How prepared are we for EVs

Discussion in 'Electricians' Talk' started by Comlec, Oct 23, 2021.

  1. Comlec

    Comlec Screwfix Select

  2. Bazza-spark

    Bazza-spark Screwfix Select

    There are so many streets up and down the country where the owners of terraced houses can't very often park in the same street, let alone outside their own houses which will make charging cars a nightmare for them.

    I intend hanging on to my diesel as long as possible.
     
    Kopseng, Adamfya, Jord86 and 2 others like this.
  3. It will take at least a decade, but we are nowhere near the first country to do this. Oslo now has more electric cars than petrol (just) in and out each day.

    The London ultra low emissions zone is already having an impact. I saw my first electric black cab the other day
     
  4. Muzungu

    Muzungu Screwfix Select

    This is a point which is so often just skimmed over. There are whole neighborhoods round my way of old terraces that are converted into flats, one up one down. This is the same across the North East and, of course, elsewhere. It would just be impossible for them to operate an EV. Down by the Tyne there are huge new developments of flats, even more difficult. This is the same across the country.

    I could quite easily install an off road charging point as I am fortunate enough to have a detached double garage but I have no intention, at the moment, of buying an EV. If one was out there that could provide me with the ease of use of my 10 year old Yeti (despite its recent EGR issue!) I would consider it. Think about the current crop of EVs, once they get to 10 years old they are basically scrap as their batteries will be gone.

    For the millions of folks pottering around in perfectly good cars that that only owe them a few thousand it is just not even on the horizon.
     
    Mrboomal and Adamfya like this.
  5. Muzungu

    Muzungu Screwfix Select

    Agreed, a decade or more until we get to half and half.
     
  6. Bazza-spark

    Bazza-spark Screwfix Select

    Many of the towns and villages aroung here are old mining villages. Narrow roads wilh little or no parking.

    Like you, I am fortunate to have a decent driveway and detached garage, but I need the abiity of my economical 4x4 Tiguan in winter to get my wife to her hospital appointments, and her Skoda Rapid for economy in summer.
     
  7. woodbutcherbower

    woodbutcherbower Screwfix Select

    No-one will have my attention until they produce a van capable of a 300-mile round trip with a ton of kit in the back, at a price non-millionaires can afford.

    Oh - and this .......

    driving-diesel-car-i-feel-so-dirty-driving-electric-car-i-feel-so-clean-comparison.jpg
     
    Johnik and jonathanc like this.
  8. bright_Spark

    bright_Spark Screwfix Select

    I have just done the NC500 and was shocked at just ho many public EV chargers that we saw, even in the most remote areas with very few residents there was always an EV point or even a bank of them could be found. Seemed easier to charge an EV than to actually obtain petrol.
     
  9. AnotherTopJob

    AnotherTopJob Screwfix Select

    Most EV owners aren't thinking of the long term ownership issues. They are wowed by the performance and perceived green crudentials, and don't stop to think what their £40k car might be worth in a few years with a tired battery costing many thousands to replace. Leasing is probably more cost effective, however at the moment you can sell a 2-3 year old Tesla for minimal loss, and in theory you could just keep upgrading.
    Not sure how sustainable this is though.
     
  10. The Happy Builder

    The Happy Builder Screwfix Select

    I believe Scotland has one operator in for EV chargers in public places, unlike England where there are multiple operators all trying to get you to pay a monthly subscription fee to benefit from “discounts” for using their chargers.

    Another issue is that users are billed for the time they are using the EV charger rather than for the electricity to deter people using charging bays as parking spaces and if using a 22 kW charger to charge a vehicle that only takes a 7 kW charge you are charged the higher rate for the 22 kW charger.

    If you are not careful charging a small van or car and leaving on charge for too long will cost you far more than a tank of diesel.

    With some motorway services filling stations charging twenty five pence a litre more for diesel than some supermarket fill stations do you really think you will get a good deal on charging an EV at a motorway services?
     
  11. Comlec

    Comlec Screwfix Select

    They will be the most expensive, of course. But, I did learn something from the article re VAT. Charge at home and VAT is 5% elsewhere it is 20%.
    So more subsidies to those fortunate to have a driveway.
     
  12. Comlec

    Comlec Screwfix Select

    Certainly is. From next week I’ll be adding £12.50 to my customers’ bills to cover it. Then early next year I shall sell my Euro 5 polluting van to someone outside the London area and effectively export the toxic fumes.
     
    WillyEckerslike likes this.
  13. Tony Goddard

    Tony Goddard Screwfix Select

    EV's will be dead in a ditch in a decade from now, there are just too many problems, Hydrogen technology will ultimately prevail, its in its infancy and hasn't had the investment electric has, but I feel it will catch up and overtake - EV's will be the Betamax of the new car world (except of course Beta was batter than VHS, but!!)

    The issues with EV's are the batteries, which rely on scarce natural resources, and the cost of them, which holds the price of a car high - The capability of the grid to support them - the life of batteries, as yet unclear and of course the fact that many people love the internal combustion engine too much to let go!!

    It doesn't effect me either way, I have never learned to drive, my whole varied career as a spark has been propelled by pedal power, my current van is my Pashley Loadstar tradesmans bike, 250Kg carrying capacity, capacious "van" body in place of the regular flat bed (got the tool box, odds box, couple of drills, angle ginder, vacuum etc) and conduit tube run up the middle - no fuel bills, no insurance, the basic chassis is just £1500 new if ever it was totally destroyed, keeps you fit in the process, and is a massive advertising coup "who's that electrician with the funny bike?"
     
    Jord86, Comlec, Bazza-spark and 2 others like this.
  14. candoabitofmoststuff

    candoabitofmoststuff Screwfix Select

    Well either you don't go into London much or you've not been attentive.... There have been LOADS of them about for ages!
    Cando
     
    Starslikedust likes this.
  15. bright_Spark

    bright_Spark Screwfix Select

    Actually sounds a great advert in itself especially nowadays with the green revolution. Have you any pics of it? Im Amsterdam I saw a fair few tradesmen with bikes with a front box on, quite a large box too. I thought then what a fantastic idea and I would assume you could get an electric version?
     
    Muzungu likes this.
  16. Muzungu

    Muzungu Screwfix Select

    I am not so confident about the hydrogen solution. It is often stated by the proponents of hydrogen that its energy per mass is greater than fossil fuels as though this is a positive, in isolation of course it is....but! Its volumetric energy is quite a bit less which is what matters to a car due to space. It then needs to have a tank massively reinforced to withstand the pressures for it to be viable unless you want to be towing a truck behind you full of atmospheric pressure hydrogen.

    Then there is the issue of producing the hydrogen which is only financially viable now, as I understand it, by reforming natural gas. Every step of the way you are eating energy before it even gets to the car. Another statement that you hear all the time, "hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe", but it is bound up with other elements and is energy intensive to isolate it.

    Love your philosophy with the tricycle! Had a conversation a few months ago with someone doing local deliveries with an electric trike which seems to be working well.
     
  17. Bazza-spark

    Bazza-spark Screwfix Select

    https://www.pashley.co.uk/bikes/carrier-cycles/loadstar.php

    Well done Tony.
     
    bright_Spark likes this.
  18. bright_Spark

    bright_Spark Screwfix Select

  19. Bazza-spark

    Bazza-spark Screwfix Select

    Me too lol.
     
  20. Tony Goddard

    Tony Goddard Screwfix Select

    Thats the beast, but Mine has a big aluminium box on where the flat bed is, the ones with the box on the front are interesting because they have a bigger box, but i'm not sure on steering - The loadstar is used by Fawley Oil Refinery as a maintainance engineers get about.

    On the continet they have all sorts of fun stuff, I got chatting to a spark in Cherbourg who zipped around in a Piaggio Ape van, a cross between a micro van and a vespa, there are loads in use in France, Italy and Spain.

    I'm suddenly, unintentionally green, I was denied a driving licence by the DVLA because I have a form of dyspraxia that means although I can judge easily fixed distances it takes too long to process and keep track of a fast moving object, I can safely use the trike as I'm never going very fast, put me in a car though and it would be carnage - I had one driving lesson at 17 and crashed the car, putting the instructor in hospital (since re wired his house, surprised he trusted me!!), that put in motion an investigation that ended up with a diagnosis and the chopping up of my provisional :(, at least the world is safe from my motoring skills. Bizarrely I love classic cars, jointly with my cousin we own a Riley Elf, Riley 1.5, Austin A35 van and Jag Mk2, I've restored them all, the elf was a right rust bucket, but never driven them, and never will!
     
    Adamfya and Muzungu like this.

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