Electric, Hybrid and Alternative fuelled vehicles - News and Discussion

[APOLLO]

Just now, 30801 said:

 

They're fed from street lights. Where the light is better positioned there is no post. The charger simply replaces the light's access panel. Power ranges from 2.3 to 5.5kW.

 

 

Then the street light has to be fed from a cable capable of passing 2.3 to 5.5 KW as well as it's existing lighting load - far more than the majority of the nations existing street lighting cables are capable of supplying.  Of course the street lighting cable can be upsized accordingly - but this depends on local locations of electric cables suitable for the increase in load. Of that I do not know - every location is different.

 

Any street lighting engineers on here care to comment ?

 

This doesn't stop the local canines and their habits !!

 

Brit15

[boxbrownie]

41 minutes ago, APOLLO said:

 

 

 

Any street lighting engineers on here care to comment ?

 

Brit15

No, they are busy upgrading cabling and installing charging units.....

[APOLLO]

1 hour ago, boxbrownie said:

No, they are busy upgrading cabling and installing charging units.....

 

Indeed they will need to be 24/7/365 - upgrade street cabling and plant (substations etc) right up to HV Grid level on a massive scale if the gubberment are serious about banning petrol/diesel new cars within 15 years - a mammoth task - add onto that the new generation capacity required etc (a well discussed point - but it won't go away).

 

I'm certainly not against EV's - but it's the required infrastructure that is of concern. I doubt it will all happen by 2030 / 35..

 

Interesting articles

 

https://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/fleet-industry-news/2020/02/05/fleet-industry-reacts-to-2035-petrol-and-diesel-ban

 

(Paywall)  https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/news/breathtaking-nonsense-telegraph-readers-plans-speed-diesel/

 

Anyway, we will see.

 

Brit15

 

 

 

 

[black and decker boy]

I don’t think the mains cables that feed streetlights will have any problems with a 5 or 7KW EV charger.

 

we install streetlights as part of our road schemes and can chain link them to multiple road signs / bollards etc. Old style sodium lamps were high wattage compared to current LED adding capacity back in

 

the lighting companies & EV point suppliers have to check & design the cable networks do will only install where safe.

 

my home charger (7KW) simply takes one of my 32A circuits. Clearly if I turn the whole house on, oven, washer, showers etc then I could trip but not managed it yet and only Home charge off peak 

[boxbrownie]

39 minutes ago, black and decker boy said:

I don’t think the mains cables that feed streetlights will have any problems with a 5 or 7KW EV charger.

 

we install streetlights as part of our road schemes and can chain link them to multiple road signs / bollards etc. Old style sodium lamps were high wattage compared to current LED adding capacity back in

 

the lighting companies & EV point suppliers have to check & design the cable networks do will only install where safe.

 

my home charger (7KW) simply takes one of my 32A circuits. Clearly if I turn the whole house on, oven, washer, showers etc then I could trip but not managed it yet and only Home charge off peak 

Excellent post.

[APOLLO]

3 minutes ago, boxbrownie said:

Excellent post.

 

That's what the dog said woofed !!!

 

Brit15

[PatB]

Whilst unsavoury, I doubt if handling a cable that a dog's peed on carries a much greater hygiene risk, in reality, than handling a petrol pump nozzle that has seen the clammy grip of thousands of punters of widely varying habits, professions and states of health. 

[Guest]

TBH in 55,000 miles that has never happened.

[Karhedron]

16 hours ago, APOLLO said:

Indeed they will need to be 24/7/365 - upgrade street cabling and plant (substations etc) right up to HV Grid level on a massive scale if the gubberment are serious about banning petrol/diesel new cars within 15 years - a mammoth task - add onto that the new generation capacity required etc (a well discussed point - but it won't go away).

 

We will need more generation capacity but perhaps not on the scale you are envisaging. Renewables such as wind and tidal generate just as well at night as during the day. At night there is a lot less consumption but that is when most people will be plugging in their cars to charge. There will be issues to manage peak load for sure but I don't think electric cars will require gigawatts worth of new power stations the way some detractors suggest (not that I am putting you in that category).

[boxbrownie]

54 minutes ago, Karhedron said:

 

We will need more generation capacity but perhaps not on the scale you are envisaging. Renewables such as wind and tidal generate just as well at night as during the day. At night there is a lot less consumption but that is when most people will be plugging in their cars to charge. There will be issues to manage peak load for sure but I don't think electric cars will require gigawatts worth of new power stations the way some detractors suggest (not that I am putting you in that category).

The major power suppliers every time asked this question say there will be no problems and they are working already on technology to spread the supplies and keep levels at peak.

 

We can moan at them when they fail or just keep speculating they will fail 

[admiles]

18 hours ago, boxbrownie said:

No, they are busy upgrading cabling and installing charging units.....

 

Not in my town....

 

Our town council is broke and struggles with the basics of bin emptying, filling pot holes and keeping pavements, etc in good repair.

 

Edited March 6, 2020 by admiles

[Guest]

6 minutes ago, admiles said:

 

Not in my town....

 

 

Indeed not. The whole point of Ubitricity's approach is that for the main part you don't lay any new cable.

[PatB]

Circa 1825: A network of iron roads, you say? Connecting every city and town in Britain, you say. On which steam engines like the ones which lurch and smoke between colliery and wharf in the North-East, will pull trains of stagecoaches at speeds many times that of the fastest horse? And only an acceptably small number of people will be killed as a result? And in less than 50 years? You, Sir, are truly a fantasist. 

[black and decker boy]

I don't see an issue with electric supply capacity - home chargers are 'SMART' and can be set to charge overnight automatically. There are also electric tariffs coming on the market which, combined with a smart meter, charge a very low rate for overnight use (5p/KWh). My current rate is 14p which is the same 24/7.

[Kelly]

Last few weeks there have been a team of workers digging up footpaths installing new electrical cabling, I presume it is for the street lighting generally, but wouldn't be surprised if provision has been made for future EV needs (although it is on the wrong side of the road to where people tend to park currently!).

[johnofwessex]

Who owns the street lighting cable though?  Is it The Council or The Distribution Company?

[black and decker boy]

Most streetlights are connected directly into the LV main so cables are all owned by the DNO. Can be a pain for us installing them as the DNO work to their own rules & timescales.

 

motorways and lights in central islands often are not DNO.

[jjb1970]

I quite like the interior look of the BMW i4 (assuming that's what the real car will look like), it seems fresh and light, but also retains some regular car controls and an instrument cluster. 

 

I had another go in the Tesla 3 this weekend to see if I could soften on the interior minimalism but I still hate the complete lack of any short cut buttons and a regular instrument cluster behind the steering wheel. And this time, perhaps because I've been trying out a few alternatives in recent weeks from MB, BMW, Audi, Lexus and even Hyundai and KIA I noticed that some of the interior quality and build didn't seem to really match the price. Great car in many ways but I just don't like it. 

 

I've been quite tempted by the Hyundai Ioniq PHEV, it is a very practical family car and although it isn't especially entertaining (and is not quick) it is a comfortable and pleasant car with all sorts of luxuries. And compared to other PHEVs it is very frugal when running on the engine (probably because they've used an engine designed for low emissions and fuel consumption rather than made it into a wannabe super car eater. A lot of people and reviewers still seem to criticise Hyundai interiors, while not quite as good as KIA I find they're perfectly acceptable and although some of the plastic is slightly low rent next to MB or BMW etc it is all well put together with nicely damped switchgear and it all works well. Although, having said that I just can't help liking the fact that a BMW 330e or Volvo S60 T8 would cost peanuts Mon - Fri with zero engine emissions and be a bit of a sports car baiter under the skin.

[Ian Morgan]

Well, I am still happy with my Hyundai Ioniq Electric after 22,000 miles of problem free motoring, and still enjoy teasing boy racers with noisey exhausts by staying alongside them from the lights until just before 2 lanes return to one, when I ease off and let them win.

 

(and I am supposed to be old enough to know better, so my other half tells me. I will have a Beatles song in my honour next week, tomorrow actually)

 

[Ron Ron Ron]

2 minutes ago, Ian Morgan said:

....... I will have a Beatles song in my honour next week, tomorrow actually)

 

Happy Birthday.

Mine is a week later, but I’m running one year ahead.

[jjb1970]

I love the irony that efforts to reduce emissions by electrifying road transport have so far actually made cars faster accelerating when many of those in the environmental world who wanted to reduce emissions seemed to see their mission as being synonymous with a war against the automotive itself and had issues with the idea that cars might be quite fun. Admittedly the environmental equation is nothing like as simple as imagining that stopping car tail pipe emissions = job done (BEVs will come under pressure over the environmental impact of batteries and their sustainability), but I still can't help finding it rather amusing that electrification is making it easier than ever to be a boy racer. Our Kona e would be a genuine hot hatch on grippier tyres and most EVs and PHEVs have gone for performance. The Ioniq and Prius PHEVs are very much exceptions in having gone for efficiency rather than performance.

[Fenman]

1 hour ago, jjb1970 said:

I love the irony that efforts to reduce emissions by electrifying road transport have so far actually made cars faster accelerating when many of those in the environmental world who wanted to reduce emissions seemed to see their mission as being synonymous with a war against the automotive itself and had issues with the idea that cars might be quite fun.

...

Given recent court action over the environmental impact of new transport schemes, I wondered why the government doesn’t simply state that any new roads will only be open to BEVs.

 

Anti-roads campaigners would struggle to make a reasonable case against them, while shiny new (empty) roads would offer a positive incentive for people to dump ICE vehicles. Even if they didn’t, the space freed-up on existing roads would benefit them. Wouldn’t that be a win:win?

 

Paul

[Reorte]

29 minutes ago, Fenman said:

Given recent court action over the environmental impact of new transport schemes, I wondered why the government doesn’t simply state that any new roads will only be open to BEVs.

 

Anti-roads campaigners would struggle to make a reasonable case against them, while shiny new (empty) roads would offer a positive incentive for people to dump ICE vehicles. Even if they didn’t, the space freed-up on existing roads would benefit them. Wouldn’t that be a win:win?

 

You'd get a largely empty road that's had a lot of money spent building it - I can see that going down like a lead balloon, with lots of accusations of it being a token gesture white elephant. Anyway, no fuel cell cars allowed on it?

[Fenman]

23 minutes ago, Reorte said:

 

You'd get a largely empty road that's had a lot of money spent building it - I can see that going down like a lead balloon, with lots of accusations of it being a token gesture white elephant. Anyway, no fuel cell cars allowed on it?

You’d rather have no new road at all? And if it works as an incentive, it won’t be empty for long. 

 

The policy details can be worked out — and changed, over time, as experience  grows and circumstances change. It just seems an obvious way to accommodate everyone. 
 

Paul

[Karhedron]

2 hours ago, jjb1970 said:

I love the irony that efforts to reduce emissions by electrifying road transport have so far actually made cars faster accelerating when many of those in the environmental world who wanted to reduce emissions seemed to see their mission as being synonymous with a war against the automotive itself and had issues with the idea that cars might be quite fun.

 

I must admit that I can't understand the idea of driving for fun. For me, a car is a functional item that gets me (and luggage) from A to B. If someone invented a Star Trek style transporter beam, I would ditch the car without a second thought.

 

However I also enjoy making model railways so I freely admit that my opinions may not be entirely representative.