Pilot Survey - Smart Charging for PEVs

Quantifying the Benefits and Constraints of Plug-In Electric Vehicle Smart Charging Adoption

Authors

Pingfan Hu

Bharath Ravindra

Sampada Dhakal

Vedanth Surendra Hegde

Published

November 19, 2023

Notes from the Team

This is the demo of our final survey. To access the real survey, please go to this link.
To access the Google sheet of part 1, please go to this link.
To access the Google sheet of part 2, please go to this link.
To access the Google sheet of part 3, please go to this link.
In the conjoint part, the attribute of Guaranteed Range assumes user input of 200 miles.

Welcome Page

Welcome to the survey of EV Smart Charging! We are a student team of the George Washington University. In this survey, we want to study the users’ willingness to adopt EV smart charging.

This survey will take about 20 minutes to complete. It can be stopped and picked up at any time. Your personal information will be kept private and won’t be shared with anyone else.

This survey consists of:

Section 1 - EV ownership questions
Section 2 - Smart charging program selections
Section 3 - Demographic questions

If you have any questions, you can reach out to us at gwuvehicle@gmail.com. We will respond at our first convenience.

The survey begins upon clicking the “Let’s Begin” button below. We greatly appreciate your participation!

Educational Page

Before we start our survey, we want to get you familiarized with EVs and Smart Charging:

BEV stands for “Battery Electric Vehicle”, a vehicle that has a battery and motor and can be plugged in to charge.
PHEV stands for “Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles”, which is an EV with an additional gasoline engine as a power source. PHEVs typically have much smaller batteries and less driving range than BEVs.
Smart Charging means allowing the eletric utility to take control of the EV charging process, including the charging window and amount.

For more information about Smart Charging, please watch this 30 seconds video:

Video 1. Smart Charging Intro (EVBox 2019)

When you are done reading and watching, please click on the “Next Page” button to proceed.

(Hint: This button is disabled for 30 seconds. We want to make sure that you look through this page and watch the video.)

Section 1 - EV Ownership

Start of Section 1

1. Do you own or lease an EV?

Yes, I own an EV
Yes, I lease an EV
No, but my next car will be
No, but I am interested
No, and I am not interested

2. Which EV do you own/lease/plan/like?

Here we show a list in alphabetical order to show all EVs available in the USA market. Please go to our survey for details.

3. What is the max range (in miles) of the EV you selected above? If you don’t know, select the range you would desire.

Below 100
100-149
150-199
200-249
250-299
300 and Over

4. If you charge at work, when do you usually charge your car? (Select all that apply)

In the Morning (9am ~ 11am)
At Noon (11am ~ 1pm)
In the Afternoon (1pm ~ 5pm)
In the Evening (5pm ~ 9pm)
At Night (9pm ~ 9am)
I don’t charge at work

5. If you charge at home, when do you usually charge your car? (Select all that apply)

In the Morning (9am ~ 12pm)
In the Afternoon (12pm ~ 5pm)
In the Evening (5pm ~ 9pm)
At Night (9pm ~ 9am)
I don’t charge at home

End of Section 1

Good job! Now we are 1/3 complete! This is the end of Section 1.

In Section 2:

There are 8 questions. Each one provides you with 2 Smart Charging Programs.
You need to choose as if they were your only options (aka you compare the 2 programs and choose the best one for you).
If you are not interested in either of them, you can choose “I am not interested”.

We will start with an explanation page and an example question to get you familiarized.

Please click on the button below to proceed.

Section 2 - Smart Charging Programs

Now that we have known basics about your EV ownership and your charging habits, let’s move on to Smart Charging program selections!

A Smart Charging program consists of 5 attributes: Upfront Incentive, Free Level 2 Charger, Electricity Price Discount, Override Window, and Guaranteed Range if charged for 8 hrs.

Here is a brief explanation of each attribute:


Attribute	Range	Explanation
Upfront Incentive:	$100, $300, $500	It means the amount of money you will be instantly paid if you join the smart charging program. The unit is in USD.
Free Level 2 Charger:	No or Yes	A "Yes" means you will get a free level 2 charger. A level 2 charger enables faster charging than a standard home charger.
Electricity Price Discount:	10%, 25%, 50%	If you choose to join this smart charging program, this will be your electricity price discount.
Override Window:	0.5 ~ 4 hrs	This is the longest time window per day that you can force override to regular charging, during which time your EV is not controlled by the smart charging program.
Guaranteed Range if charged for 8 hrs:	25%, 50%, 75%	It means the guranteed range if your car is charged for 8 hrs during smart charging. It shows percentage here, but will be converted to miles.

The above table can be accessed via this link. It’s available on top of each question so that you can refer at any time.

The next page provides a sample question to enhance your understanding.

Sample Question

You are provided with 2 options of smart charging programs, and an “I am not interested” option. You need to treat them as if they were your only options and choose the one that you most prefer. You can choose the “I am not interested” option if you are not interested in either.

You can access the attribute table using this link.


Options:	Option 1	Option 2
Upfront Incentive:	$100	$500
Free Level 2 Charger:	No	Yes
Electricity Price Discount:	25%	50%
Override Window:	0.5 hrs	4 hrs
Guaranteed Range if charged for 8 hrs:	100 miles	300 miles

Option 1
Option 2
I am not interested

Section 2 - Ready to Start the Questions

The sample question is quite straight-forward. Since Option 2 has every attribute better than Option 1, I bet you have chosen it.

However, this simplicity is not always the case. There will be trade-offs between the 2 options, and you need to make your own decision. For example, one option might have a large up-front but a low discount, while the other one is the inverse. Then, you need to make decisions based on your preference.

There are 8 choice questions in total. For each question, you have 2 valid options to choose from. Again, you make your choice as if they were your ONLY options. If you are really not interested in either of them, you can choose “I am not interested”.

Click on “Next Page” to proceed.

Section 2 - Conjoint Questions

(1 of 8) If your utility offers you these 2 smart charging programs, which one do you prefer?

You can access the attribute table using this link.


Options:	Option 1	Option 2
Upfront Incentive:	$500	$100
Free Level 2 Charger:	No	Yes
Electricity Price Discount:	50%	10%
Override Window:	0.5 hrs	4 hrs
Guaranteed Range if charged for 8 hrs:	150 miles	150 miles

Option 1
Option 2
I am not interested

(The rest 7 questions are similar to this one.)

End of Section 2

Good job! Now we are 2/3 complete! This is the end of Section 2.

In Section 3:

We will ask about your basic demographic info, and then some other questions including your opinions regarding climate change and commuting preferences.

Please click on the button below to proceed.

Section 3 - Demographic Questions

Section 3 - Travel Habits

1. What is your ZIP code?

Here we provide a text line accepting inputs of 5 characters in length.

2. How many vehicles do you have in your household?

Here we provide a range of options from 0 to 6, and an option of “more than 6”.

3. Do you have a secondary vehicle?

Yes, I have one or more secondary EVs
Yes, I have one or more secondary gas vehicles
Yes, I have both secondary EV(s) and gas vehicle(s)
No, I don’t have a secondary vehicle

4. What EV charger do you have in your home (if any)?

Lv 1 Charger - 120 V Household Charging
Lv 2 Charger - 240 V Fast Charging
I don’t have one
Prefer not to say

5. What is your commute method?

On foot
By bus
By train/subway
Self-driving
Others

6. To what extent do you care about the environment and climate change?

You may choose from 1 to 5 where:

1 being least concerned,
5 being most concerned.

Section 3 - Demographic Information

7. In what year were you born?

Here we provide a list ranging from 1920 to 2005.

8. What is your current gender identity?

Here we provide a list of genders.

9. You identify your race as (select all that apply):

Here we provide a list of races.

10. What is the highest degree or level of school you have completed? (If currently enrolled, please use the highest degree received.)

Here we provide a list of degrees.

11. What is your annual household income (from all sources) before taxes and other deductions from pay?

Less than $60,000
$60,000 - $79,999
$80,000 - $99,999
$100,000 - $149,999
$150,000 - $199,999
$200,000 - $249,999
$250,000 - $299,999
$300,000 - $349,999
$350,000 - $399,999
$400,000 or more
Prefer not to say

12. Which political party do you typically vote for?

Democratic
Republican
I am independent
Prefer not to say

End of Section 3

Good job! This is the end of Section 3.

Please let us know if you have any other thoughts or feedback on this survey.

Your feedback will help us make future improvements :)

Here we provide a text box accepting large amount of texts.

End of Survey

Well done! This is the end of the survey!

Again, if you have any questions, you can reach out to us at gwuvehicle@gmail.com. We will respond at our first convenience.

We appreciate your patience and your time. Your completion code is: 486010.

References

EVBox. 2019. “How Does EV Smart Charging Work?” December. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nibU1Iq6g3Y.

--- title: "Pilot Survey - Smart Charging for PEVs" subtitle: "Quantifying the Benefits and Constraints of Plug-In Electric Vehicle Smart Charging Adoption" date: "Nov 19, 2023" bibliography: ../references.bib --- ## Notes from the Team - This is the demo of our final survey. To access the real survey, please go to <a href="https://pevpilot.formr.org" target="_blank">this link</a>. - To access the Google sheet of part 1, please go to <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14282eGHg48cgdmpVzaALJHDQbUDKbc1MEa0LBQS3Y-E/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">this link</a>. - To access the Google sheet of part 2, please go to <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1UapubQG5VqDJ3ACTcgdqxqlF2mqtnTXgDLOehQwORTs/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">this link</a>. - To access the Google sheet of part 3, please go to <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fx7C--MXExaFMeYePE6P05iLzBUFJ69wL9jgWgky08g/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">this link</a>. - In the conjoint part, the attribute of **Guaranteed Range** assumes user input of 200 miles. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ## Welcome Page Welcome to the survey of **EV Smart Charging**! We are a student team of the George Washington University. In this survey, we want to study the users' willingness to adopt EV smart charging. This survey will take about **20 minutes** to complete. It can be stopped and picked up at any time. Your personal information will be kept private and won't be shared with anyone else. This survey consists of: - Section 1 - EV ownership questions - Section 2 - Smart charging program selections - Section 3 - Demographic questions If you have any questions, you can reach out to us at [gwuvehicle\@gmail.com](mailto:gwuvehicle@gmail.com). We will respond at our first convenience. The survey begins upon clicking the **"Let's Begin"** button below. We greatly appreciate your participation! ## Consent Page To take a part in this survey, you must: - Be at least 18 years old. - Authorize us to analyze the data exclusively for research purposes. By clicking on "**I Agree**", you confirm that you have reviewed and understood the information provided in the welcome page and this consent page, and agree to participate in the "Smart Charging Survey". ## Educational Page Before we start our survey, we want to get you familiarized with EVs and Smart Charging: - **BEV** stands for "Battery Electric Vehicle", a vehicle that has a battery and motor and can be plugged in to charge. - **PHEV** stands for "Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles", which is an EV with an additional gasoline engine as a power source. PHEVs typically have much smaller batteries and less driving range than BEVs. - **Smart Charging** means allowing the eletric utility to take control of the EV charging process, including the charging window and amount. For more information about **Smart Charging**, please watch this **30 seconds video**: ::: {style="width:100%;"} {{< video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkP8q5kNGSk >}} [***Video 1**. Smart Charging Intro* [@evbox2019]]{style="font-size: 0.8em;"} ::: When you are done reading and watching, please click on the **"Next Page"** button to proceed. (Hint: This button is **disabled** for 30 seconds. We want to make sure that you look through this page and watch the video.) ## Section 1 - EV Ownership ### Start of Section 1 **1.** Do you own or lease an EV? - Yes, I own an EV - Yes, I lease an EV - No, but my next car will be - No, but I am interested - No, and I am not interested **2.** Which EV do you own/lease/plan/like? - Here we show a list in alphabetical order to show all EVs available in the USA market. Please go to our survey for details. **3.** What is the max range (in miles) of the EV you selected above? If you don't know, select the range you would desire. - Below 100 - 100-149 - 150-199 - 200-249 - 250-299 - 300 and Over **4.** If you charge at **work**, when do you usually charge your car? (Select all that apply) - In the Morning (9am \~ 11am) - At Noon (11am \~ 1pm) - In the Afternoon (1pm \~ 5pm) - In the Evening (5pm \~ 9pm) - At Night (9pm \~ 9am) - I don't charge at work **5.** If you charge at **home**, when do you usually charge your car? (Select all that apply) - In the Morning (9am \~ 12pm) - In the Afternoon (12pm \~ 5pm) - In the Evening (5pm \~ 9pm) - At Night (9pm \~ 9am) - I don't charge at home ### End of Section 1 Good job! Now we are 1/3 complete! This is the end of **Section 1**. In **Section 2**: - There are **8** questions. Each one provides you with **2** Smart Charging Programs. - You need to choose **as if they were your only options** (aka you compare the 2 programs and choose the best one for you). - If you are not interested in either of them, you can choose **"I am not interested"**. We will start with an explanation page and an example question to get you familiarized. Please click on the button below to proceed. ## Section 2 - Smart Charging Programs ```{r, include=FALSE} # Read in the choice questions library(tidyverse) survey <- read_csv("https://raw.githubusercontent.com/pingfan-hu/My-Resources/main/data/cbc_pilot.csv") # Define the respondent ID respondentID <- sample(survey$respID, 1) # Create the subset of rows for that respondent ID df <- survey %>% filter(respID == respondentID) # Convert df to json df_json <- jsonlite::toJSON(df) # Here the df_json is NOT serialized since we are using Kables instead of buttons. # Create a dummy user_range value user_range <- 200 ``` Now that we have known basics about your EV ownership and your charging habits, let's move on to Smart Charging program selections! A Smart Charging program consists of 5 attributes: **Upfront Incentive**, **Free Level 2 Charger**, **Electricity Price Discount**, **Override Window**, and **Guaranteed Range if charged for 8 hrs**. Here is a brief explanation of each attribute: ```{r, echo=FALSE, message=FALSE, warning=FALSE} library(dplyr) library(kableExtra) brief <- tibble( `Attribute` = c("Range", "Explanation"), `Upfront Incentive:` = c("$100, $300, $500", "It means the amount of money you will be instantly paid if you join the smart charging program. The unit is in USD."), `Free Level 2 Charger:` = c("No or Yes", "A \"Yes\" means you will get a free level 2 charger. A level 2 charger enables faster charging than a standard home charger."), `Electricity Price Discount:` = c("10%, 25%, 50%", "If you choose to join this smart charging program, this will be your electricity price discount."), `Override Window:` = c("0.5 ~ 4 hrs", "This is the longest time window per day that you can force override to regular charging, during which time your EV is not controlled by the smart charging program."), `Guaranteed Range if charged for 8 hrs:` = c("25%, 50%, 75%", "It means the guranteed range if your car is charged for 8 hrs during smart charging. It shows percentage here, but will be converted to miles.")) row.names(brief) <- NULL kable(t(brief), escape = FALSE) %>% kable_styling(bootstrap_options = c("striped", "hover"), full_width = FALSE, position = "center") %>% row_spec(row = 1, bold = TRUE) ``` The above table can be accessed via this <a href="https://pevteam.quarto.pub/attribute-table/" target="_blank">link</a>. It's available on top of each question so that you can refer at any time. The next page provides a sample question to enhance your understanding. ### Sample Question You are provided with **2 options** of smart charging programs, and an **"I am not interested"** option. You need to treat them **as if they were your only options** and choose the one that you most prefer. You can choose the **"I am not interested"** option if you are not interested in either. You can access the attribute table using this <a href="https://pevteam.quarto.pub/attribute-table/" target="_blank">link</a>. ```{r, echo=FALSE, message=FALSE, warning=FALSE} library(dplyr) library(kableExtra) library(tibble) alts <- tibble( `Options:` = c("Option 1", "Option 2"), `Upfront Incentive:` = scales::dollar(c(100, 500)), `Free Level 2 Charger:` = c("No", "Yes"), `Electricity Price Discount:` = c("25%", "50%"), `Override Window:` = c("0.5 hrs", "4 hrs"), `Guaranteed Range if charged for 8 hrs:` = c("100 miles", "300 miles")) alts_t <- as.data.frame(t(alts)) %>% rownames_to_column(var = "Attribute") colnames(alts_t) <- NULL kable(alts_t, escape = FALSE, align = c('r', 'c', 'c')) %>% kable_styling(bootstrap_options = c("striped", "hover"), full_width = FALSE, position = "center") %>% column_spec(column = 1, width = '20em') %>% column_spec(column = 2, width = '10em') %>% column_spec(column = 3, width = '10em') %>% row_spec(row = 1, bold = TRUE) ``` - Option 1 - Option 2 - I am not interested ### Section 2 - Ready to Start the Questions The sample question is quite straight-forward. Since **Option 2** has every attribute better than Option 1, I bet you have chosen it. However, this simplicity is not always the case. There will be trade-offs between the 2 options, and you need to make your own decision. For example, one option might have a large up-front but a low discount, while the other one is the inverse. Then, you need to make decisions based on your preference. There are **8** choice questions in total. For each question, you have 2 valid options to choose from. Again, you make your choice **as if they were your ONLY options**. If you are really not interested in either of them, you can choose **"I am not interested"**. Click on **"Next Page"** to proceed. ### Section 2 - Conjoint Questions **(1 of 8)** If your utility offers you these 2 smart charging programs, which one do you prefer? You can access the attribute table using this <a href="https://pevteam.quarto.pub/attribute-table/" target="_blank">link</a>. ```{r, echo=FALSE, message=FALSE, warning=FALSE} library(dplyr) library(kableExtra) library(tibble) alts <- jsonlite::fromJSON(df_json) %>% filter(qID == 1 & altID != 3) %>% mutate( altID = paste("Option", altID), upfront = scales::dollar(upfront), discount = paste0(discount,"%"), window = paste(window, "hrs"), guaranteed = guaranteed * user_range / 100, guaranteed = round(guaranteed / 10) * 10, guaranteed = paste(guaranteed, "miles"), lv_2_charger_Yes = case_when(lv_2_charger_Yes == 1 ~ "Yes", lv_2_charger_Yes == 0 ~ "No")) %>% select( `Options:` = altID, `Upfront Incentive:` = upfront, `Free Level 2 Charger:` = lv_2_charger_Yes, `Electricity Price Discount:` = discount, `Override Window:` = window, `Guaranteed Range if charged for 8 hrs:` = guaranteed) alts_t <- as.data.frame(t(alts)) %>% rownames_to_column(var = "Attribute") colnames(alts_t) <- NULL kable(alts_t, escape = FALSE, align = c('r', 'c', 'c')) %>% kable_styling(bootstrap_options = c("striped", "hover"), full_width = FALSE, position = "center") %>% column_spec(column = 1, width = '20em') %>% column_spec(column = 2, width = '10em') %>% column_spec(column = 3, width = '10em') %>% row_spec(row = 1, bold = TRUE) ``` - Option 1 - Option 2 - I am not interested (The rest 7 questions are similar to this one.) ### End of Section 2 Good job! Now we are 2/3 complete! This is the end of **Section 2**. In **Section 3**: We will ask about your basic demographic info, and then some other questions including your opinions regarding climate change and commuting preferences. Please click on the button below to proceed. ## Section 3 - Demographic Questions ### Section 3 - Travel Habits **1.** What is your ZIP code? - Here we provide a text line accepting inputs of 5 characters in length. **2.** How many vehicles do you have in your household? - Here we provide a range of options from 0 to 6, and an option of "more than 6". **3.** Do you have a secondary vehicle? - Yes, I have one or more secondary EVs - Yes, I have one or more secondary gas vehicles - Yes, I have both secondary EV(s) and gas vehicle(s) - No, I don't have a secondary vehicle **4.** What EV charger do you have in your home (if any)? - Lv 1 Charger - 120 V Household Charging - Lv 2 Charger - 240 V Fast Charging - I don't have one - Prefer not to say **5.** What is your commute method? - On foot - By bus - By train/subway - Self-driving - Others **6.** To what extent do you care about the environment and climate change? You may choose from 1 to 5 where: - **1** being **least** concerned, - **5** being **most** concerned. ### Section 3 - Demographic Information **7.** In what year were you born? - Here we provide a list ranging from 1920 to 2005. **8.** What is your current gender identity? - Here we provide a list of genders. **9.** You identify your race as (select all that apply): - Here we provide a list of races. **10.** What is the highest degree or level of school you have completed? (If currently enrolled, please use the highest degree received.) - Here we provide a list of degrees. **11.** What is your annual household income (from all sources) before taxes and other deductions from pay? - Less than \$60,000 - \$60,000 - \$79,999 - \$80,000 - \$99,999 - \$100,000 - \$149,999 - \$150,000 - \$199,999 - \$200,000 - \$249,999 - \$250,000 - \$299,999 - \$300,000 - \$349,999 - \$350,000 - \$399,999 - \$400,000 or more - Prefer not to say **12.** Which political party do you typically vote for? - Democratic - Republican - I am independent - Prefer not to say ### End of Section 3 Good job! This is the end of **Section 3**. Please let us know if you have any other thoughts or feedback on this survey. Your feedback will help us make future improvements :) - Here we provide a text box accepting large amount of texts. ## End of Survey Well done! This is the end of the survey! Again, if you have any questions, you can reach out to us at [gwuvehicle\@gmail.com](mailto:gwuvehicle@gmail.com). We will respond at our first convenience. ```{r, include=FALSE} completion_code <- as.integer(round(runif(1, 10^5, 10^6))) ``` We appreciate your patience and your time. Your completion code is: **`r completion_code`**.