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Yes. Most petrol stations have chargers. Every motorway service station has chargers. Lots of supermarkets have EV chargers. Some councils have lamp post charg

by edent 3y ago

Yes. Most petrol stations have chargers. Every motorway service station has chargers. Lots of supermarkets have EV chargers. Some councils have lamp post charging. About 70% of UK homes have off street parking. Smart meters allow for time of day pricing for EVs. Lots of solar on domestic properties which can be diverted. Grid is increasingly able to support feed in. V2G being actively explored. Most commercial EV chargers report their status in real time. There's a proposed government standard for locating those chargers and seeing their status. You can look at https://www.zap-map.com/live/ https://www.zap-map.com/live/ to see what's going on. (Source - was an EV owner, worked on the standard, keep an eye on developments.)

mnd999 3y ago
The 30% that don’t have off street parking are mainly in cities though where electric will have the most impact on air quality and that’s a problem.
- ljf 3y ago
  Most people in London don't have cars. Especially those living in flats and blocks.
  - pxeger1 3y ago
    Most people in most other cities do have cars.
    - edent 3y ago
      I don't think that tells the full picture. Take a look at https://www.ons.gov.uk/census/maps/choropleth/housing/number-of-cars-or-vans/number-of-cars-3a/no-cars-or-vans-in-household https://www.ons.gov.uk/census/maps/choropleth/housing/number... In Birmingham, about a 3rd of people have no car. But if you zoom in to central, it's about 2/3rds of people have no vehicle.
  - mnd999 3y ago
    Yeah in central that’s true. The currently ULEZ expansion controversy (at least the bits of it that aren’t shady Twitter / Facebook bot farms trying to engineer a Tory mayor) does indicate that a lot of folks in outer boroughs rely on their cars.
    - ljf 3y ago
      And those in the outer boroughs will either have room for a charging system or can drive a hybrid. Or just keep driving the diesel/petrol car they already have - no one is banning the use of existing cars after they ban the sale of /new/ cars.
  - yetanotherloser 3y ago
    It's a lot easier to live in London without a car than outside it. As far as I know most new flats in London don't allow car parking anyway. (I am a non driving Londoner and it's pretty good. I don't think I'd feel the same way in many other places)
mytailorisrich 3y ago
What you highlight is nothing compared to what's needed, from chargers, to grid upgrades, to actual electricity production.
- edent 3y ago
  > There is definitely enough energy and the grid can cope easily. https://www.nationalgrid.com/stories/journey-to-net-zero-stories/can-grid-cope-extra-demand-electric-cars https://www.nationalgrid.com/stories/journey-to-net-zero-sto... You can see the grid investment at https://www.nationalgrid.co.uk/our-network/investing-in-our-network https://www.nationalgrid.co.uk/our-network/investing-in-our-... Chargers are a non-issue. Every EV can charge from a standard 13 amp socket. Plug it in overnight and you'll be full the next morning. Or, upgrade to a 7kW charger - which usually come as part of a new car purchase.
  - tuatoru 3y ago
    The joy of 240V single phase.
  - mytailorisrich 3y ago
    Right now in some areas there are restrictions on new housing because the grid is saturated, charging stations are delayed because the grid cannot cope, and renewable production projects are also delayed because the grid cannot take it. So, clearly the grid cannot cope. Then, is electricity production growing 2 digits a year? Nope. Yes, an EV can charge from a 13A socket, for people who have off-road parking... and anyway what happens when everyone plug their cars in the evening on a socket, or worse 7kW charger? The substation blows up... charging is a big issue, it is actually the issue. Charging stations delays because of grid: https://www.energylivenews.com/2023/07/24/uk-faces-ev-charger-grid-strain-delays-hamper-summer-plans/ https://www.energylivenews.com/2023/07/24/uk-faces-ev-charge... https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/09/09/electric-cars-generators-national-grid-ev-charging/ https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/09/09/electric-car... Restrictions in West London because of grid: https://www.london.gov.uk/programmes-strategies/better-infrastructure/infrastructure-coordination/development-service/west-london-electricity-capacity-constraints https://www.london.gov.uk/programmes-strategies/better-infra... Renewable projects delayed because of grid: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-65500339 https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-65500339

by edent 3y ago

mnd999 3y ago

The 30% that don’t have off street parking are mainly in cities though where electric will have the most impact on air quality and that’s a problem.

ljf 3y ago
Most people in London don't have cars. Especially those living in flats and blocks.
- pxeger1 3y ago
  Most people in most other cities do have cars.
  - edent 3y ago
    I don't think that tells the full picture. Take a look at https://www.ons.gov.uk/census/maps/choropleth/housing/number-of-cars-or-vans/number-of-cars-3a/no-cars-or-vans-in-household https://www.ons.gov.uk/census/maps/choropleth/housing/number... In Birmingham, about a 3rd of people have no car. But if you zoom in to central, it's about 2/3rds of people have no vehicle.
- mnd999 3y ago
  Yeah in central that’s true. The currently ULEZ expansion controversy (at least the bits of it that aren’t shady Twitter / Facebook bot farms trying to engineer a Tory mayor) does indicate that a lot of folks in outer boroughs rely on their cars.
  - ljf 3y ago
    And those in the outer boroughs will either have room for a charging system or can drive a hybrid. Or just keep driving the diesel/petrol car they already have - no one is banning the use of existing cars after they ban the sale of /new/ cars.
- yetanotherloser 3y ago
  It's a lot easier to live in London without a car than outside it. As far as I know most new flats in London don't allow car parking anyway. (I am a non driving Londoner and it's pretty good. I don't think I'd feel the same way in many other places)

mytailorisrich 3y ago

What you highlight is nothing compared to what's needed, from chargers, to grid upgrades, to actual electricity production.

edent 3y ago
> There is definitely enough energy and the grid can cope easily. https://www.nationalgrid.com/stories/journey-to-net-zero-stories/can-grid-cope-extra-demand-electric-cars https://www.nationalgrid.com/stories/journey-to-net-zero-sto... You can see the grid investment at https://www.nationalgrid.co.uk/our-network/investing-in-our-network https://www.nationalgrid.co.uk/our-network/investing-in-our-... Chargers are a non-issue. Every EV can charge from a standard 13 amp socket. Plug it in overnight and you'll be full the next morning. Or, upgrade to a 7kW charger - which usually come as part of a new car purchase.
- tuatoru 3y ago
  The joy of 240V single phase.
- mytailorisrich 3y ago
  Right now in some areas there are restrictions on new housing because the grid is saturated, charging stations are delayed because the grid cannot cope, and renewable production projects are also delayed because the grid cannot take it. So, clearly the grid cannot cope. Then, is electricity production growing 2 digits a year? Nope. Yes, an EV can charge from a 13A socket, for people who have off-road parking... and anyway what happens when everyone plug their cars in the evening on a socket, or worse 7kW charger? The substation blows up... charging is a big issue, it is actually the issue. Charging stations delays because of grid: https://www.energylivenews.com/2023/07/24/uk-faces-ev-charger-grid-strain-delays-hamper-summer-plans/ https://www.energylivenews.com/2023/07/24/uk-faces-ev-charge... https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/09/09/electric-cars-generators-national-grid-ev-charging/ https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/09/09/electric-car... Restrictions in West London because of grid: https://www.london.gov.uk/programmes-strategies/better-infrastructure/infrastructure-coordination/development-service/west-london-electricity-capacity-constraints https://www.london.gov.uk/programmes-strategies/better-infra... Renewable projects delayed because of grid: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-65500339 https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-65500339