Electric Vehicle (EV) Chargers
Download available: EV Charger Resource Pack
What is an EV?
An Electric Vehicle (EV) is a vehicle that runs, in whole or in part, on electricity. This electricity is sometimes stored in a battery inside the vehicle. The three main types of EV are:
- Hybrid Electric Vehicles: these vehicles have both an internal combustion engine and electric motors powered by a battery. They do not need to be plugged in to charge, as their batteries are charged through regenerative braking.
- Plug-In Electric Hybrid Vehicles: these vehicles are powered by a diesel or petrol engine and a battery. They use both regenerative braking and battery charging.
- Battery Electric Vehicles: these vehicles are powered only by a battery and must be plugged into an electric charger when the battery is low.
Buying an EV
EVs can be bought through the same channels as petrol or diesel cars. You can buy them new or second-hand, at a car dealership or through a private seller. Some companies may sell their cars online. Second-hand sellers should be part of the Electric Vehicle Approved Scheme. Membership of this scheme shows that the seller understands electric vehicles and how to safely sell them.
Electric vehicles are generally more expensive to buy than petrol or diesel vehicles, but their overall running costs (fuel, maintenance and tax) are lower, so they will cost less money in the long term. New EVs begin at £17000, whilst second-hand ones begin at £4500. Running costs vary depending on the type of charger used, but home chargers can cost only 10p per kW, meaning that on overnight charge, the EV’s battery will be filled for a few pounds. Public chargers may cost 40-80p per kilowatt, depending on the speed of the charger, with the fastest chargers being the most expensive. The precise servicing costs per month will depend on the vehicle, but certain brands have estimated the costs for their specific vehicles e.g. Nissan says their Leaf cost £27 per month to service. Second-hand EVs will have a slightly deteriorated battery life, but they will work out much cheaper than a new vehicle. The most common second-hand EVs are Nissan Leafs and Renault Zoes, but there won’t be as much choice as with petrol and diesel cars. T
Older EVs may have a battery lease agreement that the new owner of the vehicle must sign to buy the car. This means that the owner leases the battery from the car manufacturer. This was done when EV technology was less developed as a way of making ownership less risky, as it kept costs lower and meant that faulty or worn-out batteries would be replaced by the manufacturer. Insurance for an EV, unless it is a complicated vehicle like a Tesla, is now assessed the same way as any other type of vehicle, and the fact that the vehicle is electric should not affect the insurance premium paid.
What are the benefits of using an EV?
- Lower running and maintenance costs- see above
- Cheaper road tax- it starts at £10 first-year rates
- Ability to drive in low-emission zones
- Reduction in harmful greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere
- Reduction in the burning of fossil fuels
What is an EV Charger?
An EV charger is an electrical charging point that provides Electric Vehicles with electricity, usually from the National Grid or saved electricity from solar panels fr wind farms. This electricity charges the vehicle’s battery and allows it to run. These points are generally fixed to a wall or sunk into the ground in a public space, and you generally must pay to use them, although some organisations will pay the costs and offer them for free usage.
There are several different types of charger available:
- 3kw socket: this type of charger is a standard home electric socket, and the corresponding plug is usually issued with EVs. These kinds of chargers are very slow and can take up to 12 hours to give full charge.
- 7kw charger: this sort of charger is used in homes and takes 6-8 hours to charge fully.
- 22kw charger: this type of charger is used in public spaces and is considered to be ‘fast’. It takes 3 hours to charge fully. This kind of charger is usually situated in motorway service stations, supermarkets and car parks.
- 50 kw charger: this is a public charger that is considered ‘rapid’. They fill an EV’s battery to 80% very rapidly and then slow down with the last 20% to prevent damage. They take 40 minutes to reach 80%.
- 350kw: this kind of charger is public and is considered to be ‘ultra-fast’. This charger can only charge a small number of EVs as the electricity is released into the battery so rapidly. This charger takes 20 minutes to charge to 80%.
Where can you find a public charger?
A good way to find public chargers is through an online search tool like Zap Map (https://www.zap-map.com/live/). Zap Map shows where public chargers are located in a given area, which you provide in the form of a postcode, town or city name. This is also achievable through the organisation’s app. The site also shows the power output of each charger and its availability.
Home Charging vs. Shared Charging
Home charging involves installing a charger onto your property, usually on the part of your house or garage nearest to your driveway, so the car can be parked there and plugged in. The average cost for this charger is £1000 if you also need an electrician to install it for you. Charger cable that needs to be run underground incurs an additional charge of around £30 per metre for ‘trenching’. The overall cost for buying and installing an EV charger in a workplace is £1000-1500.
If you do not have driveway space or cannot afford the cost of installing a charger, you may consider shared charging. Shared charging is when an EV owner pays to rent out someone else’s home charger to charge their vehicle’s battery. It means that those without the space for c charger can still own and EV, and those owning chargers can make £200-£1000 a year through rental fees.
Village Halls and EV Chargers
A good place to install public EV chargers is in the car park of your local village hall or other community centre. This installation, when done with the permission of those that run the hall or centre, should proceed like the installation of any other public charger, with total costs coming to around £1000-1500. You would need to pay for the charger itself, and then an electrician to come to the site and install it for you. It is possible to make the resulting charger free to use for members of your community and absorb the costs of charging through your budget.
Why might you want to install chargers in your area?
- To aid residents in your area in charging their EVs.
- To encourage more EV usage by increasing the number of areas where residents can charge their EVs, allowing for longer journeys to be undertaken.
- To encourage the sale of EVs over petrol or diesel cars by providing more charging options for residents
Where might be best to install public chargers?
- In the car park of a village hall or community centre
- In another kind of communal car park in your area
- In the car park of a hospital or other medical building
How to fund charger installation:
There are several ways to fund charger installation:
- Pay for the charger out of your budget or fundraising activities
- Create an agreement with a charger provider where you essentially ‘lease’ your car parking space to the provider. The provider pays for installation and upkeep, but in this kind of business model you would not receive any income from the charger.
- An amended version of the agreement above where you would receive a percentage of the money brought in by the charger.
- If you are a landlord, own or rent a flat, own a staff or fleet car park, or own a household with on-street parking (as opposed to a private driveway), you can apply for grants from the Government towards the costs of charger installation (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/electric-vehicle-chargepoint-and-infrastucture-grant-guidance-for-installers, under ‘Grants that are available to your customers’).
Electric Vehicles and Car Clubs
To further reduce car journeys in your area, you may want to consider setting up a car club with your purchased EVs. Car clubs involve holding a pool of cars, which members can book for a fee and pick up/drop-off from a designated bay or area. Communities can run these clubs, and members often help to keep them going on a day-to-day basis. Members usually pay a membership fee and for the hire of the car; insurance and maintenance costs for the vehicles are paid by the club. 36% of club cars in England and Wales are currently hybrid and electric vehicles.
A good first step to setting up a car club is to contact CoMoUK for support, advice and best practice on how to proceed. Local community energy groups are also good places to contact, as they may have resources and volunteers available to help you with your club.
List of relevant organisations:
CoMoUK: https://www.como.org.uk/
Government website on charger installation: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/electric-vehicle-chargepoint-and-infrastucture-grant-guidance-for-installers
Zap Map: https://www.zap-map.com/live/
Sources
https://impact-tool.org.uk/static/doc/Making%20your%20community%20EV%20ready.pdf
https://cafs.org.uk/introduction-to-electric-vehicles-evs/
https://octopusev.com/charging/community-charging
https://www.checkatrade.com/blog/cost-guides/electric-car-charger-installation-cost/
https: https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/electric-cars/choosing/buyers-guide///www.zap-map.com/live/
https://southeast-michigan-ev-resource-kit-and-planning-hub-semcog.hub.arcgis.com/pages/ev-101