289 - The User Experience Episode

They’re talking about how charging feels to the driver. It’s not just whether the charger works—it’s also how hard it is to use, pay for, and get started.

Starting and stopping charging is the process of telling the charger when to begin and when to finish. If you don’t do it right, the charger may not charge properly or you might get billed incorrectly.

Public charging networks are the companies that run chargers you can use in public. They may each have their own way to start charging and pay.

Payment methods are the ways you pay to charge your car at a public station. Some chargers work best with certain apps or cards, and using the wrong one can stop you from charging.

Authorize means the charger checks that you’re allowed to charge and pay. If authorization doesn’t happen correctly, the charger may refuse to start.

Charger accuracy means whether the charger actually does what it says it will do. If it doesn’t, you might get less charging speed or a session that doesn’t behave as expected.

That’s the display on the charger itself. It tells you what’s happening and what to do next, but if you don’t recognize the messages, it can be confusing.

State of charge (SoC) is the battery’s current charge level, usually shown as a percentage. Starting at 1% SoC can increase urgency and reduce buffer for errors—if the session fails, the driver may have very limited options to recover.

This is a Tesla Model S, and it has its own charging plug/port. If the charger you’re using doesn’t match that plug, you may need an adapter to charge.

ABB is a company that builds EV charging stations. The point here is that the charger hardware wasn’t the only problem—the way it was set up to use was confusing.

Instead of using the charger screen, you can start charging from your phone. In this story, that made the whole process much faster and easier.

Google Pay and Apple Pay are ways to pay with your phone. They make checkout easier because you don’t have to manually enter all your card information.

A card reader is the part of the charger where you pay or prove you’re allowed to charge. Where it is and how many there are can make the process easier or more confusing.

They’re talking about two kinds of cards: special membership cards and normal bank cards. If the charger makes you figure out which one goes where, it’s more annoying.

Kempower makes EV charging stations. Here, the host is using Kempower as an example of how charger screens and readers can be placed in ways that confuse (or help) users.

Plug and charge is an EV charging workflow where the vehicle and charger automatically authenticate and start a session after you plug in—typically without tapping a card or using a screen. It’s designed to reduce user steps and friction at public chargers.

UI design here refers to how charger screens, instructions, and workflows guide users to start/stop charging. The speaker argues that poor UI forces users through extra steps and increases the chance of mistakes, especially when multiple connectors/EVSEs are present.

A QR code is a scannable code that can link to a webpage or app flow. In this segment, the speaker notes that Kempower uses a QR code to let users monitor charging via a phone.

EVSE is the charging unit that actually supplies electricity to your car. Some chargers have one charging channel, and others have two so two cars can charge at once.

Pod Point is a company that provides EV charging. Here it’s mentioned because their charger behavior is simpler: plug in and it starts.

Pre-authorization is when your card gets a temporary hold before the final charging cost is known. It’s a common payment step, but it can be confusing.

CPO stands for “Charge Point Operator,” the company that owns and operates charging hardware and typically manages pricing, uptime, and user access. The speaker questions whether CPOs prioritize user experience improvements.

Tesla chargers are used as a comparison point for user experience. The speaker claims Tesla chargers share similar engineering constraints with non-Tesla chargers but deliver fewer UX issues, implying software/workflow matters.

They’re saying the Tesla phone app is simpler than other charging apps. Even though it’s not only for charging, it still makes starting a charge easier.

UX just means how easy and pleasant something is to use. With EV chargers, it’s not only about charging—it’s also about how the screen, buttons, and payment steps feel and work for real people.

They changed the charger’s stop button color to make it look like the other buttons. The idea is that clearer button design helps people avoid pressing the wrong thing.

Seven kilowatts is how fast that charger can deliver power. The important part here is that even a fairly typical charging speed can still cause problems if the cable handling isn’t user-friendly.

This describes a manual, on-site intervention where the charger is shut down at the electrical cabinet rather than fixed remotely. It’s a sign of limited remote access or software control, which can prolong downtime.

ZAP map is an app for finding EV chargers. It can show which chargers are working right now and what they cost, so you don’t have to guess or download lots of different apps.

Charging discounts are deals that make EV charging cheaper. If you charge often, these discounts can add up.

Car compatibility in an EV charging app usually means the app filters chargers based on what your vehicle can use (connector types, charging standards, and sometimes power limits). This helps avoid selecting chargers your car can’t effectively use.