South Woodford Community Electric Vehicle Charging Hub
Following a consultation which received residents backing, it has been approved for one side of the Mulberry Way car park to be converted to the the South Woodford Community Electric Vehicle Charging Hub.
There will be 12 electric vehicle charging bays and charge points with varying charging capacities from 7kW to 22kW.
A small number of car park bays will remain to cater for the low level of demand for parking in this car park. However, passive provision will be made to enable them to be converted into electric vehicle charging bays at some point in the future as demand for EV charging increases.
The car park has been resurfaced and remarked to bring it up to the standards of modern car parks.
The electric vehicle charge points have been installed and will be operational in July 2021.
To ensure that the bays remain available for residents and visitors to use and are not blocked by vehicles with internal combustion engines or EVs that have overstayed, the bays will be protected by a Traffic Management Order and will be enforceable.
Largest Collection Of Uk Charging Networks
Kia Charge gives you access to more than 20,500 electric car charging points in the UK. This accounts for 70% of Britains infrastructure and represents the largest collection of networks accessible from one solution. Its coverage currently includes network operators such as bp pulse, Pod Point, Source London, Instavolt, ESB Energy or IONITY among others.
Level 2 Charger Prices And Installation
While charging your EV at home costs significantly less than both fueling a gasoline vehicle and charging an EV at public stations, installing a Level 2 charger at home can be costly upfront. Electric cars usually include a Level 1 charger which can be plugged into any 120-volt outlet. However, a Level 1 charger can take a full 20 hours to charge up the vehicle, so many EV owners purchase and install a Level 2 charger in their home which can power up the vehicle in almost half the time.
A Level 2 charger can range in cost, but it will typically cost up to $3,500 for both the equipment and installation costs.
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Whats Going On With Electric Car Uptake
Its booming. In the UK, 10 years ago there were just six electric car models that accounted for about one in every 1700 new car sales. There are now 140 models, another 55 coming this year, and one in six new cars sold is electric, according to Hawes figure. For vans, its one in 28. South Korean car maker Kia has gone from electric models being 1 per cent of its total UK car sales in 2019 to 15 per cent last year and 20 per cent in 2022 so far.
Globally, BMW doubled its electric car sales last year. After years of relatively modest electric car sales, last year saw them really taking off, says Colin McKerracher at analysts BloombergNEF. Some 6.5 million were sold worldwide last year, a figure he expects will rise to 10.6 million this year. China and Europe are leading, with South Korea catching up. The US will soon turn from a laggard into a leader too, because of regulations planned by US president Joe Biden, says McKerracher.
Other Factors That Impact Electric Car Charging Time:
- Your batterys size: Level 1 battery outlets charge at 120 volts, which typically provide up to 50 miles of driving range in about 10 hours. If you have more battery capacity , youll need more time to charge your car battery fully.
- Is your battery empty or full?: Drivers rarely charge their vehicles from an empty battery. They usually top up their batteries instead to lengthen the amount of time they can drive on a single charge, which generally saves drivers significant charging time.
- Your vehicles maximum charging rate: How much of a charge can your vehicle accept at once? Your vehicles maximum charge rate is static, so you wont save any time by charging your battery at a more powerful charging station.
- The power of your charging station: Your charging time also depends on the maximum charging rate of the station you are using. Even if your car can charge at a higher rate, it will only charge at your charge points maximum power rate, which can adversely affect charging time.
- The weather in your area: Colder temperatures can affect vehicle efficiency, which can lengthen charging times, especially when using rapid chargers. Hot weather can also affect your electric cars thermal management systems, which can affect its efficiency. Hot conditions can also test an electric vehicles internal resistance, rising as battery charges increase.
RELATED STORIES: How to Maximize EV Range in Hot Weather
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Should I Transition To An Electric Vehicle
Electric Vehicle ownership in Waltham Forest is growing quickly and your council is working to ensure that it is as convenient as possible to transition to an EV. Driving an EV over a petrol or diesel vehicle is a good way to reduce your carbon footprint.
As we transition to a low carbon society, EVs are becoming a key transport mode alongside cycling, walking and public transport modes.
Electric Car Charging: All You Need To Know To Get Started
If you have off-street parking, this is what you should do:
- Have a 7.4 kW charging point installed on your wall.
- Open your cars charging flap to reveal the charging socket.
- Grab the plug from the charging point and insert it into the car’s socket.
- Leave the plug in until your car is sufficiently charged. You will normally charge overnight on a cheap, off-peak tariff and wake up to a fully charged car.
- Finally, remove the plug from the car, return it to the charge point, close the cars flap, and youre good to go.
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Charging An Electric Car On Long Distance Journeys Or In Emergencies
On long distance journeys you will find that there are times when the remaining range in your battery wont get you to your destination.
In this scenario you can make use of the network of high power rapid chargers found in motorway service stations and other locations across the UK. This is known as en-route charging.
- Because they are expensive, and dispense a lot of electricity in a short period, rapid chargers are usually offered on a paid for basis.
- The cables are always tethered to the 43kW+ units, so you do not need to bring your own cable to them.
- There are 3 rapid charge connector types, depending on your car. Modern rapid chargers offer either all 3 or at least both DC standards.
In some situations you may find that you have run low on battery from lots of local driving and need an emergency charge.
Rapid chargers are also great for this purpose and if youre not near a motorway service station, they can be found in convenient places like supermarket car parks.
How Do I Plug In
The easiest option to plug in an EV is to recharge at home, if you have the ability to park near an electric outlet or can place a new outlet near your parking spot.
All home charging options use a standard EV plug to connect to the car. The other end of the charging cord can either be hardwired or plugged into an existing outlet.
Home charging can use either a 120 volt outlet or 240 volt circuit . Since almost all EVs include a 120 volt charging cord and 120 volt outlets are common, this is likely the cheapest and easiest option.
Using a 240 volt outlet or circuit requires the purchase of a home charging unit and possibly the need for modifications to the home electric system. However, using a charger powered by a 240 volt circuit has the advantage of charging much faster, from 2 to 8-fold faster depending on the amperage and vehicle.
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How Long Does It Take To Charge An Electric Car At A Charging Station
According to Kia, charging an electric car battery can take anywhere between half an hour or half a day, depending on your battery and the speed of the charging point youre using.
Other things that will affect charging speed are the max charging rate of your vehicle, how much power is left in your battery, as well as weather conditions
Selecting A Type Of Charger
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Do The Numbers Add Up
Again, to keep things digestible, lets use a simple formula.
Suppose you put 1,000 miles on your vehicle each month, for example, and pay 10 cents in your area for each kilowatt-hour of electricity. In that case, this pegs your at-home EV recharging bill at $25 to $33 per month . Even if you double your electric rate to 20 cents per/kWh, your EV recharging cost will be $50 to $66.
Finding The Right Plug To Charge An Ev
Voelcker explains the difference sounds more complex than it is. The vast majority of fast-charging locations have both kinds, with a different cable on each side of the station. Its like the same gas pump could dispense both regular gasoline and diesel fuel from different hoses.
As for the price, a 240-volt recharge could cost you anywhere from zero dollars to a fixed hourly rate. Charging networks often provide membership programs to minimize your recharge cost. Thats something especially useful if you cant regularly charge your vehicle at home.
The EVgo network charges rates by state and it varies for Level 2 charging. Checking the companys website, the pay-as-you-go approach costs 30 cents per minute in Georgia for its rates effective September 2021. However, if youre an EVgo Plus member, the rate per minute drops to 24 cents.
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Public Electric Car Charging Made Easy With Kia Charge
The Kia Charge app provides access to the largest number of public charging networks in the UK, and many more charging networks across 28 other European countries.The Kia Charge mobile app and card open the door to the majority of the UK’s electric charging points. With Kia Charge, you locate and navigate to stations, charge and pay, all with only one solution. Charging on the go has never been easier.
Factors That Impact Charging Time
Charging times may vary due to several factors. What is your power source? How much power can your electric car handle? How can drivers charge their vehicles and get back on the road more quickly? Depending on an electric vehicle power source and battery capacity, drivers can charge their cars in as little as 30 minutes.
Unfortunately, that isnt the standard. Most drivers will need about a couple of days to charge a fully depleted electric car battery if they use the standard three-prong plugs found in mobile devices, laptops, and the walls of most homes.
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‘quantum Charging’ Electric Cars Could Be As Fast As Pumping Gas
New technology may accelerate charging speeds for electric vehicles by 200 times, meaning that filling a battery may take less than 10 seconds.
Drivers of electric vehicles face slow battery-charging speeds and inconvenience, whether at home or at sparsely distributed electric-charging stations. Cars, for example, may take as long as 10 hours to fully charge at home, while even superchargers at charging stations take 3040 minutes to provide a full charge.
Although electric cars were rare even 10 years ago and millions are now being sold, batteries still limit their range because they cannot store as much energy as fuel tanks do in gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles. This remains true despite significant improvements in battery technology in recent years.
Scientists at Korea’s Institute for Basic Science may have found a solution to this vexing problem in the realm of quantum physics, discovering new quantum technologies that can quickly charge batteries. They drew inspiration from a 2012 study, which proposed the quantum battery concept and theorized that quantum resources such as entanglement may charge batteries at a vastly faster rate by charging all cells in a battery simultaneously.
Collective charging is currently not possible in classical batteries, which are charged in parallel and independently of one another, thereby slowing the process.
The results of the research may have consequences ranging far beyond vehicles, the scientists believe.
Where To Find Public Charge Points
Many electric cars will come with a handy sat-nav system to tell you precisely where the nearest charge point is. If not, you can always get one on your phone in the form of an app or a website.
These will pull up a map of the local area and let you see where charge points are, if they are in use, what speed you can expect from them and, in some cases, information about their fees. You might also be able to reserve a charge point or register to use them from your phone, so its worth getting one of these apps as soon as you become an EV driver.
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Now Find Your Ev Charger
It would be foolhardy to undertake a journey of any significance in an electric car without planning ahead. If you are a member of a network, youll already be familiar with local charger locations, and probably also be a user of that providers website or phone app where all its charging locations will be listed.
For travel outside your network, you need to access one of the websites like Zap Map which claims to list all the public chargers across the UK. They also offer specific information about the equipment on offer, the cost to plug in, and the operational status of every charging facility.
Useful as it is, online information is user-generated in a proportion of cases, so is not always up to date. Wed recommend taking the precaution of personally contacting potential charging stations ahead of your arrival. Youll want to make sure theyre functional and suited to the vehicle youre driving, unless there are multiple options in the area.
Connecting To The Electricity Network
This guidance on connecting to the electricity network takes a local authority through how to connect to the electricity network, sets out the process and includes links to useful extra resources. It contains links to explanations of terms for clarity.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy offers a local energy team huddle. This web-based platform allows the sharing of information, best practice and experiences for energy planning. The workspace is for use by national government, Local Enterprise Partnerships and local authorities.
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Electric Car Hire And Charging Points In The Lake District
Electric cars are a great, sustainable way to get around the Lake District National Park. You can hire an electric car from Lake District railway locations, and there are lots of charging points across the area so you can travel around the whole National Park.
Check zap-map.com for locations, types and prices of charge points, and a useful journey planner to calculate distances and costs.
How Can I Charge My Electric Car If I Don’t Have A Driveway
If you live in an apartment or don’t have a private driveway, then electric car charging options at home are currently quite limited. The situation is improving, especially in cities, where private accommodation car parks are now being fitted with chargers and on-street charging is becoming more prevalent, but costs are still higher than traditional home chargers.
If your office has charging points, then you could charge your vehicle while you work, but this depends on how many hours you’re in the office.
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How & Where To Charge Your Electric Car At Home Or On The Road
If youre the proud owner of an electric car then youll want to know how and where you can keep it going. Understanding how to charge your car keeps range anxiety at bay.
The good news for electric vehicles is that youd have to drive an awful long way to run your batteries right down. The better news is that there are 22,000+ public charge points around the UK, and easy at-home charging options. So, you shouldnt have too much trouble getting powered up again.
