Home Charging Satisfaction For EVs Falls Amid Rising Electricity Rates

As with everything else it seems these days, electricity prices are on the rise. Something that is helping to cause a dip in home charging satisfaction among EV vehicle owners, according to a new J.D. Power study.   

J.D. Power Home Charging Study

In its 2023 U.S. Electric Vehicle Experience (EVX) Home Charging study, J.D. Power says that more than two-thirds of EV owners surveyed had Level 2 home stations. But overall satisfaction declined 12 points year over year, falling to 740 (on a 1,000-point scale.)  

Home Charging Costs

A big issue is that EV owners aren't happy about higher charging costs due to rising electricity rates. While Level 2 portable and Level 2 permanently mounted charging stations are utilized by 83% of all users, J.D. Power researchers say their satisfaction with the cost of charging declined 30 points in each segment compared to 2022. 

Charging Speed

Researchers also say charging speed is also driving down overall satisfaction, in all three home charging segments (Level 1, 2 and 3 (DC Fast-Charging).

Interestingly, J.D. Power found that owners of newer model 2022 and 2023 model EVs are less satisfied with their home charging speed (605 and 597, respectively) than owners of 2021 model EVs (616) and 2020 model EVs (608).  

“Whether you’re an automaker, dealer or utility company participating in the EV ecosystem, improving the EV owner experience with respect to home charging should be a common goal shared by all,” said Brent Gruber, executive director of the EV practice at J.D. Power. “There are programs available today that will help EV owners with the startup costs, such as installing or upgrading to a faster Level 2 charger. There are also programs designed to save EV owners money with the ongoing costs of charging their vehicle, like scheduling to charge during the most affordable time of the day. However, J.D. Power sees that there is little awareness and utilization of these benefits. As the EV marketplace continues to grow, brands that help owners take advantage of these offerings will be in a much better position down the road.”

Key Findings

J.D. Power's study measures satisfaction across eight factors: fairness of retail price; cord length; size of charger; ease of winding/storing cable; cost of charging; charging speed; ease of use; and reliability.  Here are some of its key finding outlined in the J.D. Power release:

• As electricity rates increase, educating owners becomes more critical: Just 51% of EV owners say they are knowledgeable about utility company programs for charging their vehicle at home, which is up slightly from 49% a year ago.“Customers are looking to utility companies to help manage rising costs,” said Adrian Chung, director of utilities intelligence at J.D. Power. “By increasing awareness of available rebates or incentives, EV owners will benefit. This can snowball into helping potential EV owners make a more informed purchase decision, as well as minimizing home charging concerns and supporting greater EV adoption.”
• Scheduling charge time increases satisfaction: More than one-third (35%) of owners say they always schedule a time to charge their vehicle at home, while 49% do not use any scheduling. Among those choosing to schedule home charging via an app, satisfaction is highest when using the vehicle mobile app (739) rather than the charger mobile app (706).
• Geography makes a difference with charging satisfaction: Overall satisfaction with Level 2 home charging is lower in all nine regions in this year’s study than a year ago, with New England having the largest decline of 27 points. The Level 2 satisfaction gap between regions is now 96 points (+20 from a year ago), ranging from a low of 689 in the New England region to a high of 785 in the East South Central region.
• Home charging game changer: Satisfaction improves 179 points when moving up from a Level 1 portable charger (561) to a Level 2 permanently mounted charger (740). Across the eight factors in the study, owner satisfaction is higher in seven factors once the switch is made to a Level 2 permanently mounted charger, especially with charging speed (+373 points). A majority (60%) of current Level 1 users say they are likely to upgrade their home charging station to either a Level 2 permanently mounted charger or a Level 2 portable unit.

Level 2 Charger Rankings

While the study examines the home charging experience of EV owners across all three charger segments, J.D. Power only hands out awards to Level 2 permanently mounted charging stations.  Tesla ranks first for the third year in a row.

1. Tesla ranks highest among Level 2 permanently mounted charging stations with a score of 790.
2. GRIZZL-E (757) ranks second
3. Emporia (754) ranks third 

All score about the segment average of 740.

About the Study

The U.S. Electric Vehicle Experience (EVX) Home Charging Study, now in its third year, is driven by a collaboration with PlugShare, the leading EV driver app maker and research firm. Survey respondents for this year's study included 13,860 owners of 2017-2023 model year BEVs and PHEVs. The study was fielded from December 2022 through February 2023.

Photo Courtesy of Tesla, Inc.