The problem of charging piles, or EV charging stations, is being addressed by various stakeholders including governments, automakers, energy companies, and technology providers. These entities are working together to expand the charging infrastructure and make it more accessible and convenient for electric vehicle owners. Efforts are being made to increase the number of charging stations, improve charging speeds, and develop standardized charging protocols. Additionally, advancements in battery technology and the emergence of wireless charging solutions may further contribute to solving the problem of charging piles in the future.
Late at night in summer, the moonlight is mottled, the shadows of the trees are dancing, and a breeze brings a bit of coolness. But a charging station located in Yifen Street, Wanbolin District, Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province, China is still stuffy and hot, and the smell of cigarette smoke permeates the place. At 3 a.m., Mr. Li, who was not yet familiar with the charging process, drew his gun and paid the bill under the guidance of a fellow rider. Although he saved more than 20 yuan on this charge, there was no trace of happiness on his tired face. It turned out that Mr. Li replaced the 11-year-old fuel vehicle at the beginning of this year and purchased a new energy vehicle. But after a few months, range anxiety, charging anxiety, price anxiety... a series of anxieties followed one after another. The soldiers and horses have not moved, but the food and grass go first. In fact, there are not a few new energy car owners like Mr. Li who are deeply anxious, and charging anxiety must be the first to bear the brunt.
Popular public charging piles
Today, new energy vehicles are no longer a rarity. As the new domestic car manufacturing forces continue to expand their advantages in new energy vehicles, electric vehicles with affordable prices and good performance are rapidly entering the homes of ordinary people. . Data from the China Automobile Association shows that from January to June this year, the production and sales of new energy vehicles were 3.788 million and 3.747 million respectively, a year-on-year increase of 42.4% and 44.1% respectively, with a market share of 28.3%. "The key is to save money. If you take an online ride-hailing service like me, you have to recharge the battery at least once a day. A distance of 200 kilometers will cost about 100 yuan in gas. The electricity bill is actually only 20 to 30 yuan. What you save is what you earn." Is that enough?” Some online car-hailing owners said that the price advantage of new energy vehicles compared with gasoline vehicles is very obvious. However, the "surging" sales of new energy vehicles have put huge pressure on subsequent supporting services. In particular, the daily charging supply problem has become a "pain" that some new energy vehicle users cannot hide. Data from the China Charging Alliance shows that in the first half of this year, the number of charging infrastructure increased by 1.442 million units, including 351,000 public charging piles and 1.091 million private charging piles built with vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 18.6%. As the first pure electric taxi city in Taiyuan City, the development of new energy vehicle system is booming. This year's municipal government work report also proposed that more than 10,000 new charging piles will be built. But even though considerable progress has been made in the construction of charging piles, charging piles in popular neighborhoods are still "overcrowded" whenever electricity prices are low.
During the investigation, the reporter found that most charging stations on the market in Taiyuan implement time-of-use electricity prices, and the charges are different for different charging powers. Taking only charging piles with the same power as an example, the charging fee during off-peak hours ranges from 0.55 yuan to 0.84 yuan. The off-peak hours are generally from 12:00 to 14:00 or 0:00 to 6:00 noon. The charging fee during peak power hours is about 1 yuan, and the charging time is generally from 18:00 to 22:00. When electricity prices are low during the day, there are often only single digits of charging piles left in the larger charging stations in Taiyuan City. This is also accompanied by the problem of charging equipment failure. Many new energy vehicle users said that if they want to collect a wave of "wool", they must not do so. It’s not an easy thing, running around and missing meals are all normal things. "After buying an electric car, my situation has become smaller." Many new energy vehicle users have expressed the same feeling. In the past, when I used a gas truck, I could refill 300 yuan of gasoline at any time, but now I would run around and even stay awake at night to save 30 to 50 cents for electricity. The reporter found at the charging station that around 12 noon, most of the vehicles coming to charge were cruising taxis and online ride-hailing vehicles, while only a few private cars chose to charge during this period. It turns out that after ordinary consumers choose new energy vehicles, because their working hours are relatively fixed, in order to balance family and work, they often cannot charge with the cheapest electricity. "Every time I recharge, I have to go to a public charging pile seven or eight kilometers away from my home. I bought an electric car just to save money, but I didn't expect it to be so troublesome now." A new energy car owner said that he wanted to save time without wasting time. , and if you want to save on car costs, you can only install private charging piles in residential areas. Installing private charging piles is not easy.
Car owners call for private charging piles
"After 10 o'clock in the evening, the electricity bill is 30 cents. I have driven more than 10,000 kilometers this year. It is much cheaper than a fuel vehicle. The key is that it is convenient to charge here. It is not like having to queue up for refueling..." Lives in Taiyuan Mr. Zhang from Lanting Yuhu City, wearing slippers and shorts, pointed to the parking space equipped with charging piles and talked eloquently. His words were full of satisfaction with his car. Obviously, this satisfaction is brought by "private charging piles". It turned out that before buying a car last year, Mr. Zhang inquired whether the residential property could install charging piles, but the answer he received was negative. In order to avoid range anxiety and charging troubles, Mr. Zhang finally purchased an extended-range new energy vehicle. But in 2023, the originally shelved matter of installing charging piles took a turn for the worse, and Mr. Zhang successfully became the owner of a "home charger". Recently, Mr. Zhang bought a new energy vehicle for his wife after experiencing the convenience.
Mr. Zhang said that although the process of installing charging piles is tortuous, the results are good. After having your own charging pile, you not only enjoy preferential prices in terms of electricity prices, but also have relatively free time. At the same time, because "home charging" is slow charging, it is also more friendly to the batteries of new energy vehicles. In fact, the problem of not being able to install charging piles in the parking spaces of your own community is not an isolated case. As early as 2016, the "Measures for the Construction, Operation and Management of Electric Vehicle Charging Facilities in Shanxi Province" (hereinafter referred to as the "Measures") have been implemented. The "Measures" stipulate that individuals who install charging facilities in their own parking garages and parking spaces do not need to go through construction procedures. Land use planning permit, etc. When residents install charging facilities in their own fixed parking spaces in a residential community, they must apply to the power supply department for installation procedures. The community property committee and the property management company should support and cooperate with the construction, and the property management company must not take the opportunity to charge fees. Charging facilities should be metered separately, and the owner of the charging facilities should bear the responsibility for repair, update, maintenance and infringement of the rights and interests of third parties.
Although the policy is good, its implementation is not satisfactory. Previously, there were media reports that a man in our province planned to install a charging pile in his parking space for charging convenience. He consulted the local power supply department and learned from the department that he needed a written document from the property management company agreeing to the installation. So the man found the property and asked the person in charge to stamp the "Parking Space and Permitted Construction Certificate". However, the person in charge of the property said that the current capacity of the electricity facilities in the underground garage of the community was insufficient, and the community fire protection could not meet the requirements for installing charging piles, so he rejected the man's application, and the installation of charging piles was discontinued. After many fruitless negotiations with the property owner, the man took the property owner to court.
Where will the development of charging piles go?
During the interview, the reporter learned that at present, there are still some communities in Taiyuan City that say they cannot install charging piles. "I have seen too many news about spontaneous combustion of charging piles on the Internet. After all, we have to be responsible to all owners, and we cannot bring safety hazards to everyone just because of the needs of a few people." The property management company refuses owners to install charging piles for two main reasons. On the one hand, Property owners believe that electric vehicles are unsafe, can easily cause fires, and pose fire safety hazards. On the other hand, some old communities cannot build private charging piles as needed due to problems such as tight parking spaces and insufficient power capacity. In fact, in order to promote the healthy development of the new energy vehicle industry, the country has previously launched a series of charging pile support policies. First of all, the state provides support for investment in new energy charging piles, and new or renovated public charging facilities can enjoy state financial subsidies. At the same time, the state also regulates and manages the charging pile industry and makes relevant regulations and requirements for charging pile operators. Through the support of national policies, the construction and operation of new energy charging piles have become more standardized and safer, the service quality of new energy charging piles has been greatly guaranteed, and the experience and safety of new energy vehicle consumers have also been greatly improved.
"Charging piles outdoors will inevitably be exposed to wind and rain, posing safety risks of leakage. Therefore, qualified charging piles must meet waterproof requirements. The national standard has clear requirements for the waterproof performance of charging piles. Outdoors, they should reach IP54 protection level and be installed on The protection level of indoor charging piles should not be lower than IP32." A salesperson at BYD Auto North America's Xintiandi Shengshi Kaiyuan Supermarket told reporters that after so many years of development, the safety of charging piles is actually on par with gas stations, and it is worth it trusted. Not only safety issues, but also how to make charging piles profitable has become a particularly troublesome issue for major new energy vehicle manufacturers and brands. Ideal CEO Li Xiang once said in public: "Most companies don't make money from charging piles." This is because according to the cost of charging piles, a charging pile needs to complete 6-7 orders a day to break even, and complete 10 single, the profit situation will be better than that of gas stations. But currently on the market, one charging pile can generally only handle 2-3 charges per day. Zhang Baohua, a researcher at the Institute of Economics of the Shanxi Academy of Social Sciences, said that in the early days of the development of the electric vehicle industry, major brands showed their unique abilities to seize the market, which really provided a wave of benefits to car owners who dared to "try new things". After the "Measures" are introduced, it will further stimulate car companies to strengthen technological innovation and brand building, and provide better products and services.
"As a major power province, our province has the absolute advantage of low electricity prices. Building a high-quality charging infrastructure system requires starting from several aspects such as scientific layout and technological innovation." Zhang Baohua said that in the future, as the "Measures" are implemented in our province To take root, relevant government departments can rationally arrange charging facilities according to the needs and characteristics of different regions to meet the charging needs of different fields and scenarios, and guide enterprises through administrative means to proactively undertake social welfare. For vicious competition, damage to industry ecology, and refusal to bear responsibilities, Socially responsible enterprises should be supervised; relevant car companies and scientific research institutions can strive to improve the performance and efficiency of charging equipment through technological innovation, and improve the quality and convenience of charging services; government departments can take the lead to encourage enterprises, scientific research institutions and other units to actively participate in the industry Technology research and development and standard formulation will promote the unification and standardization of charging infrastructure standards and improve the interoperability and compatibility of charging equipment.
In addition, Zhang Baohua suggested that public charging piles can also introduce a price regulation mechanism similar to gasoline and diesel to further regulate the charging market from the institutional level. "This can effectively curb vicious competition and ensure the healthy development of the charging market. It will also help improve the fairness and transparency of the charging market, and will also help reduce the fluctuation of charging prices." Although the road is far away, the journey is coming. ;Although things are difficult, if you do it, you will succeed. The promulgation of the "Measures" is another big step forward in the construction of new energy vehicle systems. I believe that in the near future, both "range anxiety" and "charging pains" will be resolved through the joint efforts of governments, enterprises, and institutions. Get cracked.
How much does a home charging pile cost?
How much does it cost to install a home charging pile? Specifically, the cost of charging piles is mainly divided into two categories, one is the cost of charging equipment, and the other is the cost of laying wires. If the manufacturer of the new energy model you choose does not provide charging pile equipment, then you need to purchase it yourself. The price of a set of household charging pile equipment will vary. Of course, there are also DC fast charging piles, and their prices will vary.
The second is the cost of wires. Take the Model 3 model that my colleague just bought as an example. The distance from the parking space to the State Grid electrical box is 78 meters. The price of 1 meter of wire is 30 yuan. His cost of laying the wires alone is 2,340 yuan. It is worth noting that the distance between the parking space and the national grid electrical box is the distance required for the wires. According to the regulations for installing colleagues' residential areas, the national grid electrical box on the first floor only has 4 interfaces, 3 for 11 kilowatts and 7 for 7 kilowatts. 1. If the interface on the first floor is full, you need to install it on the upper floor. For example, if the interface on the first floor is full, then you need to install the charging pile on the second floor. Then there will be some extra wire distance. It can be seen that it is still necessary to install charging piles as quickly as possible, otherwise it will be even more expensive when others have finished installing them and you need to go to more than ten floors to connect the wires.