Electric car anyone?

I of course realise that it’s not possible that all the energy delivered to my house is from renewables, but my company only buys electricity from the renewables. So I am only paying for/buying green energy.

If everyone did the same then....

gillybob

Furret

My electricity is 100% green.

Sorry Furret but that simply isn't possible .

Yes it is.

Current grid electricity is around 65% non fossil fuel - nuclear + renewable, in addition emissions in urban areas is Zero, so the environmental gain is substantial and rising.

For mainly short journeys charging at home they are a no brainer the advantages are obvious, the latest models have a range of 150 miles and cost around £25k
For longer journeys there are plenty of charging stations but their reliability is uncertain. So for urban use take advantage of the government subsidy and tax advantage now, it won’t be there in 5 yrs time, they are loosing a lot in tax and fuel duty that won’t last

Think I'll wait for a while for the technology to get better and possibly cheaper and a better range? Like the sound of the hydrogen ones better.

........and please bear in mind that the mileage range quoted by sales will always be the miles obtained from driving at the optimum speed in perfect conditions, with the least amount of passengers and luggage (weight) and using no heating or climate control .

Washerwoman, I hadn’t heard before that electric cars can recharge themselves.
Are you saying that if I bought a mini with the mileage quoted as 145miles / charge that I would get more than 145 if I drove efficiently?
If so, why didn’t the salesman I talked to mention that?wonder? Seems that it would be a plus point.

Might consider a hybrid, but an all electric wouldn’t do for us at all. In normal years we‘ll drive at least once to a relative’s place in France - 500 miles each way.

For a short-journeys car, if you have a charging point at home, all well and good. I think relying on charging points elsewhere would be a PITA though.

Exactly Stuart96

Furret

My electricity is 100% green.

Sorry Furret but that simply isn't possible .

As far as reducing pollution these cars are a big con. An electric car uses exactly the same amount of energy as a petrol or diesel car. The only difference is that for an electric car the pollution is produced remotely at a power station rather than locally by the cars engine.

Well we've got ours now and won't be replacing for years and then down to one car by which technology will have moved on apace and we will see what options are available
As for battery life I can only go from my own experience. 5 years in still getting same range from a charge and taking no longer so seems to be holding up.As I said everything comes with a cost to the environment car wise.And renewable alternatives to producing electricity hopefully increasing too.We will see. For now it's cleaner air wise and quieter
And a pleasure to drive.

Recently looked for a new car, number of electric charging points in Hampshire is 9 and I very rarely go to towns or cities.
Hybrids are out of my price range, particularly for my manufacturer of choice. So I’m buying a petrol car, my old car is a 17 year old diesel, my husband will use it for work. I can see the future is with other fuels, but until the prices are reduced and infrastructure in place, if necessary, it’s not for me now.

You've obviously been listening to Dh, henetha.

Apparently, there will more hydrogen incorporated in our gas supplies in our homes too.

Apparently hydrogen cars will be the future. Electric cars will just be temporary. Or so I'm told.

Good summary gillybob on why electric cars are not super eco yet. In addition there’s the expense of home charger installation the range is not yet good enough, and charging increases journey time if you are on a long journey.
The components for batteries have to be mined, which in itself is ecologically unsound, and batteries have a limited life, and indeed have a limited guarantee, and there’s problem of disposal. At the moment they cannot be recycled.

It is however early days and perhaps hydrogen will be the solution, or more radically more extensive public transport, and we should not need private cars. That’s my dream.

My electricity is 100% green.

That helps me a lot Gillybob, its the cost of producing the electricity thats bothering me. Otherwise I'd love one.

I understand that hybrids are to be phased out along with petrol engines but I think they may have changed the date.

gilly, I understand some buses are currently being run by hydrogen fuel cells.

Yes Kittylester I share your DH’s enthusiasm for Hydrogen which will be the only real environmentally friendly solution .

Electric/ Battery cars are not anywhere near as environmentally friendly as they would have us believe . The car itself still has to be built using robots , the lithium battery still has to be produced and (even worse) eventually disposed of (to where?) Most of the electricity is still produced by shipping biomass half way around the world on giant fuel guzzling tankers (mainly from Canada) and does anyone know how long the battery will even last ?

The range for the Leaf on one charge is still pretty poor considering most houses in the U.K. do not have drives where you could charge your own car and our town centre has 2 charging points.

Hybrids are a good alternative for longer mileage but they are far too expensive for most people.

I know Hybrids are the solution especially if you have no home charge point.For us it was all or nothing As we had a drive,plus grant to install a charger why lug a heavy engine with lots of moving parts to go wrong if we could take a leap of faith and trust fully electric.But I can see the appeal of Hybrids too and used correctly will help cut air pollution. When they build the hundreds of new houses off a busy main road just downhill from DGDs primary school I dread to think what the air quality will be like some days in their playground.

Thank you Grannynannywanny. I’d like the defrost idea too. I don’t know anything about the electric cars and wondered if charging would take a while.

Hybrids are great.

Ridiculously expensive?The reality is in the 5 years we've had our Leaf we have saved a fortune in fuel.I absolutely love never queuing for it.Very occasionally had to wait a few minutes to access a charger at a service station but then you've factored in a comfort break anyway.
The first service cost £20 and it's been far cheaper every time than a diesel car.Yes I agree the biggest issue is charging if you have no off road parking and we do have a drive. Plus solar panels on our house which again reduces costs as we generate even on relatively cloudy days.Again not something everyone has ,but something we prioritised.Personally I think all new build houses should have to have a solar generating capacity be it panels or some solar tiles.
No boot space ?My Leaf has a very roomy boot.Bigger than most equivalent sized cars as DD was recently changing her car and we were comparing sizes with Kia,Astra etc and the Leaf had more capacity.
And the Tesla has front and rear storage as the battery is stored under the car - and no engine to carry - and has a huge total boot space. One of the reasons we chose it as we can fit all our clobber for us and two dogs in when we set off for a holiday.
What a lot of people don't appreciate also is if you drive correctly and use the regeneration capacity every time you slow down,brake or go downhill energy kicks back into the battery.As a result you quickly learn to drive it efficiently and get the absolute most out if your range.And no gear changes makes for a very smooth ride.DH has severe arthritis in his ankles and realises now he couldn't go back to clutch control anyway.EVs wouldn't suit everyone's lifestyle.But they do ours.
I agree some areas have less public charge points but they are increasing all the time.Some smaller towns and villages are surprisingly progressive and have them.A lot of Lidls and Asdas in particular often have a charger.I often pop a bit of charge in whilst doing some shopping. So it's worth checking out those. An app on your phone can find you one.

I have a 10year old mini that I love to bits. It’s in good shape, my garage man says it’s the best mini that he’s worked on. I am hoping to keep it forever, however I did look into changing it last year.
We use my DH’s car for long journeys anyway so an electric car would be perfect for me. I came to the conclusion that the Zoe would be the best but the price and the seemingly lack of knowledge about the longevity of the battery put me off. You can rent the battery rather than buying it but that would have been about £50/month. More than I spend on petrol.
BMW have just launched the mini version but it only does 145 miles on a charge, I presume that’s on a good day with the wind behind it!
I’m not convinced yet that changing my car for the sake of it is more eco friendly that keeping it for a bit longer So I’ve put off the decision.
I often think that those people who live on busy roads probably wish we would all get on with it!

gilly, my husband has done lots of research into hydrogen fuel cells and thinks they are the thing!! He would be so chuffed that someone else is thinking along the same lines.