How ChargeSpy picks charging stops along a route

On a longer drive the nearest charging station is rarely the right one. What matters is how far the remaining range still carries, how fast the charger delivers, whether it is free at that moment and how much of a detour it costs. These four pull in different directions, and the route planner weighs them against each other instead of taking the first match along the way.

Why the planner stops late

The search for a charger begins only once the battery reaches a window between roughly 50 and 92 percent of usable range. A late stop usually saves an entire halt over the whole route, and it falls into the part of the charging curve where the car still draws a lot of power. Stopping too early means charging more slowly and stopping more often.

The corridor around the route

Stations within a four-kilometre corridor around the route are considered; if nothing suitable turns up, the search widens to eight. A fast charger twenty kilometres off the road rarely pays off, because the approach has to be driven in both directions and the time saved while charging is used up doing so.

Availability counts for more than power

For many countries the national data sources include current occupancy. An occupied 150 kilowatt charger scores worse than a free one with 75, because waiting time cannot be charged. Stations that several drivers have reported as faulty are not considered as a stop at all.

The planner is available without an account. Start, destination and the basic figures of the car are enough.