Battery Vehicle Society

I hope to deploy a number of charging points in the UK. I will cover the cost of the equipment and installation (my brothers electrical installation company will install them at cost). The intension is that these charging points will be free to use for the EV community.

I intend to deploy two units similar to caravan or boat hook ups... one with a 16A and 32A commando socket fitted, and one with a 16A and 63A commando socket. The higher power unit will be reserved for commercial locations.

Please let me have your comments....

That's very decent of you.

Is the electricity free as well? A Tesla on a 63A socket can suck down a lot of power!
Are the only accesible with some sort of key/card?

The standard blue 16A socket will do most cars and would seem to be the safest, cheapest and most compatible option.

Things like the Tesla might benefit from the 32A or 63A sockets as well and would look good plugged into an EV point

Are you allowed to install standard UK 13 amp sockets in these sorts of things if they are protected by an IP rated flap/housing?

So I suppose for maximum compatibility all three types of sockets would be best, but I'll settle for the 16A blue ones

Could we have one at Northallerton DL78ES outside the Police Station on the high street then I can plug in at work! They have nice marked bays and the council could be encouraged to earmark one for this project.

My plan is to encourage people to 'donate' the electricity free of charge.... at least until we have so many EV's that the cost becomes an issue.

I expect to have a 16A socket available on every charge point.

I do not intend to support these sockets.... 16A to 13A UK Socket converters are readily available and could be carried by anyone using that socket.

I'd be open to this.... however, I do not wish to get involved in the politics or bureaucracy of local government and hope instead to focus my efforts on 'friendly' businesses and homes who will site the charge points on their land.

This is interesting!

What works would be carried out to, say, a domestic installation to ensure the main service head, and fuse, was able to supply the 32A at the same time as the general consumer peak demand?

I was going to install one myself at my house but didn't fancy digging up the drive to get the cable to the road side for anyone else to access.

We will need a site survey... I understand that a lot of the initial work can be carried out remotely. Where a physical visit is required then this would be piggy backed onto another job to minimise costs (my brothers electrical contracting company is active in both the commercial and retail sectors, he has people travelling over most of the UK on a weekly basis).

This is intended to be a small scale roll out, not a commercial enterprise.... If I can keep the costs down to a minimum then I suspect that we could install a network of say 100 charge points....

I'm very happy to hear you considered doing this.... unfortunately, not every location will be suitable and I think we should focus our efforts on those sites that are 'easy' for now.

My outlet would be hidden in the hedge near where I park so if someone knew about it and had a 10m extension lead they could plug in, with permission.

I wish you good luck with your plan, it sounds good to me.

Hello Kevin

I guess you are aware of Tim Nicklin's EV network? I encourage any newcomer to this forum to join it too, but it is particularly relevant to your project.

Your public sockets are a step up from Tim's idea. He has provided the database so that private EV users can share their garage sockets, as a precursor to widespread public charging. I have been registered with the scheme for 4 years now, and have been contacted through it maybe twice, but just having a map with lots of dots on gives short-range EV drivers confidence to plan a journey away from home.

So yes, as Peter has said, your altruism is heartwarming When you have the charging point in place, please stick them on Tim's public map, so we all know where to find them.

Yes, I'm aware of Tim's project and actually use the "EV Charger Finder" iPhone app that includes his database. I will ensure that the charge points we install are listed on the site as they go live...

I like what Tim has done.... I'm trying to take the next logical step and get more public sites deployed without the enormous financial and bureaucratic burden that commercial companies face. I'm attracting support from users groups including some Tesla owners who (lets face it) can probably afford to subsidise the high power charge points.... I'm also meeting with green energy companies to talk about the possibility of charge point sponsorship.

In my mind, if we had a 63A high power charge point every 150 miles, and a 16A standard charge point every 50 miles then we would be well on the way to a practical network...

Hi Kevin

Excellent news, I'm currently working on a large council based scheme so understand all the "politics and bureaucracy"

Have you thought of approaching supermarkets i.e Tescos etc they might jump at the chance of a freebie install if it encourages EV users to use their shops over competitors.



My only concern with these adapters are they arent generally IP rated for water proofing.

Majority of "current" EV's that are in use now charge from a regular 13A socket.

The only other issue I would look at is if anything ever went wrong or anyone was hurt by the charge point who would be responsible for this, the user using it, the owner of the point, or the installer, or yourself for running the scheme .................food for thought ???

ChrisB

Yep, councils are a lot of fun... I'm trying to get a local town council to install a single charge point and that's all ready taken almost a year with no sign yet of real progress....

It sounds like a good idea.... I'm trying to focus my efforts on providing the charging point hardware, installation, finance, and coordinating the various groups that show interest. I'm hoping that individuals will get involved who then go after specific prospects like the supermarkets.

All of the installations will be certified by the installer. We also intend to do an annual safety check. The scheme itself will be administered by a limited company to minimise the liability to the people running the scheme. Ultimately however, the user will need to accept that they are liable for using the charge point.... I've discussed this with a lawyer and believe this can be covered by a written disclaimer at the site.