Real Data on Real Employees Charging at Work
At ChargePoint, we've been keeping employees plugged in and charged up for more than a decade.
Because all of our EV charging solutions are networked, we have years of data on how real employees charge at work. In this section of our report, you can discover how real drivers charge up at work and look at what makes a workplace EV charging program successful.
The early bird gets the charge: most employees plug in when they arrive at work around 8 am or after lunch, at 1 pm or so. This trend has stayed consistent over the years, showing that charging quickly becomes just another part of the workday for EV-driving employees.
Think it takes too long to charge an EV? Think again. The average EV charging session at work lasts just 2 hours and 24 minutes, just a fraction of the workday. Not only that, but drivers tend to keep their vehicles plugged in for longer than they need to charge. Clearly, employees have more than enough time to charge up at work.
To make the most of your EV charging solutions, you can set fees that encourage your employees to unplug when they're done charging. For example, you can initially provide charging for free but charge a fee after two hours of charging. This will help ensure that your stations are able to be used by as many employees as possible.
Employees become 6X more likely to drive electric once they have charging at work, and ChargePoint customers have grown the number of EV drivers by 60 percent. Be sure to prepare for growth in your program by planning to install more charging spots than you think you need right now.
Because there's more than enough time in the workday to charge, not all workplaces need DC fast charging, which can add hundreds of miles per hour to vehicles. However, fast charging may make sense for companies that offer valet parking or have limited parking spaces available. ChargePoint can help find the mix of charging speeds that will work for you.
When you start to offer EV charging, more employees will decide to drive electric. This means you will need to add charging spots over time. We can draw on our data to recommend the number of spots that will keep your employees charged up and productive during the workday.
Your employees are probably already accustomed to using apps on their phone for work (and play). Choosing an EV charging solution that is easy for your employees to access and manage with an app will allow them to integrate EV charging into their everyday workflow without effort.
The ChargePoint app lets employees know when charging spots open up and also keeps them informed about their current charging status in real time, so they can stay focused on work.
Some locations serve as both workplaces and public charging spots, such as retail stores that want to let employees and customers charge. Designating certain stations for employee use only or offering special employee pricing can ensure employees and customers alike get a charge.
Achieving this is only possible with networked EV charging solutions that enable you to customize policies governing who can charge and how much it costs. Employees can get a special access code through a mobile app to let them use certain stations or pay less to charge.
California, Texas, Massachusetts, Georgia and Washington are the top 5 states when it comes to the number of EV charging spots at work. These states are leading in part because they offer incentives to promote EV charging installation at work. If your location is not (yet) on the list, do your part to add it and stay ahead of the competition by offering this benefit.
It's clear that EV charging is an important way to attract, engage and retain employees. What's your timeframe for bringing it to your workplace?
