Yes, you can have an electric car and live in a small town without charging stations, but you might need to think ahead and understand a few challenges you’ll face.
Thinking about going electric, but live outside the city? Here’s what you need to know about driving an EV when your nearest charging station might be an hour away. We’ll walk you through managing range anxiety, getting a fast charger installed at home, and planning road trips when public charging spots are very rare.
Here are some of the things you should know when driving an EV in rural America.
Calculate your daily driving range
How far will you drive each day? Before you head out for the day, you need to know that you have enough driving range to handle your driving habits and needs. If you don’t leave enough driving range for things to change or a few challenges, you will need to know the location of a public charging station. It’s not a good idea to charge your battery more often than necessary, but ensuring you have enough driving range is important to avoid range anxiety.
Where are the chargers?
Because you will face some difficulties and need to charge at public stations sometimes, you need to know the locations of these chargers. Its also a good idea to visit them frequently to ensure your EV is compatible and the chargers are working correctly. Until the charging infrastructure is expanded to levels that are similar to those offered for gas and diesel-powered vehicles, knowing where you can go to charge up your electric vehicle is one of the challenges of ownership.
Plan your at-home charging
If you live in a rural area, far from a charging station, an at-home charger will be the source of fuel for your driving needs. This means it’s imperative that you have a 240-volt charger at home to keep your EV charged. You’ll likely charge more often than some city drivers, which means you need to be prepared to charge your EV daily if necessary. The climate you live in can be a factor, with frigid winter temperatures causing the charging range to diminish.
Ask for discounts for your charger
When you need to install an at-home charger for your electric vehicle, you should ask your utility company or state Department of Environmental Services if they offer rebates and grants for installing these chargers. Most automakers will plug your charger into a 240-volt outlet for you and set up your charging location, but you have to provide the plug, which runs on the same voltage as your clothes dryer. Check for rebates and grants that allow you to save some money to set up your charger.
Plan your longer routes with charger information
Range anxiety is a real thing, especially when you see your charging range diminish quickly while driving. When you take a longer drive than normal, such as a road trip, you need to know where chargers are located along your route. It’s also important to remember that your EV can only utilize 70% of its full charge before you need to plug it in. You need at least a 10% charge to plug in, and a DC fast-charging station will likely only charge your vehicle to 80% before the charging speed slows significantly.
You need a backup plan
Sometimes, the public charger you intended to use during your route won’t work, but you need to know where other chargers are located or find alternatives to help charge your vehicle. This might mean visiting an RV park and using their outlets, some of which are rated at 220 volts for the electrical needs of large RVs. It’s important to have a backup plan for every trim, which might mean thinking outside the box a little bit.
Change the way you drive
If you will drive your electric vehicle every day, and you live in a rural area, you should probably adjust your driving habits. Driving steadily and in a conservative manner will save the battery and your driving range. Strangely, this advice works for gas-powered vehicles as well. Let your EV use the regenerative braking system to capture some of the energy that would be lost during this activity. By changing the way you drive, you can enjoy your EV for a long time.
Connect with other EV drivers
This is especially helpful when you’re new to driving an EV. This change is something completely new and foreign to you, which means you need to understand what others have gone through so that you don’t make the same mistakes. You can learn from errors and successes, as long as you’re willing to take advice from people who have been there and done it for much longer than you. There are some online resources, such as the Electric Vehicle Association and Electrification Coalition, that can be helpful.
Enjoy the drive
Rural areas offer more open roads with less traffic than large cities. You won’t need to stop at nearly as many lights and might find yourself driving for several miles before you see another car on the road. This can be a relaxing and enjoyable time when you get behind the wheel and take a drive. Relax, enjoy the drive. Everything doesn’t have to be about range anxiety, and you’ll quickly realize that when you feel how responsive your EV can be when you hit the accelerator.
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