Forum Topic

Electric car charging

Someone told me earlier that if you cant charge your car from home you may want to get a lamppost EV charge point in place or try and charge from home. On the go charge point operators may become a really bad option in terms of cost v home or lampost. I guess they are allso looking for a profit in the cost of charging aswell

Julian Pavey ● 1479d21 Comments

More and changing options all the time including deals through the electricity providers:https://www.zap-map.com/charge-points/public-charging-point-networks/charge-your-car-network/Just swapping one personal travelling box for another has never been the whole answer to our problems though - especially just in case we need it!

Philippa Bond ● 1479d

I wouldn't bother.  Battery powered cars aren't going to fix things:https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jun/03/car-tyres-produce-more-particle-pollution-than-exhausts-tests-showElectric cars are heavier, so will make tyre particulates worse.That's before you get to the massive environmental problems lithium mining for batteries is causing:https://www.nrdc.org/stories/lithium-mining-leaving-chiles-indigenous-communities-high-and-dry-literallyIf you need to drive a car, a petrol is still the best option in London, unless you need to dodge the C Charge.The real solution is to drive a car less.  Around 70% of car journeys in the UK are under 5 miles.  We need to get people cycling.

Al Webber ● 1479d

"The real solution is to drive a car less.  Around 70% of car journeys in the UK are under 5 miles.  We need to get people cycling."Exactly, and that is why it is so bizarre that those who cycle or who are pro cycling but who may occasionally travel by any other means (even if not their own) can be branded by some as hypocrites!  What we need is fewer cars being driven on our roads when other methods eg walking and cycling are possible - and there are lots of different types of cycles.

Philippa Bond ● 1479d

"Exactly, and that is why it is so bizarre that those who cycle or who are pro cycling but who may occasionally travel by any other means (even if not their own) can be branded by some as hypocrites!"That's just a desperate last-ditch attempt by people who are irredeemably addicted to their cars to silence or discredit safer streets campaigners. They can't fathom how somebody like me who uses a car when it is the right tool for the job can advocate to reduce cars and to take space away from cars for active travel. I wouldn't pay it any attention. I certainly don't. Those people have lost the argument and they will either have to adapt to the new environment or continue to suffer.

Paul Campbell ● 1479d

I know forum posts can change subject but its only taken 3 posts to get to the old blooming argument I was talking about charging electric cars,where and cost.

Julian Pavey ● 1479d

I answered you with one lot of latest info.  And here is more:https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/advice/smart-charging-electric-vehicleThis is particularly complicated now that a lot of offers have been withdrawn due to the current situation.  There is a list of alternative tariff finders.

Philippa Bond ● 1479d

https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/new-and-used-cars/article/electric-car-charging-guide/how-to-use-electric-car-charging-points-aBsrN5Z94jfEIt was interesting on the Radio 4 programme The Spark:  Transport for Humans to hear the opinion that range anxiety was something that we had imported from America - as their distances are just so much further there and with a little bit of planning we should not have problems here.

Philippa Bond ● 1478d

"can't fathom how somebody like me who uses a car when it is the right tool for the job can advocate to reduce cars and to take space away from cars for active travel"Ever our angel, Paul. Ever our angel. Thank you for single-handedly saving the planet. Do tell us, though, how you're meetings with the CEOs of Shell, Exxon, the DOE, etc. are going. Or are you only focused on the little people like you?Fun fact. Plenty of people walk and cycle. Those people will also, from time to time, muse about why Dott bikes are left to rot in the cycle lane. Doesn't make them irredeemably addicted to anything exception being thinking and constructive criticism. As if you're the only one capable of using the right tool for the job. My preferred tool of choice is you.Note to Philippa - there was an interesting piece in the NY Times recently with regard to electric vehicles and distance.https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/27/opinion/electric-car-battery-range.htmlBegs the question when was the last time you drove 300 miles without having to pee? Eat? Fuel up one way or another?

David Lesniak ● 1478d

The brake particulate argument has been proved to be false (see link below) . Electric cars use regenerative braking which isn’t as important for ICE cars because they either don’t have batteries to charge or the batteries are small.  That’s why it is said you can drive an electric car on one pedal - i.e. you don’t need to use the brake.https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/sustainability/357592/electric-car-particulate-pollution-myths-busted-rac-report

David Pitura ● 1478d

@ David  Exactly, the whole point is that people here seem to have range anxiety about the much shorter distances we travel in a smaller land mass. Our road system is also based mainly on historic routes.  North America is huge in comparison.

Philippa Bond ● 1478d

"Electric cars use regenerative braking ... That’s why it is said you can drive an electric car on one pedal - i.e. you don’t need to use the brake."Not in reality.  Of course you need to use two pedals - accelerator and decelerator.  But when you press the decelerator pedal, the car decides whether it can slow down using only regeneration or has to supplement it with actual braking.You can see this happening on modern electric trains.  On the District Line there is a brake pressure gauge at the end of each car that is visible to passengers.  When slowing for a station, the gauge shows little air pressure is needed until the last second or so before the train stops, and then the brake pressure shoots up to keep the train stationary.

Richard Jennings ● 1478d

When you take your foot off the accelerator, there is a braking effect that changes the battery. You can comes to a complete stop without even touching the brakes. Doing so does not use the brake pads that generates particulates. That is the key point I was challenging - the fact that (some) electric cars are heavier than their ICE equivalents and generate more particulates from the brake pads under braking is wrong..

David Pitura ● 1478d

LBH will have listed all the charge points that they have put in.

Philippa Bond ● 1478d

It's tyre wear that is the big issue on all types of cars.  I don't know if you read the link I posted above:https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jun/03/car-tyres-produce-more-particle-pollution-than-exhausts-tests-showThat is more recent than the one you posted, which mainly addressed brake wear.  What it did say about tyre wear is that a taxi company was reporting 5 to 10k less miles from a set of front tyres on their electric taxis.

Al Webber ● 1478d

Yes, the antipathy towards electric cars is strange. I get the eco-purist view - everybody driving around in big metal boxes does look fundamentally unsustainable for a world population of 7 Billion. I happen to disagree, but I can see where they are coming from.  I disagree because, despite the current issues, energy is getting cheaper and greener all the time.  It can easily be 100% renewable by 2050 if we carry on as we are.  Electric cars are completely recyclable - although Lithium, Cobalt and Nickel need to be mined, they are not then burnt.  They will forever be available for reuse.  The pro ICE lobby are the weird ones.  EVs are now better than ICE cars in every way you can measure; safer, faster, easier to drive, more fun to drive, cleaner, quieter, more spacious, cheaper to run, cheaper to maintain and more reliable.  The only downsides are initial cost, and that will cease being an issue in the next few years, and range - which having driven to both the Alps and Edinburgh in a single day, I can say is not really a problem anymore.  Some people just don’t like change, I guess.

Alex Houseman ● 1478d

"Electric cars are completely recyclable - although Lithium, Cobalt and Nickel need to be mined, they are not then burnt.  They will forever be available for reuse."This is one of the reasons that electric car batteries are often just rented - it increases the circularity of their use.For a lot of other valuable metals it depends on the customer making sure that they their unrepairable  electronics and electricals are separated for recycling so that the precious metals and rare earth minerals can be retrieved.

Philippa Bond ● 1477d

The fact that EVs have much sharper acceleration than most ICE-powered vehicles must be a factor. If drivers exploit it to the full, there'll be a lot of burning rubber.

Robert Fish ● 1477d

Time for the hover car 😉 Pedestrians and cyclists can pass beneath them don't think they travel quite high enough though and you would get blown away 😳

Janice Evans ● 1477d

Forget electric,ive got the future,the future is green,just a pair of dirty feet

Julian Pavey ● 1477d

Hounslow is currently consulting on its EV charging strategy. The deadline for comments is 11th September.  Draft strategy and link to making a comment are here:https://haveyoursay.hounslow.gov.uk/traffic-and-transport/draft-electric-vehicle-charging-strategy/

Joanna Biddolph ● 1476d

Except that is a bit misleading!While ev front tyres can wear a bit faster than ICE it is because the engine tends to be more tourky.The amount of particulates is over stated as if you allocate the number of grams across a tyre,bit would be gone in about 1 month!ev tend not to be much heavier than ice - esp with ice SUVs.Ev breakpafs tent to last about twice as long as ice (100k miles not unusual) because EVs have regen breaking. Many reports are replacements are caused by the age of the plates, not the wear.Yes batteries have lithium, and mining etc, but this is ONCE in the lifetime of the battery, but EVERY time you use petrol it has been extracted, refined, transported . . . . .every time!!Completely agree EVs are not the answer, reduction in car use is, but EVs are not worse than ice!!

James Holmes-Siedle ● 1476d