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Summer 2022 EV Charging Trends

As the summer draws to a close, we look at EV charging trends on Mer charge points over the summer months.

EV Charging Trends

As we approach the end of the summer, we have analysed the data surrounding electric vehicle charging on Mer charges from the beginning of July to mid-August. In this blog, we consider what the data shows about EV driving behaviour, and what we are working to achieve as we move into a new season.

 

An Overview of the EV Market This Summer

The EV market is growing, and EV adoption has continued to increase this summer. As of the end of July 2022, over 520,000 battery-electric cars (BEVs) were registered in the UK, after 12,243 new registrations of BEVs were recorded in July.

Also as of the end of July 2022, the UK had 33281 charging points, which marks a 35% rise in the number of charging devices since July last year.

 

Mer Summer Charging Trends*

How often were our chargers used this summer?

Our rapid EV chargers saw 260% more use than our fast chargers, showing the popularity and convenience of rapid charging.

 

Which Mer chargers saw the most activity?

Our most popular charging locations are retail and leisure centres, convenient places where drivers can easily stop and charge while enjoying a day out.

Dorset Council is currently expanding its EV charging infrastructure network, and some of the Mer fast chargers have seen good use there.

Our EV chargers at a local pub in Cornwall has seen a significant increase in popularity, with more usage recorded across July to mid- August than the previous 3 months. Given that this site is on the coast, it is unsurprising that it was a popular site this summer. Seasonal usage trends appear across other coastal areas where Mer operates charge points, such as Bournemouth, which experienced an increase in usage during this time period.

Comparing the data from earlier this year, we can see that our fast chargers have seen an increase in the number of times they have been used.

 

How did the hot weather affect charger use?

On the hottest days of the year (18th -19th July), our chargers were used significantly less, ranking 28th and 29th out of 46 days in regard to charger use. This might suggest that on the hottest days of the year there were less people travelling, which may be a consequence of the weather warnings the Met office released in response to the hot weather.

However, the period of 12-14th of August were the third-fifth hottest days in the time period, and achieved the first, third and fifth highest daily usage on the Mer network. This suggests that transport was not affected by the hot weather to the same extent it was impacted by the heat in July.

EV Charging Trends

Our rapid chargers are designed to withstand and operate up to 50C, so the weather we have experienced this summer should not have impacted our chargers. In comparison, our fast chargers are designed to operate in up to 40C heat, so on days during the period when temperatures exceeded this level, there may have been small faults on our fast charging network.

Though in warmer weather charging times are often reduced and charge points can vend up to their maximum power capacity (for example, a 75kW charger can give close to 75kW instead of 50kW), the EV charging speed may decrease or stop if the battery overheats.

 

How much CO2 was saved this summer through drivers using our chargers?

EVs are significantly more environmentally-friendly than internal-combustion (ICE) vehicles. Whilst ICE vehicles are responsible for 10% of global greenhouse gases (approx.), EVs are less polluting and thus have a smaller carbon footprint. EV drivers are therefore supporting the UK’s shift to creating a greener future by reducing the transport industry’s impact on the planet.

Drivers using our public and private charging network saved 218,850 kg of Co2. One of our retail parks saw a Co2 offset of 3935 kg alone.

 

*Data taken from 1 July to 15 August 2022

 

Customer Questions

Our Customer Service team have been working hard to support Mer drivers with their driving queries. Here are some of the reoccurring queries we have received, with our advice on what to do…

 

How do I request and invoice and a receipt of charge?

If you are a Pay-As-You-Go driver though the Mer App, a receipt will be sent to you. Check the junk inbox of your email in case it has been directed into there.

If you have an account with Mer and you charged through your account, you can locate your invoice by:

  1. Opening the App,
  2. Selecting the three lines on the top left corner,
  3. Navigating to ‘Invoice’, which can be found under ‘Account’,
  4. In the Charge Log, you can see your charge.

If you are a contactless driver, you will not have an invoice/receipt sent to you yet; we are currently developing this feature. If you require this, please get in contact with us.

 

Why has payment been taken from my bank at the beginning of the month?

Mer is set up as a post pay system, which means any charges that take place within a month will be charged for on the 1st or 2nd day of the following month.

 

What do I do if a bay is blocked by a non-electric vehicle?

Unfortunately, a parking spot being occupied without usage is out of our control. If you have any parking concerns, please contact the owner of the charge point.

You can find answers to more frequently asked questions regarding our service and charge points via this page.

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