Electric cars: Best and worst places to charge your car

[MrBadger]

Article and a nice graphic Electric cars: Best and worst places to charge up

 

[Rob R]

The Scillies have no public electric chargers, contrast Orkney which has loads. Scillies could actually be a good candidate for full electrification of their transport.
Suspect the fact that Orkney is its own local government area, while Scillies are (an ignored) part of Cornwall, might be a factor.

And "Ulster says No" to EV/everything/the modern world. Surprising, not. (Imagine that in Ian Paisley's booming tones).

 

[Adopado]

The Scillies have no public electric chargers, contrast Orkney which has loads. Scillies could actually be a good candidate for full electrification of their transport.
Suspect the fact that Orkney is its own local government area, while Scillies are (an ignored) part of Cornwall, might be a factor.

And "Ulster says No" to EV/everything/the modern world. Surprising, not. (Imagine that in Ian Paisley's booming tones).

I don't think you realise that the longest car journey in the Scillies is about 2 miles! Nobody takes a car to the Scillies. Home charging and a 3 pin plug is all any local requires. I completely agree that small Islands generally are a no-brainer for electric vehicles.

 

[WannabeOwner]

I completely agree that small Islands generally are a no-brainer for electric vehicles.

My view is that journeys are very short, and thus relatively tiny average daily mileage. EV is an expensive car compared to ICE ... but for sure, no need to have much in the way of charging, home charging, even 13 AMP would be fine.

Don't remember seeing any EVs in Guernsey a couple of months back

 

[Adopado]

My view is that journeys are very short, and thus relatively tiny average daily mileage. EV is an expensive car compared to ICE ... but for sure, no need to have much in the way of charging, home charging, even 13 AMP would be fine.

Don't remember seeing any EVs in Guernsey a couple of months back

Yes, then cost becomes a bigger issue. On the really small islands people can run a beat up old banger for pennies. There's not enough vehicles to make the pollution an issue either and I suppose any new vehicle becomes an unnecessary expensive luxury. Mind you in the case of the Channel Islands we can rule out a general lack of cash as being any reason for a lack of EVs!

 

[Jason71]

North Wales is terrible for rapid charging. Once you pass the Telford Supercharger and a couple of 50kws in Shrewsbury you are in the land that electrons forgot. Its not the best terrain for range either.
To be fair there are a handful of ecotricitys but it's a brave owner who banks on one of them without an alternative in range and there are no alternatives.

 

[LukeT]

Per mile travelled a scillies car has to be terrible, with short journeys, cold engines and the small mileage per unit of overhead in transporting fuel and distributing it. But the number of miles is miniscule.

So small, cheap, maybe older, EVs could be a nice addition but I'd have thought the bigger benefit requires complete electrification to get rid of fuel transport and distribution. Plus electrification, from renewable sources, of space heating.

And then there's fuel in boats?

 

[Adopado]

Per mile travelled a scillies car has to be terrible, with short journeys, cold engines and the small mileage per unit of overhead in transporting fuel and distributing it. But the number of miles is miniscule.

So small, cheap, maybe older, EVs could be a nice addition but I'd have thought the bigger benefit requires complete electrification to get rid of fuel transport and distribution. Plus electrification, from renewable sources, of space heating.

And then there's fuel in boats?

Yes, any second hand EV would do the job. In addition to the electric ferries that we read about there are also significant developments for small boats with excellent (though expensive) electric outboard motors.

 

[WannabeOwner]

Mind you in the case of the Channel Islands we can rule out a general lack of cash as being any reason for a lack of EVs!

Roads are narrow though ... so owning a Big Blighter means having to find somewhere to get off the road every time you meet oncoming traffic. There are a few prats with such things, but most own "narrow" cars (and, yeah, plenty of "beat up old bangers")

I don't suppose the Salt is much incentive to have a shiny new car either (although MS with Ali might be OK in that regard, but its far too wide [for Guernsey roads, at least])

small boats with excellent (though expensive) electric outboard motors

When I made the move to Model-S 4-ish years ago a big factor for me was the saving because of my high mileage. I don't know if boats can use cheap Red Diesel or similar? but if not perhaps a boat that is used a lot, e.g. for work, might well have a similar payback/saving on fuel?

Once you pass the Telford Supercharger ..

Telford will give enough charge to get to (and back) Anglesey or Aberystwyth which is about as far as one could get.

I can well believe that Tesla has no plans to provide for people who are, e.g., driving along the coast; destination or sub-50kW chargers are the most appropriate answer for that. Tesla Destination Chargers (let alone any other 3rd party chargers) are plentiful around Anglesey, Aberystwyth and down around Swansea / Milford Haven.

I think much better that Tesla put their efforts into adding sites on primary trunk routes, or increasing the stalls at existing ones, rather than building on the fringes.

I went to Anglsea some months back, had enough range for return to Telford but actually easily found a destination charger, so used that and had a lovely return drive on a virtually empty A5 as I then had no range worries at all

 

[m3p_uk]

No superchargers south of London

 

[Jason71]

I think much better that Tesla put their efforts into adding sites on primary trunk routes, or increasing the stalls at existing ones, rather than building on the fringes.

I went to Anglsea some months back, had enough range for return to Telford but actually easily found a destination charger, so used that and had a lovely return drive on a virtually empty A5 as I then had no range worries at all

Speaking as someone who lives near the "fringes" or Wales as we call it. Thanks.
Based on ABRP you are correct....... In an LR in Perfect weather.
Throw in some passengers and a bit of Drizzle ( we are talking wales after all) and you would be cutting it fine on a day trip to Snowdon.
Swap that for an SR+ on a cold day and forget it.

Where I live day tripping into Wales is common and at the moment it doesn't feel comfortable. Not saying Tesla have a responsibility to blanket the place with superchargers but more than the one on the south coast would be nice.

 

[WannabeOwner]

Where I live day tripping into Wales is common and at the moment it doesn't feel comfortable.

Yes, there are those edge conditions. If I head East into East Anglia I have the same problem. I have another corner-case example which, for me, is York. If I stop at Grantham going up the A1, and then turn off A1 to York, doa bit of running around when i get there, and then come home again, the Grantham-York-Grantham trip is really tight - particularly in Rain / Winter exactly as you say. I can detour to Woodhall on the way back, but it adds quite a bit to the journey. I think the correct solution for my journey, too, is some Destination Charging at York. My best, there, is CHAdeMO at 50 kW, but a Model-3 could probably get 50 kW from CCS in numerous places, and probably something faster in the near future.

But for Day Tripping (assuming I can charge where I live / am staying) I have to be doing 200+ miles before I am at range limit; if I do do more than that I just need enough top-up to get back to base. Can't cover all trips though - and I think the fringes either Wales or, for me, East Anglia, are just not valid locations for Superchargers.

Perhaps the change from Proprietary / CHAdeMO on Model-S /X to CCS on Model-3 (and, more recently, CCS adaptors for Model-S/X) means that we should expect these "day trip" and Fringe locations to be best served by 3rd party CCS than Superchargers?

 

[ThrustSSC]

My view is that journeys are very short, and thus relatively tiny average daily mileage. EV is an expensive car compared to ICE ... but for sure, no need to have much in the way of charging, home charging, even 13 AMP would be fine.

Don't remember seeing any EVs in Guernsey a couple of months back

That might be down to Guernsey having one public chargepoint - and that at a hotel you need to be patronising! I took my PHEV there; I would be wary of taking my Tesla

 

[mikemillar]

It's really rather sad. Nobody except Tesla have taken the bull by the horns and sorted it out. Here's Le Mans last week at lunchtime - 8 stalls, all full with Tesla's! Fortunately I arrived while there was still some free space No hassle, all working, just plug in and charge.

 

[mikemillar]

No superchargers south of London

Portsmouth?

 

[m3p_uk]

Portsmouth?

Cheers but I meant still within the m25 or reasonably close by :/

 

[WannabeOwner]

reasonably close by

That seems to me to be the opposite of what I want from a supercharger

 

[m3p_uk]

That seems to me to be the opposite of what I want from a supercharger

Have you ever tried doing a roadtrip to South London? You'll need to make sure you stay over 24 hours when you get there so you have enough charge to go anywhere else after!

 

[mikemillar]

From what I hear, Gatwick might eventually become a reality later next year. However, there is certainly a hole on the southern section of the M25.

 

[LukeT]

That seems to me to be the opposite of what I want from a supercharger

Me too but with a concentration of folk who can afford a Tesla but have to park on the street, superchargers London-way maybe have that extra job to do.