Data, definitions and method
This page explains once, for every article and site page, where the numbers come from and what they mean.
What we count
- Site: a location with one or more charge points, such as a car park. Several records of the same operator at the same place are merged.
- Charge point: a spot where exactly one car can charge at a time (an "EVSE" in the data). A charging station often has two charge points.
- Fast charger: a charge point with direct current (DC) and at least 150 kW.
- Occupied: the charge point reports "charging" or "blocked".
- Free: the charge point reports "available".
- Out of service: the charge point reports a fault or "not available".
- Unknown: there is no current status.
- Full: at least 90% of a site's usable charge points are occupied. We only use the term for sites with at least four charge points.
- Dwell time: the time from the change to "charging" to the change back. This is not charging time: a car can be fully charged and still stand there.
All times are local time (Europe/Berlin).
Where the data comes from
All data comes from public, open sources. We read them and never write back.
| Source | Used for | Licence and attribution |
|---|---|---|
| MobiData BW | Master data and live status for Germany | Datenquelle: MobiData BW (NVBW, Nahverkehrsgesellschaft Baden-Württemberg mbH), Open ChargePoint DataBase (OCPDB), api.mobidata-bw.de. Datenpaket: MobiData BW; NVBW. Datenlizenz Deutschland, Namensnennung, Version 2.0 (DL-DE-BY-2.0) |
| Bundesnetzagentur | Register data that arrives through the OCPDB | Datenquelle: Bundesnetzagentur, Ladesäulenregister. CC BY 4.0 |
| Urban Data Platform Hamburg | Live status and master data for Hamburg | Datenquelle: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg, Urban Data Platform Hamburg (iot.hamburg.de, dataset "Elektro Ladestandorte Hamburg"). DL-DE-BY-2.0 |
| Mobilithek | Live status reported by the operators themselves | Datenquelle: Mobilithek, Nationaler Zugangspunkt für Mobilitätsdaten (mobilithek.info). Occupancy data of the operators Wirelane, Qwello, GP JOULE Connect, vaylens, EWE, m8mit, SMATRICS and LichtBlick under AFIR, licence CC0 1.0 |
| NOBIL | Master data and live status in Norway and Sweden | Datenquelle: NOBIL (nobil.no), Norsk elbilforening on behalf of Enova SF, CC BY 4.0 |
| NDW | Master data and live status in the Netherlands | Laadpuntdata: NDW / DOT-NL (Nationaal Dataportaal Wegverkeer, opendata.ndw.nu), Open Data CC0 |
| Natural Earth | Land and borders in maps | Made with Natural Earth. Public domain |
Further sources used by single charts, such as population figures, are named in the chart's source line and in the article's method section.
How we measure
Our server polls most live feeds about once a minute; NOBIL streams continuously. A new status only counts once two polls in a row agree. That keeps short hiccups of a feed from showing up as status changes. From the status changes we derive occupancy by hour and weekday, dwell times and the reliability of a site. Articles state the period their numbers come from.
What the data cannot do
- Not every operator reports a live status. Without one, we only show master data.
- A feed can report late or not at all. Such gaps stay gaps and are never counted as "free" or "occupied".
- Operators name statuses differently. We map them to the terms above.
- Each source counts sites a little differently. Charge points compare better across countries.
Reusing our analyses
Our own analyses, charts and the numbers behind them are licensed under CC BY 4.0. Credit "Ladepark (ladepark.app)" and the sources of the raw data. Below every chart you find the numbers as CSV and an embed code.
Questions and error reports: [email protected]