Charging your electric vehicle is just as important as the EV itself. Charging networks are incredibly important, whether they’re on your daily commute or you’re planning a cross-country road trip. ChargePoint, the largest EV charging network in the US, helps ease the range anxiety of new electric vehicle owners across the country.
Here’s what you need to know about America’s largest EV charging network.
What is Chargepoint?
ChargePoint is the largest electric vehicle charging network in the United States, with over 30,000 charging stations. However, ChargePoint has a different business model than other networks, choosing to install chargers at various locations, such as retailers, businesses, apartment buildings and other public places, charging EV owners whatever rate they want. allow charging.
ChargePoint also sells its own Level 2 Home Flex Charger for homeowners who want to charge their EVs overnight. The company states on its website that it has distributed more than 105 million chargers worldwide, which includes all different tiers of chargers for businesses, apartment buildings, and homes.
How fast are the chargers?
ChargePoint ranges from chargers that have an average range of 3.3-6.6kW, which is good for adding 10 to 20 miles of range per hour, to DC fast chargers that output around 62kW which can charge up to 180 miles per hour to your EV The miles can add up. This appears to be the biggest downside to ChargePoint, being the largest EV charging network in the United States.
There are two main situations when electric vehicle owners are on the road and need to stop to charge, which determine how well a chargepoint works as a charging network.
ChargePoint has become the largest EV charging network in the US as companies and apartment buildings choose to provide them. If a grocery store shows up on the map as an EV charger, that EV owner is now a customer. The same goes for apartment complexes that provide electric vehicle chargers; Those EV owners are more likely to lease with them than any other premises that don’t have chargers.
A quick look at Smart Charge America, an EV charging retailer in the US, shows us one reason why the number of fast chargers is limited. ChargePoint’s 7.2kW charger sells for just over $5,000, while its DC fast charger, which outputs around 62.5kW, sells for over $44,000. Although businesses that order multiple chargers directly from ChargePoint get huge discounts, you can see why a lot of public EV chargers are incredibly slow.
Although there aren’t specific numbers ChargePoint has released quantifying DC fast chargers versus slow chargers, a quick look at the map in its mobile app shows that there are faster chargers more widely available versus slower chargers.
How to use the ChargePoint app
ChargePoint has an easy-to-use app for iOS and Android that gives you tons of features to find the most convenient charger. The app allows you to filter by charger availability, free chargers to use, the type of connector port your EV uses, and more. All of these are great for making sure you switch to a charger that works every time for your EV.
Once you’ve found a charger that you like to use during your commute, the app allows you to save them to your My Spots list. Chargepoint’s app may not look too aesthetically pleasing, but it is quite user-friendly and works well. It even lists the most recent cars that charged in a certain location, which is fascinating to see what electric vehicles locals are driving nearby.
If you own a ChargePoint Home Flex, the app allows you to see how much money and electricity is being used each time you charge, limit the number of charger outputs, and save energy to the maximum. Schedule charging when it’s affordable. The ChargePoint Home Flex can also connect to your smart home accessories to remind you when to plug in your vehicle.
How does it compare to other EV charging networks?
Thanks to ChargePoint’s business model, it has become the largest charging network in the But that doesn’t mean it’s best for everyone.
Take Electrify America, for example. It is a Volkswagen-owned company that aims to install as many DC fast chargers as possible in the United States. Electrify America aims to have 1,700 fast-charging stations (a total of approximately 10,000 individual chargers) in the United States by 2025.
At the time of writing, Electrify America has 670 charging stations (about 2,900 individual CCS fast chargers) available in the US. Fast Chargers. These chargers are typically 150kW, which gives US states “about 7.5 miles of battery range for capable vehicles”.