How do I charge my EV when traveling?

Written by Larry Thompson

The short answer

There are approximately 68,000* public Level 2 and Level 3 EV charging stations in the continental US as of May 2019 with more being added each month.  These stations can be found on and just off main highways and in local and neighborhood locations and many businesses. There are a number of national providers of public charging stations and most have maps which indicate the capacity and availability of the stations.

Plugshare (www.plugshare.com) provides a comprehensive map of most charging locations in the US regardless of provider.  Other charging station manufacturers and providers can be found at:

www.chargepoint.com

www.electrifyamerica.com

www.blinkcharging.com

www.evgo.com

www.gewattstation.com

All EV’s come with charging cables that can be plugged into standard 120 volt outlets (also known as household outlets) but charge at the rate of 3-5 miles per hour.  Although 120 volt charge rates are slow the outlets are commonly available outside homes and businesses.

Most charging stations are fee-based but some, provided by local governments are free for public use.

* www.energy.gov

Learn more

Using the EV navigation systems most EV’s are able to calculate the range required to arrive at the intended destination.  If the battery requires charging in route the EV can generally locate nearby charging stations. Using an app such as PlugShare will identify charging stations regardless of manufacture or charging provider.

Some Connecticut municipalities offer free Level 2 charging.  For example, in the Town Fairfield, there are 3 free Level 2 charging stations with a total of 5 outlets.  There are 21 free Level 2 charging stations in the Town of Westport, though parking regulations apply to those at Metro-North stations.  

The State of Connecticut provides several free charging stations at Hammonasset State Park