De-mystifying Electric Vehicles (EV)
Why should I consider EVs?
To support the carbon dioxide and emissions targets set by UK Government, the sale of petrol and diesel engine cars and vans in the UK will be banned in 2030. The response to this legislation is the rapidly expanding availability of new electric cars and vans and the corresponding expansion of UK wide charging infrastructure plus Government incentives for adoption of this technology such as grants for Electric Vehicles (EVs) and home charging equipment. There is much information regarding electric vehicles in the media and WCAG is here to help you with the transition away from fossil fuel vehicles to EVs!
Because our cars typically sit idle for more than 95% of the time, an EV is seen as the least worst option for personal mobility. It is still better for our environment to walk or cycle, or to take public transport than drive your own car, but if you must drive your own car, then an EV is a good option.
Having your own off street parking typically makes having an EV straightforward because the car can most likely be charged overnight using cheap, clean power and be ready for you in the morning. UK Gov says approx. 60% of UK households have a private driveway/off street parking.
Those households without their own driveway will need to rely on other local facilities to charge their vehicles. Good news is that there is a rapidly expanding infrastructure for all EV users that range from public charge points to existing EV owners sharing their home charge points through apps such as CoCharger.
Did you know…In the early 1900s 40% of vehicles were electric and New York and London had fleets of electric taxis and public charging infrastructure! Plus Henry Ford’s wife drove an EV.
Did you know…Our closest public EV charge points to Witchford are at the Apex Café in the Lancaster Way business Park, the new Co-op at the A142 roundabout in Sutton, the station in Ely and at the Hive in Ely.
Did you know…The unit at the Hive is a fairly high power unit able to provide equivalent of approx 200 miles per hour into any electric car and has easy contactless payment facility.
Did you know…There are approx. 8000 petrol stations in the UK and this is steadily reducing, and there are approx. 43000 accessible electric car charge connectors in the UK in 16000 locations, with approx. 550 being added per month (accurate per 4th August 2021).
Did you know…the latest generation of rapid chargers can add the equivalent of 200 to 250 miles of range in 15 minutes into some vehicles and this 15 minute top up would cost around £12 (accurate per 4th August 2021).
Did you know…the humble UK 3 pin socket can add equivalent of about 8 miles per hour, so an overnight charge on say economy 7 tariff can add approx. 60 miles of range and could cost well under £1. All EVs can be charged this way.
Did you now…Government Grants of £2500 are available to help with cost of buying a new zero emission vehicle.
Did you know…Government Grants of £350 are available to help with costs of fitting electric car charging equipment at home and also for employers at work.
Useful resources - National Charging Points
The majority of UK charge points are listed on a website and there is a smartphone app version too. The website can be set up to filter to show connections compatible with certain cars and filtered to show rapid chargers rather than fast or slow chargers and vice versa.
Useful resources - journey planning in an EV
Curious about how you might do a long journey in a particular electric car, use a website where you can choose a make and model of EV, choose a route and see what is possible. The site gives indication of price of buying the electricity at these charge points too. There is a smart phone app too. Both web and app are free to use and do not require a login.
Useful resources - sharing home charging points
Making your home EV charge point available to other users in your neighbourhood will remove a barrier to adoption.
Written by WCAG volunteer, Karl Jones.