Charging and Range

So, how do you charge an electric car? Charging an electric car is different from filling up a petrol/diesel vehicle with fuel; electric car drivers plug-in whenever they park and return to a vehicle with a fuller battery than when they left it.

It’s best to think “where do I park most regularly?” and look to use chargepoints installed in these locations. For most people that means home, then work, then your other destinations.

Occasionally you will need to drive further than the range left in your battery and need to charge en route at a high powered rapid charger.

The 4 most common methods to access public charge points: 

• “Plug and Play” - all you have to do is plug in.
• App enabled - a mobile app gives you access via smart phone.
• RFID card - similar to an Oyster, you swipe the card to start charging.
• Contactless payment card - you tap it just like you would in a shop.

It's important to be considerate when charging your EV. Below are a few areas of charging etiquette to look out for.

• The Golden Rule of EV Charging Etiquette (Only for plug-in vehicles & Charging only) 
• Rapid charging etiquette (only use if your vehicle can rapid charge & don't block the bay!)
• The 5 Charge point Commandments:
• Thou shalt not ICE.
• Thou shalt not park in a charging bay, unless to use the chargepoint.
• Thou shalt not unplug thy neighbour.
• Thou shalt leave the rapid charger as soon as you have finished charging for your onward journey.
• Thou shalt not covet the (appropriately used) charger of thy neighbour.
• Workplace charging etiquette (maybe leave a note with your number if there is demand from others?)

How?- Drivers tend to choose a dedicated home charging point installed by a qualified specialist as mentioned above. 

How much?- A fully installed home charging point costs from £799. but once installed you only pay for the electricity you use to charge. 

On Economy 7 tariffs the typical overnight electricity rate in the UK is 11p per kWh**. By charging overnight, electric car drivers can take advantage of cheap nighttime electricity rates and drive for as little as 2p per mile.

How fast?- Home charging points charge your car at 3.6kW or 7kW giving about 15-30 miles of range per hour of charge (compared to 2.3kW from a 3 pin plug which provides up to 8 miles of range per hour).

You’ll need a charging cable to plug into most public charge points, and at home if you choose a point without a tethered cable.

• Your plug-in vehicle will have either a type 1 or type 2 AC socket, so you'll need to make sure your charging cable has the equivalent connector.
• Your charging cable will enable you to charge from untethered home chargers, workplace chargers and public charging points, the majority of which require you to bring your own cable*.
• Rapid chargers (and a few public AC chargers) have “tethered” cables meaning you do not need to use an additional cable.
• EV cables vary in length, current rating (usually 16A or 32A) and can carry single or three-phase electricity.

* Please be aware that smart charging cables and adapters aren't permitted on the Pod Point Network.

It is entierly possible to drive an EV without being able to install a home charger. 

You can charge at locations such as 

• Work 
• Public destinations (top-up and Long stay chargers)
• Rapid Chargers 
• Future locations- There is currently a significant development of the charging network and technologies in place that will help. 

** Average Economy 7 night time price according to nimblefins.

Fast acceleration is fun, but minimising it keeps your energy consumption lower, so adjust your driving style.

Selecting your route is not always possible! But taking a route that is similarly direct, but will require travelling at lower speed will mean you can go further. Also if you can avoid climbing hills you will improve your range - though clearly you can’t alter the altitude of your destination.

In a petrol or diesel car about 50mph is the optimal speed for efficiency (running the engine is so inefficient that you need to be up to that speed until you overcome static losses). In an electric car efficiency vs speed works differently. To an extent, the faster you go, the more energy you consume - the most efficient speed for electric cars is likely <10mph for most BEVs (depending on static consumption like air conditioning, heating and electrical systems) - though clearly we wouldn’t recommend driving that slow

Driving an EV can feel like a challenge to see how long you can go without touching the brakes. And that’s how it should be, if you only decelerate using regenerative braking then you are minimising your energy consumption. Make sure you always have regenerative braking on and that you leave enough space for it to slow you down before you need the brake (clearly this is safer too!).

Turning off, or turning down your climate control or heated seats will reduce your static energy consumption.