ChargeHub — EV Charging Help, Data, & Community
The first few weeks one drives an EV, the world opens up. One adventure follows in the wake of the last. At common recharge points where you stop to give your car some juice, new (to you) parks and streets become new junctures in the routes that make up your daily routines. Naturally, you have to find these charging stations.
PlugShare and ChargePoint are popular EV charging station apps that I referenced in some recent articles, but a similar app, ChargeHub, offers similar usefulness to PlugShare but also some unique features and intricate EV data. Within a single user interface, ChargeHub shows stations from the following networks: ChargePoint, Blink (now CarCharging), Tesla, SemaCharge, Sun Country Highway, Electric Circuit, NRG eVgo, VERNetwork, OPConnect, Greenlots, Aerovironment, and more.
In recent days, I compared EV charging spots, availability, and pricing with this new (to me) phone app wherever I went.
The app helps you:
- Find top EV charging spots. (You can filter by charging type (private, Level 1, Level 2, DC Fast, available or busy, charging network, open 24/7, free, at a hotel, connector type, and minimum power.)
- Share pictures on the app or enjoy someone else’s view.
- Leave comments about specific charging stations.
- Plan a trip.
With interactive apps such as this one, community also improves the EV charging network along the way.
Quietly pulling up in front of a green flowering park (or something similarly pleasant) is the new normal, and ChargeHub makes that easy.
Besides my helpful dash charging info, I have been relying on PlugShare and ChargePoint most frequently. But ChargeHub is a great new discovery that I am loving.
In addition to the app, the bloggers on the ChargeHub blog offer a window into the ongoing EV story — including blogs from one of CleanTechnica‘s occasional writers. “Blindmannofish” (Brian Kent) has been documenting his EV adventures in colorful details as he drives his Nissan LEAF around all 48 contiguous US states — stretching the LEAF’s range into unexplored EV realms. Check out his Negative Carbon Road Trip section of the blog for that.
ChargeHub is simple to install. Download the app here. It takes about a half of a minute. It is now easy to compare on my phone with PlugShare and ChargePoint, and I’m curious which I’ll end up using the most.
Oh, but that’s not the end. ChargeHub offers charging station market data. The company writes: “ChargeHub aggregates complex data from a number of sources into a single database. The data is also augmented from a community of real drivers that deal with the charging infrastructure every day.”
We’re not done yet.
If you are looking to connect with other electric car drivers regarding charging or another issue, ChargeHub offers communication with other users with the in-app messaging system. Perhaps this is helpful if you need to unplug a user’s electric car (you could then coordinate your charging) or ask for any other info you need to charge your EV. It is nice to connect with others prioritizing clean air initiatives by driving electric.
The ChargeHub App is free and is available on iOS and Android.
Related Stories:
ChargePoint Rolls Out Charging Station For Fleet
Map Showing Location Of EV Charging Stations In Manhattan… In 1923
Planning A Trip From EV Charger To EV Charger
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very useful info. Thank you Synthia
I am glad you like it. Thanks
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What I envision needing from one of these EV apps is a better trip planning function. Plugshare will grab a route from google maps and identify chargers along the route, which is fine. But what could really come in handy is if the app knows what your range is and actually plans an itinerary with specific charging stops and estimated charging times. It should even give several charging options, giving the driver all available “safe” chargers that are within 60 – 70% of the vehicle’s range, “reach” chargers that are within 70 – 85% of the vehicle’s range and “risky” chargers that are within 85 – 95% of the vehicle’s range. It should also calculate these options based on an “out-and-back” scenario that requires up to a full charge to return to the point of origin and a “one-way” trip that will have overnight destination charging or DC quick charging of some sort. If the app could factor in weather, wind and temperature, that would take a lot of the guesswork out of finding the right charger as well.
The biggest problem I can foresee is making this data available would be risky if it’s error-prone. But if they can make an app that populates the world with invisible cartoon monsters and millions of people are going around trying to catch-em-all, then surely we can get an app that can make EV trip-planning a little easier.
Eventually a system that lets you reserve a charger. No waiting time.
Charger owners / operators have a vested interest in charging as many cars as possible, so they would be all for it. I could imagine the app automatically reserving a slot based on your calculated arrival time.
yes, i had that problem with PlugShare as well.
it looks like ChargeHub offers a better option for this (see the screenshot below), but i haven’t checked this for a real trip yet.