The owners of electric vehicles who are the most satisfied with the experience are those invested in an at-home Level 2 charger, a J.D. Power study found. Whether the charger is permanently installed or portable doesn’t matter, as long as it allows Level 2 charging speeds.
The study found that there is a 188-point gap in overall home charging satisfaction between EV owners who use a Level 1 charger (which delivers just 1.4kW) and those who use a Level 2 charger (which delivers 6.2-7.8 kW). On J.D. Power’s 1,000-point satisfaction index, owners with the slower charger at home score 564 points, while those with the faster charger score 752.
In fact, faster charging at home has become more important since last year. Owners with a Level 2 charger at home reported being even more satisfied with their EVs this year than they did in last year’s Electric Vehicle Experience Home Charging Study. Those with a Level 1 charger reported being less satisfied this year than they were in last year’s study.
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“Home charging is an important aspect of owning an EV and taking that to the next level by utilizing a Level 2 charger is key to optimizing the ownership experience,” said Brent Gruber, senior director of global automotive at J.D. Power. “When upgrading to Level 2 charging, some home electrical upgrades may be necessary. Making those changes will mean faster charging and result in a far more satisfactory EV ownership experience.”
The upgrade does require action from owners, though, and J.D. Power reports that 75 percent of owners needed to make improvements to their home in order to install a Level 2 charger. The most common are wiring, outlet, and electrical panel changes.
J.D. Power also noted that satisfaction with the price of charging varied from region to region with those in New England being the least satisfied and those in the Mountain region reporting the greatest satisfaction with pricing. It may help all, though, to learn that many local utility companies offer EV programs. Only 40 percent of owners with Level 1 charging and 52 percent of owners with Level 2 charging at home were aware that charging during off-hours, financial incentives, itemized costs for EV usage, and other programs were available to them. Those who were aware reported higher satisfaction.
As for which brand had the most satisfied customers, that was owners of Tesla chargers. ClipperCreek ranked second, which must be a disappointment for Electrify America.
