV charging networks. As you can see that this EV route planner app is a robust software that you must have for long drives. Notable in-app features you can find are:
Contactless and NFC-based payments on the EV charging device for instant charging and avoiding the headache of carrying cash.The app also sends you direct notifications about the EV battery charging status. Its filters can exclude incompatible or slow charging stations.Third-party charging station compatibility since you can use the ChargePoint account in top brands like EVgo and FLO. The app also packs features like charging scheduling, usage tracking, and miles gained.
You can get the app for free. There are no in-app purchases or ads to distract you from driving. Download: ChargePoint for Android | iOS
EV Navigation
EV Navigation is not just an EV route planner. It also offers premium turn-by-turn route navigation. Furthermore, the app is available in most countries around the globe. It is also actively adding new charging networks, points, stations, and spots as they appear in any city, county, or state. Apart from the map-based route navigation and charging station mapping, it can also calculate an approximate range your EV battery can cover. For this service, it factors in parameters like the vehicle model, year of manufacture, battery health, charging system, the average speed on the road, passenger load, weather, and more. Currently, the app is supporting a vast list of standard EV charging systems like CCS, CHADEMO, Tesla Supercharger, Type 2, and more. Moreover, it also lets you add different EV models from top manufacturers like Audi, BMW, Byton, Chevrolet, Fiat, Honda, Hyundai, Lexus, Mitshubishi, Toyota, Tesla, Volvo, etc. Download: EVNavigation for Android | iOS
EV Route Planner – Chargeway
Chargeway facilitates convenient EV battery charging across many provinces and states of Canada and the USA. The app marks the important data with colors and numbers that you can easily follow. It eliminates the guesswork out of your way so that you can just enjoy your long drives on luxury electric vehicles. It comes with an intuitive map interface that lists all the EV charging stations on your route. You can filter out incompatible and inefficient charging infrastructure to access the fastest charging spot in your area. The map comes with the following additional features:
Apple CarPlayQuick ViewEV ProfilesVehicle SpecificationsNetworks Filtering
It also includes a charging time estimator that fetches the real-time range left on your EV battery. When you select a charging station, the tool also shows you how much time you need to wait at the charging station to charge the battery to a certain energy level. Moreover, its EV Trip Planner adds automation to your long driving adventures. When you input the start point and destination along with passenger details and vehicle specs, the EV route planners create an optimum route based on weather, charging station types, charge time, average speed, and so on. Download: Chargeway for Android | iOS
Zap Map (UK Only)
Zap Map is the app that lets you plan longer EV journeys with its Route Planner. With its help, you can find over 30,000 charging stations across the UK. Through this application, one can share updates, photos, and comments with other drivers. It includes a list of 15,000+ locations, 25,000+ devices, and 40,000+ connectors. Drivers can use it to find the charge points belonging to the major networks as well as smaller providers in UK and Ireland. Features like route planner, live status data, payment facility, an active user base, and CarPlay make Zap-Map a popular and reliable app for EV drivers. Moreover, you can enable filters like connectors, network, speed, location type, payment, and access to get a refined result. Download: Chargeway for Android | iOS
Final Words
Electric vehicles are ready to transform the global transportation landscape. These vehicles are environment friendly and hence are the need of the hour. However, until the adoption rate increases, fewer charging stations for such vehicles will pose a bottleneck for the growth of this industry. Whenever you go out for a long trip on your electric vehicle, you need to use an EV route planner for convenience. The article has listed some of the best EV route planners that you can use on web browsers, iOS devices, and Android devices. Pick the one that meets your needs and enjoy an environment-friendly ride on your EV. You may also be interested in EV charging solutions for business purposes.
