We’re all accustomed to the ubiquitous nature of gasoline stations. They’re all around town, and we expect to find them at every highway exit.
But most people have little or no awareness of the availability of electric vehicle charging stations. Some might have seen Tesla Superchargers at highway rest stops, or chargers from other companies in parking lots. But they still have no idea how much the charging infrastructure has already been built out and how rapidly it is growing. And some people who might otherwise be interested in joining the transition to electric vehicles are hesitating due to concerns about the availability of chargers.
Some people who might otherwise be interested in joining the transition to electric vehicles are hesitating due to concerns about the availability of chargers.
It’s hard to get exact statistics, but as of January 2022, the United States had about 46,000 charging stations with about 113,500 charging units. Those are a mix of fast chargers—called Level 3 chargers—and slower Level 2 chargers that can replenish an EV battery in a few hours.
The total includes more than 1,200 Tesla Supercharger stations with more than 10,000 fast chargers, plus an even larger number of Level 2 Destination Chargers at hotels and other places where people spend a few hours.
Electrify America has built more than 700 stations with more than 3,000 fast chargers, and its network is growing fast. EVGO has more than 800 fast charging stations. And ChargePoint maintains more than 18,000 charging locations, mostly Level 2 chargers.
It won’t be too many years before charging stations surpass the number of gasoline stations.
With continued rapid growth, stimulated by Federal infrastructure funding, it won’t be too many years before charging stations surpass the number of gasoline stations, estimated to be 100,000-150,000 today.
A “Gas Station” in Your Garage
But those numbers tell only part of the story. For electric vehicles, most “gas stations” are located in people’s garages, where they charge most of the time.
For local driving, the only gas station you’ll need to visit is in your garage.
For the eight years we have owned two electric cars, 90 percent of the charging has been done at home, with the charger in our garage. For local driving, EVs don’t need many “gas stations” around town. Instead, with a “gas station” in the garage, EV owners are greeted each morning with a “full tank.” (See article on How Long Does it Take to Charge an EV?)
For people who don’t have garages or other dedicated parking spots, we will need more chargers in condo and apartment parking lots for nighttime charging and chargers in business parking lots for daytime charging. These EV owners also have the option of charging once every week or two at a commercial charging station—just as they do now when they fill up a gasoline-powered car.
Fast Chargers for Highway Travel
For road trips, we need a network of fast chargers along highways throughout the country and the continent. Over the last several years, Tesla has built such a network that now allows travel virtually anywhere in the country, with only a small number of charging “dead zones” that are being gradually filled in.
For road trips, we need a network of fast chargers along highways throughout the country and the continent.
Electrify America and other companies are building similar fast charging networks using the Combined Charging System (CCS), which is the second fast charging standard used in North America. But they are a few years behind Tesla’s network. (For information on different EV chargers, see article on Types of Electric Vehicle Chargers.)
But numbers are only part of the story. The real question is whether you can find a charging station where you want to go. Today, charging stations are concentrated in areas with the most electric vehicles, such as California. But they are continually expanding to the entire country.
Finding Charging Stations
How do you find charging stations? And how do you know if there are chargers where you want to go?
Fortunately, this is an area where electric vehicles are more advanced than traditional cars dependent on gasoline stations. EV owners get information on the locations of charging stations both on the car screen and on charging network websites and apps.
EV owners get information on the locations of charging stations both on the car screen and on charging network websites and apps.
EVs typically display the locations of charging stations on their screens. For example, my Tesla Model Y shows all the nearby Superchargers on the car display, and it even calculates where I should stop to charge based on my navigation route. It also shows the availability of charging units at each station.
Charging networks also show stations on their websites and apps. Tesla, Electrify America, EVGO, ChargePoint, and other charging companies show the locations of stations, as well as other useful information. In fact, if you are considering an electric vehicle and wonder about the availability of charging stations, one of the best ways to reassure yourself is to check out some of these websites and see how many chargers are available in most locations.
Here’s a map of the Tesla Supercharger network as of March 2022 from Tesla’s website.
Here’s a map of the Electrify America charging network as of March 2022.
One of the best sources for information on charging stations is a free website and app called PlugShare.
One of the best sources for information on charging stations is a free website and app called PlugShare. It uses wiki-based sources to show the locations of almost every charger in the United States.
PlugShare shows fast chargers, including Tesla Superchargers and CCS fast chargers from Electrify America and other companies. It also shows slower Level 2 (240-volt) chargers at places like hotels and other businesses, including Tesla Destination Chargers and standard J1772 chargers operated by charging companies and other businesses.
PlugShare even shows the chargers of private individuals who have offered their home chargers to fellow EV owners who need a charge.
PlugShare even shows the chargers of private individuals who have offered their home chargers to fellow EV owners who need a charge.
In addition to showing location and type of chargers, PlugShare also displays photos of the chargers and their surroundings and a map with the station’s location. It even includes “wiki-based” comments on the experiences of users, and a reliability rating.
Perusing PlugShare is a great way to get a feel for the availability of charging stations in a particular area, and it shows that chargers are more ubiquitous than you might think.
Perusing PlugShare is a great way to get a feel for the availability of charging stations in a particular area, and it shows that chargers are more ubiquitous than you might think. My favorite example is Boulder, Utah—that’s Boulder, Utah, not Boulder, Colorado. As of 2019, Boulder has a population of 270 people, and it’s one of the most out-of-the-way places in the country. How far out of the way? It’s 28 miles from Escalante and 36 miles from Torrey. But if you look on PlugShare, you will see that there are three Tesla Destination Chargers and one J1772 Level 2 charger installed by the lodge in the area.
Despite the widespread availability of EV charging stations, there are still some areas in need of chargers—charging “dead zones”—especially for fast chargers.
Despite the widespread availability of EV charging stations, there are still some areas in need of chargers—charging “dead zones”—especially for fast chargers. Currently, Tesla has the best nationwide fast charging network, and it has steadily filled in gaps over the years. But there are still gaps in isolated areas. Examples include southern Colorado, west-central Nevada, northern Minnesota, and the Big Bend area of Texas.
Other fast charging networks are a few years behind Tesla’s Supercharger network, but they are growing fast.
Other fast charging networks are a few years behind Tesla’s Supercharger network, but they are growing fast. One of the best CCS fast charging networks, Electrify America, has cross-country charging routes in the middle and southern states. But it has not yet completed a northern route through the Dakotas, Wyoming, and Montana. The number of charging units at each station is also much smaller than the number of Superchargers at Tesla’s stations.
One obstacle to the availability of charging stations is the lack of a common standard for fast chargers. Tesla’s Superchargers use a different type of plug than the Combined Charging System (CCS) fast chargers. In the absence of convergence on a common fast charging standard, a partial solution is starting to emerge through the development of adaptor plugs. (See article on Types of Electric Vehicle Chargers.)