Uptime is a critical factor in the success of public fast charging networks. It measures the functional availability of chargers and is an indicator of the reliability of the charging infrastructure. A high level of uptime is essential for EV drivers, as it ensures that they have access to charging when they need it.

The growth of the EV market is driving an increase in the demand for public fast charging infrastructure. However, the uptime reliability of these charging stations remains a problem for EV drivers and CPOs. Two common causes of charger uptime issues are:

Communication Failures

One of the main causes of EV charger outages is communication failures within the charger. These failures can occur for several reasons, including software bugs, hardware malfunctions, and network connectivity issues. When these failures occur, the charger is unable to communicate with a CPO’s central management system, which can result in the charger going offline and becoming unavailable to EV drivers.

EV chargers use complex communication systems to interact with the grid, the EV, and the user. These systems may include network communication, cloud-based services, and mobile applications. However, these systems can be vulnerable to communication failures, power outages, and software bugs. These failures can prevent EV drivers from starting or stopping a charge, knowing the status of the charger, or paying for the service. Often the solution to this common communication failure can be a hard re-boot of the charger itself.

Onsite Maintenance Delays:

In addition to the inconvenience caused to EV drivers, the widespread nature of public EV chargers also presents challenges for the CPOs tasked with maintenance of the charging infrastructure. With EV chargers located far apart from each other, it can take a significant amount of time for a CPO’s maintenance technician to reach an offline charger and reboot it. Furthermore, the maintenance force for EV chargers may not be large enough to adequately respond to outages in a timely manner, meaning it can take several days or even longer for a technician to reach a site.

CPOs are doing their best to keep the chargers up and running, often involving dispatching technicians to perform on-site maintenance and troubleshooting. However, this can be time-consuming and expensive process as the technicians must travel to the charger site, diagnosis the problem, and make the necessary repairs. The of these truck rolls can be substantial, especially when you factor in cost of dispatching a technician.

Charger communication failures leave the CPO unable to detect and react remotely. 50%-70% a hard reboot of the charger is all that is required to restore function. However, it is rare that the charger can facilitate this remotely, or even on site requiring the CPO to dispatch a service truck to investigate the downed charger.

Down chargers also have a considerable impact on customer loyalty. If a station has a negative reputation for down or inaccessible chargers that association may be carried over to other sites operated under the same brand.

For the full report visit Uptime Report from Franklin Electric EV Systems.

Interested in learning more about the intricate ecosystem of EV fast charging? Check out our other free guide EV Charging Infrastructure Insights – created to help develop a foundational understanding of EV Charging.