Understanding the social practice of EV workplace charging

Owning or leasing an electric vehicle (EV) is becoming more common in developed countries. While home charging is the most common choice, workplace charging and its provision by employers has become an important option. For many, it is essential to cope with the limited range of most EVs. Home and work are the two places where vehicles are parked for long periods and so are prime candidates as charging locations. However, workplace charging is often a limited resource. This paper reports on an empirical study of workplace charging at a UK public sector employer. It explores the use of workplace charging (WPC) via spatiotemporal analysis of employees and visitors' charging events over a 3-month period. It provides insights into weekly patterns and daily mechanisms of using shared facilities in a WPC environment. We identify insights that are relevant in the design of workplace-charging infrastructure, identify the design needs, emerging requirements, and highlight potential areas for sociotechnical-interventions.