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isn't that map a bit of a misnomer? even without high voltage infra it should be plenty easy enough to put a 50kw charger in - its not a huge amount of power compared to a street..
I suspect that without high voltages you might not get enough current to deliver the power you need.
@molgrips Powys County council have installed charging points (type 2?) in some municipal car parks - check https://en.powys.gov.uk/evcharging. I know they are available in Newtown, Machynlleth and Welshpool. Probably also Brecon, Builth Wells and maybe Llanfair Caerenion. Tesco in Newtown also has several different options. You don't need HV power for chargers - they are probably a 3 phase 480v supply.
Yeah most of those are 22kW or 7kW ones no? As a rough guide the ones that have a cable attached are usually rapid which is 50kW or more, the ones without are the slower speed ones.
see that mid Wales is bereft of high voltage infrastructure.
Or any major infrastructure for that matter. When my late partner wanted to go to see her best friend for a short holiday, I looked into public transport, because she really didn’t like being driven, she had issues with being a passenger and would have panic attacks, but the best I found meant it would take longer for her to travel from north Wiltshire to Llanddewi Brefi where her friend lives than it would take to fly to New York to visit her sister!
yup, was 14 hours to do a 2 hour car journey when I looked at it once. madness.
Madness from one point of view, but from another - billions on rail infrastructure to serve a few tens of thousands of people? Personally, I'd support that to the hilt but you can see how a lot of people wouldn't!
When we get personal drone taxis it'll be really useful in Wales.
Anyone have or considered a Citroen e-C4?
I've found a decent deal on one and am really interested in the claimed high level of comfort (getting old it would seem).
The 100kW motor and 50kWh battery seems to be a decent compromise of cost, performance and range.
uponthedowns
Although not built from the ground up as an EV and a 4 year old design even purpose built EVs released in the last year have a problem beating it for efficiency and usability- even HMGs new Ioniq 5 and EV6 vehicles. Kia are refreshing the design for 2022 so if they make it even better it will be a car to beat.
I don't really do SUVs but have to say the EV6 looks the bollocks. Looks like they've had a good look at the iPace and basically made everything better, then sold it 10K cheaper.
looked at the C4 as there were in stock but the niro beat it on range for about the same cost (at the time anyway, cant see any Kias in stock now)
6 month wait for an e niro. Can have a C4 in less than 2.
E niros are everywhere in my town. Not a fan of the styling either. Quotes were significantly higher for the e niro too.
Just wondering how people are getting on with the EC4.
Sorry, I didn't realise you were looking for fast chargers. The plan for a HV line to connect some new windfarms got sabotaged by the local Conservative Association a few years ago.
So there is nothing.
We even have turbines spinning, with no grid connection! (Llangurig)
Just looked it up, you can install fast chargers on a 3 phase 380v supply. Come to think of it, I’m sure the ones in tesco Newtown have a cable attached - will see next wk.
There’s a 50kw charger in Tesco Newtown, maybe Welshpool aswell
https://pod-point.com/rollout/tesco-ev-charging
i’ve not read through all 1500 posts, so this question may have been answered already.
is there any talk of when the government is going to add fuel excise duty to the electricity used to power electric cars? additionally, does anyone know if the VAT on electricity used for gars will be increased from 5% to 20%?
How would they know what you use power for in your own home? I think it more likely that we'll see some form of increased road tax or some form of mileage based tax, but these are not usually applied retroactively, just to new sales.
At the moment electric car sales are still a small proportion and they're trying to encourage uptake.
Well, after a suspiciously low amount of discussion and thinking, we have bought an eNiro.
It will replace our Passat combo, so we are losing boot space and towing ability, but it will give us cheaper cost per mile and a better commute experience.
All told, the eNiro is a solid little car. Normal sized tyres, decent cabin space, decent visibility and very well put together. Yes, it’s expensive compared to a normal car, but for a commuting vehicle, the servicing and fuel costs just make it a better choice.
Oddly, Sweden only have the high power motor/large batter version available, so we have a 350km winter range capability, which is nice. Ours should turn up in week 50.
How would they know what you use power for in your own home?
Meter
Started looking at EV to replace the current 2nd car (a BMW x1) short list so far is a BMW i3 and VW ID3
The car will really be used for short commutes <10 miles, but need to be able to carry a large dog and be capable of the an occasional journey of approx 120 miles each way.
Has anyone driven both of these EV's and can give pro's and con's of each?
We are looking at 24 month leases. The i3 coming in at £250 for 10k miles and the VW £295
Ta
We even have turbines spinning, with no grid connection! (Llangurig)
Tangent alert! This comment made got me interested. If a turbine has no grid connection, there is no way it will be spinning. The lack of a load means it would quickly overspeed and disintegrate. The turbine in question will have its brake fully applied. As it has apparently been in this state for years, it is probably running the risk of brake failure and a spectacular, fiery demise.
It turns out the wind farm at Bryn Blaen was built despite Powys County Council refusing to give planning permission, on a site that has no grid capacity to carry the newly generated power.
The plan for a HV line to connect some new windfarms got sabotaged by the local Conservative Association a few years ago.
So there is nothing.
Interesting. Couldn't find any reference to that particular story, but according to someone on the internet called "jackothenorth", the Bryn Blaen fiasco is the result of evil (English) Tories using underhanded tactics to extract grant money from the very land of the hard-working Welsh, and building a useless wind farm in the process.
Oddly, Sweden only have the high power motor/large batter version available
Probably the cold winters, so range drop
@FunkyDunc - I've driven the iD3 but not the i3. The iD3 feels like a quieter Golf - bigger inside apart from the boot which is Golf sized. A friend has had an i3 for a while - he really likes it for popping about the place but they have a Kia Sorento when they go long distances / take the giant hound.
Of the electric cars I've driven I'd rank them: Model 3, Enyaq, iD3, Ioniq5. I'd have any of them apart from the Ioniq5 - for some reason I hated it.
Oddly, Sweden only have the high power motor/large battery version available
That doesn't seem odd to me, built up areas (and hence electricity supply and charging stations) are a lot more spread out in Sweden then UK.
be capable of the an occasional journey of approx 120 miles each way.
I'd be it's only occasional, you could stop for a short charge if there's a charging station in the way. Remember you don't always need to do a full charge.
I think it is a combination of both the cold and the spread-out-ness.
We also get about 70,000kr of green reduction on the cost of a new vehicle, which is nice and is applied across the board. It's nothing like across the border where Norwegians get something like a 50% reduction and have a lot of infrastructure to use, but it's still better than a slap in the face.
All told, with insurance, second set of wheels/tyres and some other stuff, we're going to be paying about 4500kr a month over three years. This is compared to a monthly commute cost of about the same just in fuel for the Passat.
For reference: 190 km round trip to work for the six months of the year that we cannot use bikes. We will still get tolled in the eNiro up to 90kr a day (boooooooo), but will be avoiding the use of approximately 13-14 litres of petrol or ethanol (petrol economy is about 6l/100km, ethanol is about 7,5-8l/100km).
Sorry another question. The last time I got a walk charger installed it cost me £100 (6 yrs ago with gov grant)
How much do they cost now and are grants available?
About five hundred pounds with the grant. Bit less if you're with Octopus Energy, and for two hundred pounds they'll sell you an Ohme Smart Cable which can connect to a 32A commando socket.
Depending on the car you might be able to charge it directly off a 32A commando socket with a cheap adapter, but you're going down an 18th amendment rabbit hole with regard to PEN fault detection and earthing.
How much do they cost now and are grants available?
Just paid £800 including grant for a zappi + hub with armoured cable in the SE.
I think there's bigger grants available in Scotland?
thanks for the answer @daffy. seems the easiest option.
the notion of the revenue shortfall hit me while in the car at the weekend watching all the teslas zooming past me.
Revenue shortfall - assuming you're talking about the Exchequer - the smart thing to do would have been to give tax breaks to promote EVs but at the same time ensure they were being developed and built in the UK along with their batteries, so they could get their money back from corporation tax and higher employee wages.
@twrch The turbines are protected against s[pinning too quickly - connecting it to the grid won't add any resistance! There are motors in them, gearboxes, even transformers at the base, just no power lines to the grid.
The CA sabotaging the planning process was not a 'story'. It happened, I know 'cos I was in the planning meeting and watched it happen!
Planning for Bryn Blaen (submitted in 2014) has been consented:
http://pa.powys.gov.uk/online-applications/advancedSearchResults.do?action=firstPage
in 2016, pretty sure it was built after that.
You can't spin a wind turbine too quickly, the blades stall once they reach a critical speed.
Yep. I am out of date though. It didn't have a connection for a few years, but seems as though it is now fixed up:
https://www.powersystemsuk.co.uk/project/15252-bryn-blaen-wind-farm/
I think the original plan was for it to go into the new HV power line plan that never happened.
But are they putting the same driving effort in ?, no gear changes so pretty much just coasting along 😉
connecting it to the grid won’t add any resistance!
Of course it does. It provides the electrical load, without which the turbine would spin relatively freely (like running a Kickr turbo trainer without plugging it in). Wind turbines not in use get the brakes applied and are stationary.
The CA sabotaging the planning process was not a ‘story’. It happened, I know ‘cos I was in the planning meeting and watched it happen!
You initially said the CA sabotaged the HV line (and which was the basis for my whole interest, because you claimed that turbines were built but are spinning uselessly because the Conservatives blocked the necessary power lines). I suppose they sabotage everything related to renewable power.
Some potential future issues for the Mach-E
https://insideevs.com/news/543122/mustang-mache-battery-slow-overheating/
It will provide electrical resistance, not the mechanical resistance to stop the blades spinning. That would be done by a brake/gearbox or locking the motor somehow.
Anyway, they've been connected now. The HV line was intended for several windfarms to connect into at once. It probably wouldn't have been built in time to connect Bryn Blaen in 2016/17 but presumably that farm would've connected to it, had it been built. I'm not accusing the local conservative assoc of sabotaging anything other than that project but it certainly happened as I watched several individuals raise objection after objection to it and I know for a fact it was the CA as one of it's members told me so!
Tesla Model 3 the best selling car in Europe in September. 🙂 I hope that sends a message to Europena manufacturers, it's the first time a best seller is non European built.
t will provide electrical resistance, not the mechanical resistance to stop the blades spinning.
Electrical resistance will slow the blades, too 🙂
Tesla Model 3 the best selling car in Europe in September. 🙂 I hope that sends a message to Europena manufacturers, it’s the first time a best seller is non European built.
I honestly think they're either, too arrogant, too incompetent or too in denial to realise that Tesla and the Chinese are coming to eat their lunch. Only Herbert Diess at VW has any idea what's coming. He recently called a crisis management conference at VW and stated that it takes VW three times longer to make an ID3 than it takes Tesla to make a Model Y- and that's a Model Y made in China but Tesla's Model Y production at Giga Berlin will be even faster than China. Next year Tesla will be bigger than Renault, Kia and Hyundai. Hertz just signed a contract for 100,000 EVs from Tesla and according to Elon Musk they didn't get any discount.
I honestly think they’re either, too arrogant, too incompetent or too in denial to realise that Tesla and the Chinese are coming to eat their lunch.
I don't think they are arrogant or incompetent, they are clearly working hard on it. They are working slower because they have a more traditional approach. Tesla have some good range but I'm not sure what else they have. And I suspect the extra range comes from pushing the batteries harder. But I'm absolutely sure they know Tesla are worth worrying about.
And I suspect the extra range comes from pushing the batteries harder
How do you push a battery harder? 🤔
8 year / unlimited mileage warranty on Tesla batteries anyway.
How do you push a battery harder?
Allowing users to charge to 100% so that you can claim it's got more range, but then telling them not to do it to prolong the life. Other manufacturers don't let you charge up all the way. They don't really need to do this as they do actually have more range anyway, so I take that back about it being the only reason.
Tesla have some good range but I’m not sure what else they have
1. Speed
2. Acceleration
3. Supercharger network
4. Best infotainment
5. Nav system that integrates battery charge status, driver efficiency and the supercharger network (very important for EV noobs and fleet customers like Hertz)
6. Different design language (you may not like it but plenty do)
7. Efficient use of space. Just look at the boot (and froot) capacity of the Model Y vs its SUV competition.
8. Over the air updates (I think only Polestar and maybe VW have this now also)
9. Excellent efficiency
10. "Dog" and "camp" modes
11. Not forming anti-competitive cartel for the purchase of steel like VW, Daimler and BMW
12. Not forming a cartel, unlike Daimler, BMW, Porsche and Audi, to avoid deploying environmental improvement tech to its full extent as demanded by EU law
Tesla have some good range but I’m not sure what else they have.
as above, 2 year + driver - full screen Netflix, lots of games, BBC TV live and BBC iplayer full screen, full screen web browser etc. nationwide Super charger network, lots of car menu stuff that isn't available from the OEMs yet or still fragmented. Most Tesla UI stuff is still a few years ahead of the pack, but the old car manufacturers will (have to) catch up I presume.