Going on holiday by electric car – 10 handy tips for stress-free charging
The school holidays are here at last and cars are already head to tail on the major routes. Charging stations for electric vehicles will also be very busy this summer. So is it possible to go on holiday with an electric car in the busy season? We are offering you 10 handy tips to show you that it is absolutely feasible. Efficient preparation beforehand will help you manage your charging stops during your journey. Let’s have a look at the best practices to start off your hassle-free e-holidays 😎
1. Prepare ahead of your journey
Our first tip for you is to be fully prepared before you set off on your holiday travels by electric car. There are many tools to help you locate charging stations and plan a journey by EV. By preparing in advance, you will save precious time.
The route planner feature in the Chargemap app is your best ally to simplify this time-consuming phase for you.
2. Do not wait for your battery level to drop below 20%
To avoid any unnecessary hassle during your holidays by electric car, plan to make a charging stop when your battery level is getting down to the 20% mark. If you arrive at a charging station on the motorway only to find that the charge points are out of order or the waiting time is too long, you will have enough range to put your Plan B into action.
3. Stop charging at 80% to save time
To optimise charging time, we strongly advise you not to charge your battery beyond 80%. Unless, of course, you really need to. In fact, it takes just as long to charge your EV from 80 to 100% as it does from 20 to 80%.
Take a look at our article on power rating and charging times in order to optimise charging and avoid unpleasant surprises.
4. Check the charging costs before each top-up
Before plugging your electric vehicle in, think about checking the charging rates applied by your mobility service provider (MSP). If you use the Chargemap Pass together with the Chargemap app, you will benefit from easy access and clear indication of the rates charged at each compatible charging station. You will then find details about your charge and the related invoices in a tab specific to your badge.
5. Check the Chargemap community’s comments
Chargemap is first and foremost a community service, based on EV drivers helping each other out. Before going to a charging station, remember to read the comments left by Chargemap members in the “Community” tab. They will help you make the right choices and provide you with additional, useful information about the charging station in question.
And, of course, as soon as you have something to say, think about leaving a comment to share your charging experience 😉
6. Let other EV drivers know that you are currently charging
The check-in feature in the Chargemap app gives you the opportunity of informing other EV drivers that you are currently plugged in. It is also used to report an out-of-order charging station. It is a quick, public-spirited gesture which can be very useful to indicate that a charging station is being occupied in real time and calculate its reliability. To find out more, discover all the ways in which you can enhance Chargemap data via contributions.
7. Free up the charge point straight away after charging
We all agree that it’s annoying to find combustion-engine cars hogging parking spaces reserved for charging. And it’s equally annoying when fully charged EVs are squatting them too. With record sales of EVs, charging stations will be taken by storm this summer.
Not charging more than you need to and leaving the charging spot as quickly as you can will be crucial this year to ensure rapid turnaround time at charge points. Planning for shorter, but more frequent stops will contribute to keeping EV turnaround time running like clockwork.
8. Avoid feisty driving just before charging
We’ve already discussed this in our article on 6 mistakes to avoid to preserve the lifespan of your EV battery. To preserve your battery, it is highly recommended not to accelerate excessively in the lead up to a charging stop.
Indeed, not only can regularly overheating the battery lead to premature damage, but it can also significantly slow down charging speed. Maximum charging performance is achieved at between 20 and 40°C. Of course, hot summer temperatures can compound this phenomenon.
You should also keep in mind that charging stations are equipped with safety mechanisms that slowdown the charging rate delivered when the weather is particularly hot. Charging stations that are not sheltered from the sun are particularly affected.
9. Let another driver plug in first if their need is greater
Charging infrastructures are still insufficient to cater for the number of EVs on the road. If a driver has an urgent need to charge to avoid a breakdown, giving them priority will be greatly appreciated.
Mutual help between EV drivers is a key notion for Chargemap and we believe that by adopting the right attitude, we can make more people benefit from charging infrastructures.
10. Don’t forget Chargemap, your loyal travelling companion
To locate free charging stations, plan your next holidays by electric car and manage the cost of your charges, Chargemap is ever your faithful friend.
You can now access all the features on the Chargemap app free of charge! This includes all our advanced search filters to find charging stations that:
- have the highest score;
- are near services (toilets, restaurants, hotels etc.);
- don’t belong to a specific charging network.
And for even greater comfort of use, you can enjoy the Chargemap experience from your dashboard via Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.
Extra tip: enjoy the journey!
Our final tip – don’t forget that the journey is part of your holidays! We tend to think of the road trip as being the final haul before starting our holidays. Why not profit from travelling by electric car to take your foot off the accelerator and discover new sites? For example, you could stop off halfway through the journey to visit a place you have never been before. It is a great way of reducing the stress of travelling.
And what about you, do you have any good advice and tips for going on holiday by electric car?
The entire Chargemap team wishes you happy holidays on board your EV ☀️
To put an end to the hassle of long-distance driving,
What do you do if you only have a basic phone and are unable to access the app.?
Hi Brian, you can still go to the Chargemap website on a desktop and access helpful data before taking the road. The app is also available on tablets if you have one 🙂
How do you know what percentage has been charged at any given moment during the charge?
It is shown in the car’s app. If the car has not an app and it is not permanently connected to internet, forget to travel with it, other than to go to the mall/work and come back to home.
Hi, it depends on the charging station and the vehicle.
Some charging stations display the level of charge or even the power rating in real-time. Some vehicles provide the same information, via an app or directly on the car’s dashboard, but not all.
There are also “third-party” applications, which are connected via Bluetooth or Wifi and also allows the vehicle’s charge to be monitored in real-time.
Does this answer your question? 🙂
Traveling with an electric car on holidays is a high risk sportive adventure which probably will end with your car towed. If you don’t have a Tesla, you’re an EV zombie by definition. And if EU finally gets the Supercharger Network to be open to the rest of EV brands, then Tesla is also dead as a multipurpose-car solution. Now, if you’re a happy non-Tesla EV owner, the best idea to ensure your holidays is to rent a combustion car for it. No doubt.
This is absolute gibberish. I have a 460km range and do not have a Tesla. I think you are just feeling entitled and have ev snobbery.
Driven to France from UK in EVs several times since 2020 with 0 issues.
I found your article very helpful, thank you so much for your content.
Hi, thank you! We are so glad that you find these tips helpful! Have a safe journey ⚡️