Optimizing EV Charging Behavior: Strategies for Turnover

Certain users attempt to exploit pricing plans, as illustrated by a charging scheme where the first 4 hours cost $2, and the subsequent 4-6 hours are charged at $4. To benefit from the lower rate, some users deliberately charge their vehicles for just 3 hours and 58 minutes, discontinue the session, and then recharge for another 4 hours. Now, let's consider a scenario where a customer aims to promote the rotation of charging spaces for other users' convenience.

Regrettably, there is no foolproof method of preventing this user behavior, as they have managed to find ways around various strategies, such as tiered plans and idle fees.
Nevertheless, here are some proposed ideas to address the issue:

1. Implement an activation fee, requiring users to pay a flat fee when activating a device. While straightforward, this approach may be considered rather harsh, and we do not recommend it.

2. Increase the number of chargers available to eliminate concerns about turnover. Although this would incur additional costs, it presents a viable solution. If cost or power capacity is a worry, it might be better to install multiple slower chargers instead of a single fast charger.
This way, charging can be parallelized. For instance, instead of a ~10kWh charger, breaking it down into 2-3 slower 3.3kWh chargers could cater to people charging for extended periods and leaving their vehicles plugged in.

Further breaking it down into 4-6 level 1 chargers could accommodate overnight charging and vehicles being left plugged in for extended durations. Slower chargers could also be priced lower than fast chargers, allowing users to choose between paying for faster charging or trickle charging overnight.

This option is worth considering if there is high device utilization, though the current utilization rate appears to be relatively low, so it may not need immediate implementation.

3. If we Analyze the data on how the users are using the devices at each time of the day, for example, we might observe that the most common hours for charging are between 2 pm and 12 midnight. To promote better turnover and "spread out" charging, it is essential to incentivize users to charge during off-peak hours and discourage peak/popular hour charging.

4. An alternative pricing plan can be tested, aiming to encourage overnight charging when people are less likely to move their cars and morning charging when users may unplug and leave for work. Charging during peak hours can still be allowed but at a higher cost. The proposed plan could look like this:
  • 2 pm to 12 pm = $2.50/h
  • 12 pm to 2 pm = $1.50/h
By focusing on incentives rather than penalties, users are more likely to respond positively to discounts for desired behavior rather than fines for undesired actions.