A Pattern Analysis of Daily Electric Vehicle Charging Profiles: Operational Efficiency and Environmental Impacts

Abstract

Plug-in Electric Vehicles (PEVs) are considered one solution to reducing GHG emissions from private transport. Additionally, PEV adopters often have free access to public charging facilities. Through a pattern analysis, this study identifies five distinct clusters of daily PEV charging profiles observed at the public charging stations. Empirically observed patterns indicate a significant amount of operational inefficiency, where 54% of the total parking duration PEVs do not consume electricity, preventing other users from charging. This study identifies the opportunity cost in terms of GHG emissions savings if gasoline vehicles are replaced with potential PEV adopters. The time spent in parking without charging by current PEV users can be used by these potential PEV users to charge their PEVs and replace the use of gasoline. The results suggest that reducing inefficient station use leads to significant reductions in emissions. Overall, there is significant variability in outcomes depending on the specific cluster membership.