Electric hilarity

[219]

I presume he means that people are fined for leaving their cars "parked" at the charge points all a day even after their cars have been charged up and thus depriving others of the chance to charge their eV? The electricity is free as you say

No idea - at present there are enough charge points at our workplace for the small number of ev’s in use , that of course may change as time goes on ...

I’d have thought there might be a ‘reasonable’ time allowance at motorway services , say 30-60 mins , to allow for rest/meal breaks without having to go out and move the car ...

 

[pmcgsmurf]

The electricity is free as you say

To charge an electric car is free?

 

[tbourner]

To charge an electric car is free?

Used Teslas usually include free supercharging on their network, but you have to check when you buy it as Tesla don't offer that any more.

Other charge points range from quite expensive rapid chargers at motorway services (up to 50p per kWh plus sometimes a connection fee of a few quid) to completely free slow chargers (usually PodPoint in supermarkets). Rapids add around 200 miles per hour whereas slow free chargers are more like 20.

Workplace chargers obviously have to be paid for by the company. My company make me pay what they pay, currently 11p per kWh, so it costs me about £7 a month for 300 miles ish - although my local Tesco now has free PodPoints so I top up when I shop and don't have to spend as much time on the work chargers.

At home you pay for your electricity. You can often set charge timers on BEVs to charge off peak at night time if your tariff allows.

 

[190]

To charge an electric car is free?

Free charging can't possible last, nor should it. It's just another subsidy to get electric vehicles established.

I'm not a Tesco customer but if I was I'd be miffed that they were providing free charging. There is no such thing as free, it just means someone else is paying i.e. all the other Tesco customers. I suppose in practice what it boils down to is Tesco customers are paying so that Tesco can look Green.

 

[tbourner]

ICE drivers should absolutely pay for those driving EVs - we're saving the world! If you don't like it buy an EV.

 

[SW18]

ICE drivers should absolutely pay for those driving EVs - we're saving the world! If you don't like it buy an EV.

I like your combo of cars and would do the same if we had the means to charge one - the EV cancels out the V8 nicely!

 

[Bellow]

Unless the electricity for EVs is generated from renewables there is nothing beneficial for the climate whatsoever in going EV over IC bar local air quality. The mining of the materials required may push it the other way.

If I want one litre of boiling water it is more efficient if I boil the water on a gas hob than in an electric kettle. The fact that electricity is four times the price tells of the generation inefficiencies. That would roughly imply an efficiency of 25% - about the same as an IC. So, until EVs run 100% from renewably sourced electricity they are doing the planet no less damage (possibly more).

 

[pmcgsmurf]

So am I to understand that it is possible to charge an electric vehicle at some places for free?

Don't have or have ever looked at an electric vehicle but find that a bit surprising as someone has to pay as has been pointed out.

 

[tbourner]

Like I said a lot of companies will pay for on site charging as an employee benefit and green initiative, and supermarkets do it to basically top up a small amount - essentially they're paying for your journey to the shop.

 

[grober]

As has been said for supermarkets its a marketing tool like advertising or TODAY'S SPECIAL OFFER!!!! Buy 4 and get another 2 free- rest assured in the bigger picture as soon as it begins to cost the supermarkets real money it would stop

 

[Bellow]

As has been said for supermarkets its a marketing tool like advertising or TODAY'S SPECIAL OFFER!!!! Buy 4 and get another 2 free- rest assured in the bigger picture as soon as it begins to cost the supermarkets real money it would stop

The longer the recharge time - the longer the customer is in store....

 

[tbourner]

If it's costing the store 7kW charge rate, it's less than £1 per hour - there aren't many people who will go there and sit in their car for an hour rather than sitting in the café inside with coffee and cake. I can't see it ever being removed.

 

[219]

To charge an electric car is free?

All public charge points in Scotland are free .

SG also give a 6 year interest free loan towards purchase cost , and pay for installation of your home charge point .

 

[219]

Used Teslas usually include free supercharging on their network, but you have to check when you buy it as Tesla don't offer that any more.

Other charge points range from quite expensive rapid chargers at motorway services (up to 50p per kWh plus sometimes a connection fee of a few quid) to completely free slow chargers (usually PodPoint in supermarkets). Rapids add around 200 miles per hour whereas slow free chargers are more like 20.

Workplace chargers obviously have to be paid for by the company. My company make me pay what they pay, currently 11p per kWh, so it costs me about £7 a month for 300 miles ish - although my local Tesco now has free PodPoints so I top up when I shop and don't have to spend as much time on the work chargers.

At home you pay for your electricity. You can often set charge timers on BEVs to charge off peak at night time if your tariff allows.

Free charging at my workplace .

 

[219]

So am I to understand that it is possible to charge an electric vehicle at some places for free?

Don't have or have ever looked at an electric vehicle but find that a bit surprising as someone has to pay as has been pointed out.

Every public charge point in Scotland is free , there is a map on the Greener Scotland website showing locations . This is to encourage uptake of ev’s .

Greener Scotland - Your one-stop website for greener living.

Public car parks , on street parking and railway stations all offer it .

 

[tbourner]

Unless the electricity for EVs is generated from renewables there is nothing beneficial for the climate whatsoever in going EV over IC bar local air quality. The mining of the materials required may push it the other way.

If I want one litre of boiling water it is more efficient if I boil the water on a gas hob than in an electric kettle. The fact that electricity is four times the price tells of the generation inefficiencies. That would roughly imply an efficiency of 25% - about the same as an IC. So, until EVs run 100% from renewably sourced electricity they are doing the planet no less damage (possibly more).

This is pure nonsense. There are several analyses on this that show the average BEV overtakes an equivalent ICE in under 10k miles, I think even in the worst case locations in the world it's something like 25k miles before the BEV becomes better for the environment, and almost all EVs even the smallest ones will be run for many more miles than that.

 

[Bellow]

This is pure nonsense. There are several analyses on this that show the average BEV overtakes an equivalent ICE in under 10k miles, I think even in the worst case locations in the world it's something like 25k miles before the BEV becomes better for the environment, and almost all EVs even the smallest ones will be run for many more miles than that.

How can that possibly be true when the fossil fuel generation and transmission losses are factored in?
If there is no cost to fossil fuel generation, why does electricity cost four times as much as the gas it is generated from?

 

[tbourner]

You don't fill your car up with natural gas. The environmental costs of drilling, transporting, refining, transporting and burning vehicle fuel is huge, much MUCH more than burning gas or even coal to generate electricity and transfer that down a wire to a car. The electric car itself is much MUCH more efficient than the fuel burning car at actually producing motion. The efficiency losses in the entire well-to-wheel system of ICE far outweigh the initial additional costs of producing an EV.

 

[Codger49]

91 percent of new car buyers paid on finance over last 12 months
That's a staggering statistic! But I guess it follows the USA model where almost everything including cars and houses are all just based on a monthly figure.
I'm fully aware I'm only here for a limited time, but owning stuff does give me the option of passing it on to some body I care about.

There's more than one flavour of 'finance'.

I have just ordered a new XC60 and was intending to pay cash. The salesman told me of Volvo's 0% finance offer where if you paid a 50% deposit, they gave you a £1,500 'contribution'. This is against the final negotiated price as well, not against list.

(PS Max deposit allowed seems to be 50% of list price.)

An extra £1,500 off and no interest charge seems worthwhile to face the stigma of 'finance' to me.

 

[Mactech]

There's more than one flavour of 'finance'.

I have just ordered a new XC60 and was intending to pay cash. The salesman told me of Volvo's 0% finance offer where if you paid a 50% deposit, they gave you a £1,500 'contribution'. This is against the final negotiated price as well, not against list.

(PS Max deposit allowed seems to be 50% of list price.)

An extra £1,500 off and no interest charge seems worthwhile to face the stigma of 'finance' to me.

I certainly agree, and if there is a cheaper way of getting the car I want, then I will be the first inline!
But, I haven't actually bought a brand new car for decade now. My S class back in 2007.
I've had many brand new cars since then, but company cars. To me they are just another new car to be run in, and have lost any appeal as 'my brand new car'
My preferred way to buy my own cars now is to buy 'nearly new' with a with few thousand miles on them, and that works out much cheaper over the time I own it, as someone else has taken that new car depreciation hit.
I have yet to come across a scheme which will allow me to do that cheaper than using my own money.
Somebody has to pay the interest on the 'borrowed' money. In your case, Volvo seems happy to do it to have you as a customer