If you ask most people to describe an EV charger, they’ll picture a box on a curb — a piece of public infrastructure. But this image leaves out what truly defines a charger: software.
At ChargerHelp, we’ve learned firsthand that every charger is an IoT asset — a connected computer managing the delicate flow of electricity between vehicles, networks, and the grid. Treating it like static infrastructure misses the point and makes it harder to solve the very reliability challenges everyone talks about.
The Hidden Complexity Behind Every Plug
A charging station might look simple, but under the hood it’s a complex digital ecosystem.
Each charge session involves multiple systems “talking” to each other in real time:
- the vehicle’s battery management system
- the hardware and its firmware
- the charge management system
- the payment gateway
- the network operator’s backend
When one of these systems gets a software update — or worse, when updates aren’t tested for compatibility — the handshake breaks. Suddenly, drivers face the dreaded “charger available but not working” experience.
The irony? Most of these failures aren’t about hardware at all. They’re about software miscommunication.
Bringing Software Thinking to the Physical World
To make EV charging truly reliable, the industry has to start thinking like the tech world.
This means:
- Building with version control and change management in mind.
- Testing new firmware before deploying it fleetwide.
- Implementing certified communication protocols like OCPP 2.0.1, so stations and networks interpret data the same way.
As ChargerHelp CEO, Kameale C. Terry, often says, “Charging is not just infrastructure; it’s an IoT asset. It’s software.” This framing changes everything — from how we procure chargers to how we maintain them.
When a station fails, it’s not just a broken machine — it’s a system that needs debugging. The fix might not be a wrench; it might be a line of code.
The Role of Data in Smart Maintenance
This is where ChargerHelp’s work shines. By collecting field data across thousands of assets, we’ve created a feedback loop between what happens on the ground and what needs to change upstream.
The EMPWR system captures patterns in behavior — for example, which firmware versions correlate with specific fault codes — allowing operators to identify and fix issues before they cascade. That’s the promise of treating chargers as IoT assets: every fix becomes a learning moment for the entire ecosystem.
Why This Shift Matters Now
As EV adoption accelerates, reliability isn’t just an engineering concern — it’s an equity issue. Fleet operators, rideshare drivers, and communities who rely on consistent access cannot afford downtime. Viewing chargers as smart, connected assets ensures the entire network grows responsibly, not just rapidly.
It also means we stop asking technicians to “guess and check” in the field and start giving them the right data, tools, and remote insights to work smarter.
The Future: Smarter Assets, Stronger Networks
When we align around this new understanding — that every charger is a living, communicating device — we unlock better design, better maintenance, and better user experience.
As we put it in the Reliability Report, “The asset itself has to evolve — from hardware in the ground to intelligence in the network.”
Because the EV revolution isn’t about cables and connectors. It’s about connection — between systems, data, and people who care enough to make them work better.
Download the 2025 Reliability Report to discover how ChargerHelp’s IoT approach to reliability is reshaping the EV industry.
