New phenomenon Electric car charging cables

Things like trailing cables will have to be sorted out as we move forward into the age of the electric car. I think we have a long way to go with this technology because it is still in its infancy and I don't think that relying on electricity as your source of fuel is so sensible when the price of it is sky high and supply is such a problem.
My daughter's husband is currently spending over £100 a week to get to his job and they ordered an electric vehicle before the energy crisis was further compounded by the Ukraine War.
We have ordered a new car but are sticking to Hybrid until the electric vehicle infrastructure is better and once we have downsized, we will reconsider our transport needs. We will just limit our driving wherever possible until then.

Mapleleaf

I do think that there are going to be problems as more and more people buy a plug in electric car. Just where are people going to be able to charge their vehicle if they don’t live in a property that has its own drive and space to have a charging point fitted? People living in terraced housing or flats are going to have difficulties, I think, and there is potentially a hazard if lots of cables are going to be strewn across footpaths in order for people to attach them to their cars. Footpaths are already hazardous for pedestrians at times with vehicles parked half on the path and half on the road, so goodness knows what it will be like with numerous cables trailing all over them - unless I’m missing something and other methods are going to be used.
I know that there are a few charging points scattered about in various places such as pub car parks, but there are nowhere near enough of them if we are all going to go all electric with our cars. I don’t think it’s been thought through very well at all.

I think as housing continues to be built and developed, this will be encompassed. I lived overseas for a while, in a place where almost everyone had an electric moped. Every apartment block had a subterranean garage. Every parking space had a plug socket, where the cable to the moped could be plugged in. There was a payment box attached to each one.

I know this won't solve the issue in older/already existing housing, of course.

It really infuriates me when people say something is ‘free’! It’s not free, the local council will be paying for that electricity from lampposts and hence the people who pay council tax in that area will inevitably be paying for it in increased council tax bills! Like free lateral flow tests - they’re not free, it’s paid for out of our tax!

Electric vehicles aren't as clean as thought - they use the roads so particles from the tyres get into the air, as do the particles from the brakes.
Where I live There is very little braking to and from the shops which are 15 miles away on a trunk road, so not much self charging.
Another thing, I don't know of any electric vehicle that are zero weight, so they cause the same wear and tear to the road fabric as a petrol or diesel car. Perhaps they should be 'road taxed' on their weight?

Katie59

EVs are the future, get used to it, the lucky ones will be able to charge at home, others will charge at a public charger, chargers are becoming more numerous and cars are able to charge quicker.
The benefits in pollution reduction in cities is immense, battery technology does not seem to be improving, there is no alternative on the horizon so range is not likely to increase

I don't think they are the future, I think they are a step on the way to what will be a more permanent solution. For one thing the recycling of worn out batteries is still an issue. www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56574779

Charging cables across pavements are going to become more and more common as more electric cars are sold. People have to get used to the change. It's part of the price of climate action. Of course it presents an extra hazard for the blind and partially sighted and perhaps other minorities and some form of amelioration is needed but unless the government bans it - highly unlikely - it's here to stay.

My daughter's neighbours use a shallow triangular cover (yellow, like the cable), where the cable crosses the footpath, keeps it in place nicely, much less of a trip hazard.

tanith

If you park a non electric in an electric charging bay in our Asda and you get a fine.
I agree it’s very dangerous to trail the cable across a pavement.

if asda own the parking, they cannot fine you. www.comparethemarket.com/meerkat-your-life/articles/parking-fines-on-private-land-to-pay-or-not-to-pay/

That’s a small price to pay when you consider the price of petrol. I have an electric car and it’s wonderful. I feel very grateful when I pass petrol stations and see the prices. I charge overnight on economy 7 and it costs practically nothing.

My 83 yr old friend has just bought an electric car. She got an interest free loan and it's 2nd hand. it still cost £15k
She is still anxious about its range but she visits her DD and DGC every day so saves money and the planet. I am very proud of her.
However I completely agree that trailing a cable across a public pavement is unacceptable.

Franbern I haven't seen many charging points that are weatherproof and rolling up a wet cable into a wet bag on a windy day yuk!

EVs are the future, get used to it, the lucky ones will be able to charge at home, others will charge at a public charger, chargers are becoming more numerous and cars are able to charge quicker.
The benefits in pollution reduction in cities is immense, battery technology does not seem to be improving, there is no alternative on the horizon so range is not likely to increase

Sf101 charging at a public charging point can be a little bit of a faff I suppose, but the main problem is when travelling away from home. First finding a working charge point, with a compatible connection and membership payment card ( until recently payment was only available via the correct membership card - of which there are many- credit cards have only recently started to be accepted at the newest charge points- ).
Most people charge at home or at another regular charge point such as their work car park. Our home charger has an attached cable specific for our car so it’s simple to plug in over night.
I have seen cables across a pavement but usually covered by a cable cover. Obviously a curly cable will not work under a cover.

not quite that easy, we have one free charger for 7000 people and vandals regularly break it. Son in law came the other week, needed to plug into my 3 pin socket to get enough miles to get to the nearest fast charger on the motorway

Best sustainability is via people looking after their existing cars and driving carefully. I now use E5 fuel with cleaning and lubrication additives. Engine sounds sweet and I get more mpg

Re nuclear power stations, the very best form of energy provision, the cleanest and most reliable (speaking with my physicist hat on)

Franbern and then wait for a few hours while it charges.
I hope there will soon be EV batteries that can be taken into a house or flat to charge, instead of having cables everywhere.

We are told that electric vehicles are so clean and good for the planet. But they will be powered, at least partly, from the new nuclear power stations that we are to have.
I don't know that that is an improvement.

Found Sf101* disparaging remarks re charging rather strange.
Seems much more faff, to me, to have to find a petrol station when the car is getting low on fuel, Turn off the road, to go in there, often then having to queue up waiting for a pump to be available. Then get out off car, having remembered to release the petrol catch inside the car, open up the place to take the petrol, pull out the 'correct' pump - push that in, and then stand there, regardless of the weather,having to squeeze that pump, at the same time trying twist round to watch to see how much of this stuff is going into the car. Then, taking it out, closing the petrol cap, travaise across to the paying area, queue up to pay, then back to car. My goodness, that really is a faff!!! AND, to do all this to use such expensive stuff in the car.

So much easier to take out a lead, plug it in, and that is it!!!!

I am getting used to my new electric car at the moment. We had a charging point installed on the side of the house where some of the electricity comes from our solar panels but I have been learning how to charge it if away from home.
Once connected it is impossible to remove the cable unless the car is switched on. Our car came with two cables, one to connect to chargers and another to connect to a household three pin plug. Some of the charging stations have the cable to plug into your car, at others you need to use your own cable.
Many charging stations are free to use, with others you pay by bank or credit card. We went a drive to the coast at the weekend. Plugged the car into a free charger in a car park and when we returned from a long walk the battery was fully charged. That will last for over 200 miles.
Our previous car took £70 worth of petrol to fill the tank. So far we have saved over £100 on fuel.
It handles beautifully and self charges from the brakes. It’s called regenerative charging. As a result on short journeys you can return with a net gain in charge. Sounds crazy but I’ve seen it myself.
We are delighted with the car. Had to wait 8 months for it but it will be worth it never to have to o into a petrol station again.

My DSs street in Brighton have charging points on the lamp posts.

I think it could lead to unscrupulous antics whereby people unplug other's cars to plug in their own. Will all parking lots have the equal number of outlets to spots? Most likely not. It's very expensive for landlords, whether commercial or residential to install electrical outlets.

If you park a non electric in an electric charging bay in our Asda and you get a fine.
I agree it’s very dangerous to trail the cable across a pavement.

Aha, thank you Gymstagran I didn’t imagine it.

Some streets in London have charging points in lampposts

I agree Rosie51 it would be a good idea that if they have to run over the pavement they are secured down to avoid any accidents

rosie1959

Apparently it is not illegal to run a cable across a pathway to charge your vehicle but you could be in trouble if someone trips over it The cable should be brightly coloured so pedestrians can see it and preferably held down with a cable cover
I suppose if you have an electric car with a flat battery you don’t have much choice

Brightly coloured is fine for pedestrians with good sight, for the blind or those with visual impairment not so much, or probably in the dark either. Near where I live there's one of those big motor homes that seems to be permanently plugged in by a cable across the pavement. Some of my neighbours are quite frail and I do worry that these will present a trip hazard. Imagine if they become every 4th house or whatever!

I remember ages ago seeing a picture of sockets in lamp posts, I don’t recall the detail.