MIAMI — There’s nothing worse than running low on gas while you’re stuck in traffic, except maybe your electric vehicle running out of power during a road trip.
While you might have a charging station at home, or know which gas stations have chargers in your neighborhood, knowing where to stop for a charge while traveling for spring break or a summer trip is essential. You don’t want to get stranded on the highway.
But while it’s easy to find a gas station in Florida (and lots of apps to help find cheap fuel), you can’t just drive into any station to charge up your Tesla, Ford Nissan or other electric-powered vehicle, unless you have a plug-in hybrid electric car (they work with gas, too)
While not every gas station in Florida has a charging station, you’ll probably have an easier time finding a place to charge your car en route to popular destinations in the state — including Miami Beach, the Keys, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Tampa — compared to other states.
Florida has the second-highest count of registered electric vehicles in the U.S., with more than 58,000 vehicles recorded and 6,040 public charging ports available, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Energy. California has the most registered electric vehicles, with more than 425,000.
Charging stations can be found in select gas stations, plazas, malls and supermarket parking lots in Florida.
Here are some websites and apps you can use to help find a charging station near you. Some places even charge your car for free.
How to find electric charging stations near you
— The U.S. Department of Energy has an online locator you can use to find a charging station in the U.S. and Canada. You can filter results by charger level type (Level 1, Level 2 and DC Fast) as well as by connectors. Search results will include the name of the station, address, phone number, hours of operation and when the information was last confirmed.
The locator also has a “map your route” option to show charging stations that will be near you during the trip. You’ll want to find a place that offers at least Level 2 charging, which adds around 14 to 35 miles per hour.
— Florida Power & Light has an online locator and an app, FLP EVolution, you can download to help find EV charging stations. The app shows you nearby stations and gives a variety of info, including charger type, how much it costs or if it’s free, and how many ports are available.
It lets you get status updates on how far along your car’s charge is, your charging history and (using your phone’s GPS map) sets up a route to help you get to the station. You can also find out what the best time to charge your car is and provides a list of nearby amenities to the charging station.
— ChargeHub’s online map is similar and provides filters for charger level type, connectors, if you only want free charging stations. It also has a trip planner that lets you see stations on your route and select the ones you want to stop at. Once you select a station, you’ll get its address and additional info, including hours of operation.
Tip: ChargeHub also has a list option that provides a summary of how many charging stations are in specific cities or neighborhoods, how many are free and what the most popular charging stations are in an area.
— AAA says its app, AAA’s Mobile, can help you find a nearby charging station. You can filter your results to only show EV stations. Search results will include the station’s address, charging type and hours of operation.
Tip: If you’re a member, AAA says it has EV mobile charging vehicles in select cities including Orlando, Nashville, Charlotte, Denver and Grand Rapids that can go to you and provide a charge if you get stranded on the road. Members can also ask to have their vehicle towed home or to a nearby charging station.
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