- Thanksgiving is one of the busiest times for EV charging.
- Paren, a data firm, projects that drivers will spend 8.5 million hours charging on road trips this holiday weekend.
- The worst times to charge are between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
For many EV owners, Thanksgiving will be one of only a handful of times a year that they need to visit a fast-charging station. That’s the beauty of EVs: For everyday use, owners can plug in at home and wake up to a full charge daily.
The flip side is that during the busiest holiday weekends, when everybody is out road tripping to see their families, EV drivers swarm a limited number of charging stations. That can result in long lines and a bad day. Nobody wants that.
Paren, a firm specializing in EV charging data, projects 1.8 million public EV charging sessions during Thanksgiving week and says that drivers will spend a collective 8.5 million hours plugged in at the fast charging stations most likely to be used while traveling (those with four or more plugs).
We spoke to the folks there to get some tips on the best times to charge, what station locations to avoid and how to make your EV road trip the smoothest it can be.
The State Of EV Charging This Thanksgiving
Historically, public EV charging infrastructure has been problematic, to say the least. Plugs are broken or unavailable more often than owners would like. And there are still parts of the country where they’re hard to come by. Paren says that’s all improving.
According to the firm, 1,100 new public charging stations with four ports or more have come online since last Thanksgiving. Plus, charging networks like Electrify America are upgrading their old sites and paying more attention to reliability. Across the thousands of travel-oriented stations it analyzed, reliability is up slightly to 85.5%. Broadly speaking, that means 85 out of 100 visits will be successful, Paren CTO and cofounder Bill Ferro told InsideEVs. That’s better than before, but still “sketchy,” Ferro said.
At Tesla Superchargers, which aren’t factored into that data, reliability is likely higher, he said. But when you consider all fast-charging locations—not just the travel-focused stations—it’s a lot lower.
Paren says that despite the hundreds of thousands of new EVs that have hit the road in the last year, America’s charging infrastructure is ready for Thanksgiving travel. You can make sure you spent less time charging—and more time with loved ones—by following some best practices recommended by the firm’s experts.
The Best And Worst Times To Charge
According to Paren’s data, you’ll have the least competition at the charging station overnight, from midnight to 6 a.m. Afternoons will tend to be the worst, with one exception: If you can sneak out on Thursday afternoon, that may be one of the best times to juice up ahead of the ride home.
Which EV Charging Stations To Hit—And Avoid
As opposed to last year, many non-Tesla EV drivers now have access to the company's formerly exclusive Supercharger network, giving them about 18,000 more plugs to choose from. You’ll need to have a vehicle that works with Superchargers (see the list of manufacturers here). And you’ll most likely need to have a manufacturer-approved adapter, something Ferro recommends keeping at the ready this week.
“That, to me, is just a huge game changer,” he said. “If I had a non-Tesla vehicle and I was going on a road trip anytime, including this week, I would have an adapter with me, and I would look to take advantage of that.”
Paren analyzed Tesla’s charger deployments this year and found that 91%—4,300 stalls—work with non-Tesla EVs. That includes some of its “Magic Dock” chargers, which any EV can use without an adapter.
Ferro recommends avoiding most fast chargers located at car dealerships, as they have some of the worst reliability scores. They’re often old, underutilized and can be blocked by other cars.
Charging stations along major corridors are most likely to work the best, said Loren McDonald, Paren’s chief analyst, since they’re used regularly and earn money for their operators. However, they also may be the most slammed during busy travel times. The charging stations out in the middle of nowhere—ones that aren’t visited frequently—are more of a gamble, he said.
“The potential danger zone is if you’re out in Idaho or something like that, where it’s a small station operated by a regional player that gets one session, two sessions a day,” he said. “Nobody probably even knows if they’re working or not.”
Some Bonus Tips
Here are some other selected tips Paren shared that we’re passing on to you.
Charge to 100% before leaving for your trip. It may sound obvious, but if you have your car programmed to stop charging at 80%, as many do, here’s your reminder to adjust the limit ahead of time.
Precondition your car’s cabin while it’s plugged in. That way, you can warm up your car without sacrificing as much range. It takes a lot of energy to warm up a car from 40 degrees to a comfy 72. It requires less to maintain that temperature.
And treat your fellow EV drivers with respect. Only spend as much time plugged in as you absolutely need and keep it moving. That’ll give everyone something to be thankful for.
Contact the author: tim.levin@insideevs.com
