How far are you from a DCFC? (Within 200 miles in the Contiguous US)

[SpaceEVDriver]

I was curious about a statement @Ford Motor Company made in one of their threads that claimed a Ford driver on most highways is within 30 miles of a DCFC.

I pulled data from the Dept. of Energy Alternative Fuels database. Those data are somewhat out of date (2022), but still a good enough set of data.

The heat maps below show every DoE-known DCFC within the contiguous US with a 50-, 100-, and 200-mile radius circle plotted around it.

A point of interest in the US is within straight-line range of a DCFC if it's in the maroon coloring. The darker the maroon, the more DCFC chargers within that range.

Caveats:
Not every charger is compatible with every vehicle. For example, this includes V2 brand-T chargers. Not every charger is operational all the time.

Regardless of the caveats, this is why I feel perfectly comfortable picking up and going on a road trip whenever the mood strikes. Other than the northern reaches of some midwest states, everywhere in the US is within 200 miles of several DCFC stations.

50 miles:

100 miles:

200 miles:

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[CD4TNF]

Fun data mapping. Thank you for doing the map.


And the infrastructure is only getting better.

 

[farmtruck]

I live in that hole on he North end of the 200 mile map. I can go West, South, or East with the Lightning but North is a nogo.

 

[PJnc284]

Lets see how long it takes that 50 mile map to look like the 200. 200 miles isn't feasible at anything other than 100% SOC and that's assuming ideal weather and not having a lead foot. If you're not testing your BMS, I suspect the average person is at most going from 80%-10% which ideally would get you 125-150 miles on an ER. Some say slow down, but that can just be a hazard to you and others on the road.

 

[Vulnox]

I think the talk about distance from a DCFC alone is a little rough since I have watched a lot of videos with people that road trip EVs and while they can get to a DCFC for all of their trips, sometimes they are going 5-10 miles off the expressway to get to it.

That's better than dead battery on the side of the freeway, but it's an element that needs to be improved as well. This is more typical more in those central and west areas than the super dense east and coastal west of course.

 

[RickLightning]

Lets see how long it takes that 50 mile map to look like the 200. 200 miles isn't feasible at anything other than 100% SOC and that's assuming ideal weather and not having a lead foot. If you're not testing your BMS, I suspect the average person is at most going from 80%-10% which ideally would get you 125-150 miles on an ER. Some say slow down, but that can just be a hazard to you and others on the road.

I would say closer to 150 - 165 in nice weather for 70% of battery. As to speed, we were out west in an 80mph area and had no problem doing 65... Doing 60 in a 70mph zone would also be easy.

In addition to distance to a charger, it has to be a working charger. We have done trips (across North Dakota, Wyoming, Montana) where there is one fast charging location on the route. If it is down, you are hosed.

Last trip was to Bozeman, MT via North Dakota. EA across North Dakota is only option. 150 miles between Billings and Bozeman. Strong headwind. I drove 63 much of it.

From Big Sky south to Driggs, ID to ski Grand Targhee and then Jackson Hole, there were 2 independent chargers to hit. They used to be on the now defunct Juicebox network. At the first stop outside West Yellowstone, one of two chargers was broken. The other took 6 tries to work (as it did for others). In Driggs, same chargers, 2 side by side.

Then we had to head home and cut through pretty desolate area. Again, only one charger to hit, a different organization, 2 times before we got to interstate. One had been down the week prior, but I emailed them and they confirmed it was up.

 

[RickLightning]

200 miles is completely FEASABLE. If you are taking a trip and there is a gap of 200 miles you can do it. Yes, you may have to slow down. Yes, you may have to charge to 90%+, but you can. And that is the point.

If you want convenience you need chargers every 20 miles, not 50.

The point again is if you CAN, not if it's perfect.

Not in the dead of winter.

 

[Peddyr]

12 miles to the closest one from my house and I was 15 miles from one at work until some soft minded pantload torched the Tesla stations near me.

 

[RickLightning]

Sure, you wont make it in the middle of winter, with a 30mph headwind, with a wife who is pregnant and likes it to be 74, and uphill both ways.

To go 200 miles on 90% of and ER battery requires a minimum efficiency of 1.7. I get 1.5 at 70mph at 20F and an interior temp of 70-72. That's not a fun drive, but I wouldn't say its impossible even in the colder temps the majority of the US faces. Canada, ok, I'll give you that.

We drove 65mph at 23 degrees, no heat, and got 1.5. For our 1,655 miles to Bozeman, we averaged 1.4. We got 1.3 from Glendive, MT to Miles City, MT. Our trip out and back averaged 1.6.

Note also that when the battery is cold, it has less energy. I documented this in my Trip report for that trip.

 

[Grumpy2]

Thanks for the map! Reminds me that we are making progress despite our current leaders ...

2 miles for me to a 62 kW
26 miles to a Tesla

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

Lets see how long it takes that 50 mile map to look like the 200. 200 miles isn't feasible at anything other than 100% SOC and that's assuming ideal weather and not having a lead foot. If you're not testing your BMS, I suspect the average person is at most going from 80%-10% which ideally would get you 125-150 miles on an ER. Some say slow down, but that can just be a hazard to you and others on the road.

I regularly take a road trip on which my first stop is ~220 miles away. Wind, rain, snow, "cold" (usually not lower than 30 ⁰F) don't make that drive any more infeasible. It's also usually the last stop on the way home--I can easily make that drive starting with 85% SoC. The drive home climbs from about 500' elevation to about 7000'. I get home at less than 10% remaining in the battery, but I'm home so it doesn't matter.

I drive 72 mph on the highway, which requires that I pass as much as I'm passed.

It's not just feasible, it's routine.

 

[jimfigler]

I'm about 5 miles from dealership central. Probably 8 dealerships on a half mile stretch, most have DCFC.

 

[USA EV]

I happen to live close to some DCFC's in a rural state, but I am much more interested in what is 50-100 miles away from home, because I very rarely use the ones close to home either as I leave for a trip fully-charged or as I get back from a trip (I'll just coast it in if I have to).

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

I happen to live close to some DCFC's in a rural state, but I am much more interested in what is 50-100 miles away from home, because I very rarely use the ones close to home either as I leave for a trip fully-charged or as I get back from a trip.

Yeah, local DCFC is a bit irrelevant to many (most?) EV owners. I have never even tested my local chargers.

The title of the thread maybe should have been, "You're always within 200 miles of a DCFC." Wherever you are in the US, you're within 200 miles of at least one and most likely several; you're within 100 miles of at least one and probably several; most people and most places are within 50 miles of at least one.

 

[K6CCC]

I have an Electrify America 350KW charger with 4 stalls less than 2 miles from home that is almost always fully in use, and a 50KW EVgo station with 2 stalls just over a mile from the house that generally has at least one available. Within 5 miles there are four Tesla SuperCharger that have 72 stalls between them. Between home and work (26 miles away) I think I would lose count of how many fast chargers there are. But this is in the Los Angeles basin.

Last Saturday I did a 202 mile trip to do a bunch of GeoCaching in the Victorville, CA area. I did charge to 100% at home before I left, but was not at all worried about running out of power. There are several Tesla SuperChargers in the general area that I was GeoCaching and a couple more on the route home. Did not need any as I arrived home with 33%. Scary part was that I let the Ford Nav route me home (not that I needed that), and it predicted my arrival would be at 33%. The day was around 80 so very mild AC use, and except for the first and last 30 - 40 miles, speeds were not all that fast with frequent stops.

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