Let's Talk About Charging

YOU'RE IN CHARGE

Where?

Did you know that in the UK there are more electric charging locations than Fuel Stations? Incredibly there are over11300 charging locations, with almost 32000 individual connectors. Log onto www.zap-map.com it will give you every single charging point in the UK, as well as what connections are available at any one time.

How?

Every new Electic Car sold in the UK comes with a cable allowing you to charge you vehicle at home using a domestic 3-pin plug. If you wish to charge your vehicle on the go you can purchase the required cable from your manufacture or after market retailer. You can install a dedicated home-charging point which will charge it faster, and safer than using the 3-pin plug. It also means you don't need to run a cable out the front door every night! Almost all manufactures offer their own home-charging points, or have an authorised partner/installer. Depending on which one you go for you can be eligible for an OLEV Government Grant of upto £500

Charging on the move using one of the UK's 32000 strong network of charges is getting easier by the day. There are currently 16 registered charging partners offering several different ways of paying. Most of them offer monthly or annual subscriptions. They come with RFID cards (kind of it like a Tesco Club Card keyring) that you simply wave up against the charging point to initiate charging. Others use simple contactless payments using your credit/debit cards. And almost all of them offer an Apple or Android App for your smart phone making it simple to manage and pay for your charging. In Scotland we are very fortunate. We have a national charging network called chargeplacescotland.org. For an annual subscription of £20 you will get an RFID card (usually arrives through your door within 5 working days). That give you get access to free charging on 90% of Scotland charging network as well as access to a Live Map outlining potential costs and availability at all the locations at any one time!

How much?

Well that really depends on where, when and how. The cheapest way will almost always be at home using a dedicated home-charging point. Many Home Energy Suppliers now actually offer specific “EV Home-charging Tarrifs”. For instance these can offer your reduced rates for charging your EV overnight, some even as low as 5p/kWh but the average price is around 10p/kWh. To give you an idea fully charging a 60kWh electric car will cost about £6.00 and give you about 200 miles of range.

If you are planning to charge on the go  it is really simple. The best way to approach it is to look at your weekly driving profile and map out your regular destinations. Then cross-reference that with a the zap-map.com website to see what charging providers are used in your area. If you are based in Scotland this will be nice and easy, as you will just need your Charge Place Scotland RFID card (£20 pa). That will give you access to free charging on 90% of the charges in Scotland. Should you need to pay for your usage the cost per kWh can vary based on the speed of charger you are using. Anywhere between 12p-40p kWh. Most providers offer RFID cards as part of their subscription packages where as some give you the option to use an App on your smart phone. Some providers actually allow you to Pay-as-you-Go using your contactless debit/credit card (much like buying, say, fuel!).

The simplest thing to do is do a bit of research into where you are going to be driving the car and make sure you have the required access to the chargers you are most likely to come into contact with.

How Long?

That depends on the charger you are using ( Rapid, Fast or Slow) and the capabilities of the car. For example - Best case: 30mins for 80% charge using a rapid charger. Worst Case: 2 days using a domestic 3 pin plug.

Rapid chargers are the fastest way to charge an EV, and predominantly cover DC charging. Conventional rapid points make up the majority of the UK’s rapid charging infrastructure and charge at 50 kW DC, with 43 kW AC rapid charging often also available. It can give you 80% of charge in around 30mins (depending on your car)

Fast chargers include those which provide power from 7 kW to 22 kW, which typically fully charge an EV in 3-4 hours.

Slow units cover chargers rated between 3 kW to 6 kW and are best used for overnight charging, usually taking between 8-12 hours for a pure-EV, or 2-4 hours for a PHEV. Typically referred to as 3 kW points. EVs charge on slow devices using a cable which connects the vehicle to a three-pin or Type 2 socket.