Use Cases for Customer Communication for Plug-in Electric Vehicles

PEV charging is very much different from refueling a conventional internal combustion engine vehicle where a customer inserts the gas pump nozzle and in several minutes the vehicle’s gasoline tank is full. Standard refueling time for a PEV, especially at 120 V and 240 V charge levels, is several hours. The customer plugs in the EVSE connector and goes about their business for the next several hours, expecting the PEV will be fully charged upon their return. The payment approach is therefore also different, where it varies depending on the particular grid load at a particular time of day and could vary from weekdays to weekends. Payment for charging at residences is also different than at public charging locations. If a residence is a home, it may be merely an addition to the existing home energy bill; if it is a multifamily dwelling, it could be different since assigned parking may not be available; and if it is a rental, some agreements may or may not include electricity with the rent. Conversely, public locations may or may not be able to charge for the energy and may only add a fee to the parking fee at the EVSE to cover the cost of electricity. If the public location charges a fee for the parking spot or for the energy, there needs to be a means to include this, and any authorizations, for the customer. This document is being updated to include the recent documents now published for this payment function.

Customers need an awareness of the charging infrastructure conditions and their vehicle’s charging features and capabilities to maximize the utilization of the vehicle for their transportation needs. PEV customers need to be able to remotely access information in the PEV about its charge settings and status, to adjust charging preferences as needed, and to activate the PEV customer convenience features such as cabin temperature pre-conditioning. They need access to charge point operators and/or e-mobility service suppliers and others as they utilize high power charging and need to address roaming and establishing priority, identify energy needs, etc., to a station from a few miles away to ensure they can obtain a charge and continue their journey as planned.