‘Alexa, Where Can I Charge My EV?’
January 10, 2023
Debbie and I have had a growing number of family and friends purchase electric vehicles. And they all seem to love them. My Mom especially loves her Tesla. My Dad, not so much. But I’ll get back to that.
I can understand why EV owners love their cars. I’ve driven my Mom’s Tesla and it’s pretty fun to drive — really peppy under the pedal and lots of tech gadgets. I think it was the later that motivated her to buy the Tesla as she’s never spoken about the environmental benefits, but there’s that too. And in a gas and oil state like Texas? Probably not the highest interest in EV charging infrastructure — but it’s getting better.
This brings me back to my Dad and the Tesla — a quick, related story … three years ago my folks decided to drive the Tesla from their home in south, central Texas up here to Amarillo for a visit. Anybody familiar with Texas travel knows that’s about a usual 9 hour-ish drive. Usually. They used the Tesla app to route their trip in order to hit necessary EV charging points. All went well until they got to one of those points in a small town a couple hours from Amarillo — all of the few charging stations were in use.
So they decided to grab a quick bite and return. All of the charging stations were STILL in use. So they waited. And waited as the sun was going down. They made the call to grab a hotel for the night and try again in the morning. Luckily in the morning there was an available charging station so they topped off the batteries and were on their way.
My Mom took it in stride but my Dad vowed to never get back into the Tesla. They’ve driven his GMC pickup on these kinds of trips ever since.
I don’t know if it’s an official medical term but this fear of not being able to find an EV charging station is referred to as range anxiety. Hopefully this will ease as the government and private business has committed to building out a more robust EV charging station network nationwide. Signs of confidence in that may be why I’ve started noticing more Tesla’s running around Amarillo lately. And there’s even more help coming from an unexpected smart home source.
Enter Amazon and Alexa. Amazon wants to help electric vehicle owners put range anxiety in the rear view. Starting later this year, Alexa will be able to guide you to any EV charging station in the US. All you have to do is ask, ‘Alexa, find an EV charging station near me,’ and your virtual assistant will navigate to the closest one.
There are more than 150,000 public chargers across in the US. And now, Amazon has partnered with one of the nation’s largest fast-charging networks, EVgo, to help EV owners locate them — no matter where they are. Alexa will even be able to help you pay for your charge-up. Just say, ‘Alexa, pay for my charge,’ when you use an EVgo public charging station.
Amazon hasn’t released any firm details on when this new feature will roll out other than ‘later this year.’ And, at least for now, the new charger finder will only be available to EV owners in the United States.
Range is one of the primary things to consider when buying an EV. If you live in an area with plenty of charging stations, you shouldn’t have too much to worry about. There are around 53,000 charging stations across the United States. But, with more coming online as time passes, it’s becoming less of an issue as EV adoption rates rise. Knowing where they all are is essential to any EV owner.
I really like seeing Amazon getting into this with Alexa. Whether you use the Alexa app on your phone, use a smart device like the Echo Auto or drive an automobile with Alexa integrated into the electronics, leveraging a smart technology like this makes a lot of sense. Especially as an extension of your smart home ecosystem.
I’m not aware of similar solutions with Apple Home Kit or Google Home but there are a handful of apps that accomplish the same goal as Alexa in locating EV charging stations. If you’re not in the Alexa camp and needing to find a charging station, try one of these — Plugshare, ChargeHub, Electrify America, ChargePoint or EVgo.
I’m curious how many of you drive EVs out there and what your preferred method of finding charging stations is. If you use Amazon Alexa as part of your smart home solution are you already leveraging Alexa for recharging — either by your phone, an in-vehicle device or integrated into your car’s electronics? If not, would you consider it? Have you had challenges finding (available) charging stations? Any concerns on the additional stress EV charging puts on the existing electrical grid? And what about charging at home? I’ve covered this in recent posts regarding hidden costs and best EV charger options for smart home.
Let Debbie and I know in the comments, DMs and emails what you think about the coming Alexa capabilities around finding EV charging stations and automating payments. Thanks again to all those following Debbie and I through our home building journey. It’s great to hear your success stories and suggestions as we move through the process. And if you like the content I’m posting each week, don’t forget to ‘Like’ and ‘Follow.’
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