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What? Why? There are very few garages near me, certainly nowhere near enough to accomodate future EV demand, they're far more valuable for other uses or re-development into housing, and in any case are nowhere near being considered cheap.
The Hampshire article is fantastic. Hopefully Bristol City Council will follow suit since they have all but in official guidance.
bitmanEV
Member
Nice setup and well done OP
We are about in the same boat;
2 EV's
No allocated parking
1st floor flat
First come first served parking about 50 meters away from building
Building management company not interested in EV's
Now in contact with the local council (Solihull) to see if they can do something... In the mean time using public chargers mostly rapids what's not that good for battery life
We are about in the same boat;
2 EV's
No allocated parking
1st floor flat
First come first served parking about 50 meters away from building
Building management company not interested in EV's
Now in contact with the local council (Solihull) to see if they can do something... In the mean time using public chargers mostly rapids what's not that good for battery life
Thought I would reawaken this thread following some recent success.
We have a listed property with on street parking. No pavement so the car is parked right outside the house fortunately.
We were planning an extension so needed listed building consent. We discussed popping on a charger with the council (Wiltshire) at the start of the process who said it would need planning consent. Fair enough, it’s a big box on the side of the building and we don’t have dedicated parking.
We ended up actually applying for two. One either side of the house, so that the council could choose the one which had minimal impact.
The wider application went through easily enough and the only comments on the charger was that it would help with the sustainability. Nothing from highways or about it being on street charging. They actually approved both chargers but I will only be installing one. The council planners were generally very positive about it.
We have a listed property with on street parking. No pavement so the car is parked right outside the house fortunately.
We were planning an extension so needed listed building consent. We discussed popping on a charger with the council (Wiltshire) at the start of the process who said it would need planning consent. Fair enough, it’s a big box on the side of the building and we don’t have dedicated parking.
We ended up actually applying for two. One either side of the house, so that the council could choose the one which had minimal impact.
The wider application went through easily enough and the only comments on the charger was that it would help with the sustainability. Nothing from highways or about it being on street charging. They actually approved both chargers but I will only be installing one. The council planners were generally very positive about it.
rincewind
Member
Good solution but even that is a high heel trap and trip. It needs a removable cover really.
Glan gluaisne
Active Member
I really like the solution that is, apparently, approved in the Netherlands. There, they will grant consent for a householder to dig across a pavement and set a flush box into it, right at the edge, that contains the cable outlet. The householder has to make good the pavement after the cable duct has been laid, but that's not different to we had to do when we dug across the lanes here to put in pipes and cable when we built the house - it's a very standard process, just involving a form and the inevitable licence fee.
Here's an example of one of the Dutch flush box units, being self-installed by the householder:
It would be great if local authorities here would allow such installations, as they look to me to be a lot safer than running a cable across a pavement, even if that cable has one of the building site type cable protectors fitted.
This company also seem to have a neat and safe solution for running charge cables across pavements:
Electric Vehicle Charge Channel (EVCC) - EV Charging Solution
Here's an example of one of the Dutch flush box units, being self-installed by the householder:
It would be great if local authorities here would allow such installations, as they look to me to be a lot safer than running a cable across a pavement, even if that cable has one of the building site type cable protectors fitted.
This company also seem to have a neat and safe solution for running charge cables across pavements:
Electric Vehicle Charge Channel (EVCC) - EV Charging Solution
Gateshead council's response was far less welcoming than some. Their response when shown the image of the cable duct installed in the pavement was "Unfortunately it is not allowed to lay a cable across a public highway as shown on the attached picture." When I pointed out that it was installed in a duct they then replied "As stated it is not possible for a private individual to install apparatus across a public highway (which includes the footway). "
This is after denying me a dropped kerb "Due to existing highway features, such as speed humps and turning heads dropped kerb and driveway would not be suitable for the area". They wouldn't expand on why the junction turning head (which is frequently used as a parking space) made it unsuitable.
This is after denying me a dropped kerb "Due to existing highway features, such as speed humps and turning heads dropped kerb and driveway would not be suitable for the area". They wouldn't expand on why the junction turning head (which is frequently used as a parking space) made it unsuitable.
Lucanesque
Member
Jason71
Well-Known Member
I think it is highly highly unlikely that will ever be allowed here.
Aside from the fact that you don't own that space and someone else could park there anyway.
The public liability aspect both of the risk to the public while doing the work. The risk to the public if it was not made good properly and the risk of electrocution mean it would be a non starter. There is also the fact that that box will fill up with water in about a week.
Frustrating as it must be to have your car parked 1 meter from your house and not be able to charge it I don't think DIY solutions like this will be the answer in the UK.
The solution in the other link could work in some cases but there is still the issue of actually being able to secure the space outside of your own house. It would have to be coupled with some kind of system where you could "reserve" the space outside of your own house overnight. I am actually surprised that councils have not found a way to rent out specific spaces in front of a house to the homeowner already. Sounds like a serious money earner. Must be a pretty strong law against it or it would already be the norm. Imagine how much they could charge in parts of London!!!
alternately another green incentive. Allow you to reserve the space outside your house to park but only if you buy an EV!
Glan gluaisne
Active Member
There are areas where roadside parking spaces outside homes can be reserved such that they can only be used by the resident. Expensive though! A friend of mine lives in Regent's Park and pays the council more to park his car outside his house than he pays for the car. I believe that Hampshire have been trialling a scheme to allow home owners to run cables across pavements to cars at the roadside. In principle, a flush cable conduit set across the pavement with a flush box at the kerb doesn't present any significant risk to anyone with a disability, etc. It's really overcoming the inherent tendency for councils to just say no to stuff like this, because they don't want the extra hassle of having to deal with it.
This looks amazing. Unfortunately the laws and incentives for people who do not have driveways are non-existent at the moment. For me in London, it is difficult to win with the council.
Even new blocks of flats are not required to put electrical chargers in. I would have expected for the UK to think forward that everyone will need it in 15 years time, so lets plan for it.
Unfortunately with everything in the UK, we plan for the year 2000 and not 2050 e.g. Heathrow 3rd runway has been discussed for the last 50 years and will be at full capacity. Same can be said by EV charging
This is great, thanks for sharing!One of the biggest advantages of EVs that can get overlooked is in reducing air pollution. Of course where this is an issue, and where councils have targets to reduce it, is in dense urban environments. Bristol City Council's own planned diesel band and Clean Air Zone encompasses just the city centre and immediate residential areas.
I live in the latter, and let me tell you there are very few people in such areas who have the luxury of a driveway or dedicated off-street parking.
Which is why it's annoying that the OLEV grant doesn't cover people without a driveway, and some councils appear to be discourage charging EVs at homes without driveways. Fortunately BCC don't appear to fall into that camp and having written to the mayor I've been told they're not planning to clamp down or fine people that do.
Then you have the simple fact that charging at home is far cheaper than using public charge points (unless they're free) and far more able to cater for additional uptake in EVs.
Anyway, where there's a will there's a way, and of course common sense prevails, but I thought it'd be useful to share my setup. No referral links!
QUBEV 7kW Charger: QUBEV - EV Charging Unit | Type 2 Socket | 32 Amp/7.2 kW | IP65 |
Not quite the smallest on the market (EO Mini) but not far off and similarly discreet. The branded label can easily be peeled off so it's just a black box (also been tempted to spray or decorate it to match the house's brickwork but cba yet).
Without the OLEV grant it makes no sense to go for any other models really, and I got it installed for £300. Make sure you ask for the RCD inside to be installed within reach! I flip mine off when not in use, partially for security but mainly because the QUBEV's light flashes blue when it's ready to charge which is just annoying when it's stuck on the front of your house.
10m Type2 to Type2 Cable: EV Public Charging Cable | Type 2 to Type 2 | 16/32 Amp | 3.6/7.2 kW | 5/10 Metre |
Seems fine so far (it works!). Plenty long enough to both reach my car when outside and safely tuck it under the wheel arch to prevent people walking into loose cables.
External Cable Protector (1m): External Cable Protector from The Workplace Depot
Really good, it's entirely made of rubber so it doesn't shift an inch when on the floor even if kicked. Can be connected (and cut down) to get lengths over 1m which I may consider at some point if needed but so far it seems enough. Flap opens from the top so it's not a faff to run the cable through unlike, I imagine, some of the ones where the channel is underneath.
Nest Cam Outdoor: Nest Cam Outdoor - Outdoor CCTV Camera - Google Store
Obviously optional. Bit of extra security so you can be happy to turn SentryCam off, but main use is that I've set up an alert zone over the top of the parked cars so I get notified of movement... basically so I know if/when the space outside becomes available and I can move into it if needed.
Solar Security Light: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Outdoor-Karrong-Bright-Security-Motion/dp/B07RL68NY5
I actually got mine from the legendary Aldi middle-aisle for £4.99 but the above is identical. It's stuck above my door and rather than security it's for pedestrian safety as it lights up the footpath and the cable cover at night. I only turn it on when charging and it works surprising well; as soon as someone gets within 3-5m of the cable cover it turns on and having watched people from the Nest Cam it really does do its job. You can see it's effect in the first image. Highly recommended!
Octopus Go
Goes without saying. I plug the car in when I go to bed at ~10.30-11.30pm and take it back as soon as I'm up at ~7am so most neighbours probably don't even know I plug it in overnight at all. I'd prefer to get it in before the school runs as I know little kids can run about without looking properly and of course the cover is bigger for them in comparison to an adult.
Hope that helps anyone that was in a similar situation to me. I've had absolutely no problems, complaints or issues, and if anything my neighbours have been great and were almost as excited as I was when my SR+ finally arrived.
Just wondering how're you getting on with this setup? Have you had any issues? I'm considering ordering a model Y and similarly live in Bristol with on-street parking only. I'm thinking of running something very similar to what you came up with (cable ramp, night light + camera)
It seems like BCC are pretty shortsighted on all of this and have a blanket no tolerance policy (as opposed to some councils installing charging gulleys) Charge an electric vehicle at home - bristol.gov.uk . But I do wonder if it's the sort of thing that won't be enforced given how strapped for resources the council is as it stands.
I also looked into the liability side and it seems like a few insurers have caught on to this problem and offer specific cover for running a charging cable across the pavement if you choose an EV-specific policy, which is a good safety blanket.
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