Four helpful resources for use in planning a vacation or long-distance travel using your EV

A lot of Quebecers may want to spend their summer vacation in La Belle Province or some other part of Canada this year. This could be an ideal opportunity to enjoy travelling in an electric vehicle (EV), and at the same time avoid greenhouse gas emissions or having to worry about the rising cost of gasoline just before a vacation.

Last year, we shared some ideas for EV road trips in Quebec. Below are four resources that you may find helpful in planning a vacation or long-distance travel by EV (plus a number of mobile apps to help in trip planning and identifying charging station locations).

1) Agora – Charging network compatibility

The Agora online search tool is designed to help you discover charging networks that are compatible with one another. It lets you choose your preferred charging network and shows a list of networks on which you can recharge without having to create a new account. This eliminates the need for multiple physical cards and mobile apps.

For example, here is a list of networks that are compatible with Circuit électrique. This means that with your Circuit électrique membership card or mobile app, you'll be able to connect and pay for charges on these networks.

2) ChargeHub - Find charging stations across Canada

When you select a province, and then a city, this section of the Chargehub website will show how many charging stations there are in that city, as well as usage statistics and which ones are the most popular.

Clicking on a specific terminal will provide even more information, such as the address, hours of availability, along with photos and comments from other EV users.

This is an interesting site for anyone who wants to pre-plan their charging stops before leaving on vacation. The Chargehub mobile app is also a must-have download when looking for charging stations all across Canada (and even North America), and for route planning.

3) Free charging stations

There are still plenty of free charging stations out there, and they can be found, thanks to this version of the Google Maps search tool. Just search for a city, and it will display free charging station options available there. You can also use this tool to find grocery stores, hotels and other charging station locations, allowing you to kill two birds with one stone!

There is also a Facebook group called “Bornes de recharge gratuites au Canada/Free Charging Stations.” Use the magnifying glass to search for the name of a city, and free charging stations will be shown for that location.

The ChargeHub website and mobile app also have the option to search for “Free terminals only.”

This is a convenient way to search for charging stations when you've got time to spare, and it could also help you discover new places at the same time.

4) Accommodations with charging stations

Looking for a place to stay for your next vacation that also has a charging station?

The website Camping Québec is a great resource when it comes to finding campsites with charging stations. At campsites that have no charging facilities, EV owners can rent a site with electricity and charge their vehicle there (120V), although it will obviously take longer than it would at a 240V station.

To find a hotel that has a charging station, most hotel booking websites now offer an “EV Charging station” search filter. These include Booking.com, Hotels.com, Trivago and Expedia, to name but a few.

If you're looking to rent a cottage, feel free to ask the owner if they have a charging station, if there are any nearby, or whether it would be possible to recharge at an outdoor 120V outlet. You'll be amazed at how eager people will be to help you.

Finally, there are a number of companies that have developed mattresses that can be installed in certain models of electric vehicles and allow you to sleep in them. Since the vehicle is electric, there's no risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. It's even possible to leave the car on to run the ventilation system at night without fear of draining the battery, since this requires very little energy. Some manufacturers have even developed a “camping” mode that allows you to maintain the desired temperature inside the passenger compartment and power the vehicle's USB and 12V outlets in order to charge certain devices overnight, in addition to being able to choose whether or not to maintain certain interior lights within the vehicle—an option that makes travelling in an EV even more economical.

Happy holidays!