Man Sells MG ZS Because Of Charging At Home Restrictions

[Roldorf]

From the BBC

 

[T1 Terry]

Surely the council could have provided him with those cable cover ramps to use when he was charging his car, pathetic on the council's behalf and hopefully an embarrassment for them because it goes against the govt push for EVs to replace ICE powered vehicles

T1 Terry

 

[Bricktop X PWR]

What a flange!

He felt "unsafe" using public chargers???

Wait one......

Ah yes, he lives in Oldham.

Fair enough.

 

[BOB353]

Personally, I would not have even considered any type of EV if I was not able to charge it on my own property.

Lucky for me I park the ZS in our carport at the front of our house

 

[chowbenter]

Councils across the country are now endorsing these no-trip pavement charging gully. Charge Gully teams up with local authorities for pavement charging trial

 

[salty]

Personally, I would not have even considered any type of EV if I was not able to charge it on my own property.

Lucky for me I park the ZS in our carport at the front of our house

He obviously didn't think it would be a problem. S'pose in Hindsight (what a wonderful thing, that is) he should have checked with the council first. Oldham council obviously don't agree with them.
And to be a bit fair to them, in this Sue for owt society, they've got a point. I've seen a few of these, knocking about, wonder if they've asked permission.

 

[T1 Terry]

I was thinking more along these lines Speed Hump Middle Section 500x410x70mm across the footpath over the cable to protect against trip hazards and cable damage. I'm guessing it would require some sort of anchoring to the footpath to stop it becoming someone else's when you weren't looking, but at least you wouldn't have to pay to have it installed if the place was only a short term rental

T1 Terry

 

[OriginalBigAl]

If I still lived in my terraced house with only on street parking , an EV would have been a non-starter. Crime levels at Gotham standards withstanding, a 7kw charger would have to be internally fixed near the front door (potential fire hazard) with a slot permanently open to the outside for the cable, which would have to run in a pre-cut slot in the pavement and then covered . But only if I was able to guarantee I could park in the same place outside ( 2m ) from my property , normally a free for all. Since leaving the council has put in pinch points and speed bumps and double yellow lines down one side of the road making the already random lottery parking even worse. Of the three properties I lived in in Blighty none were really suitable for an reliable EV connection point , these ranged from a Council semi, private terrace and to a old Post Office in a Devon village. For a lot of people EV adoption can only come if there is going to be a regulated cheap price for reliable public charging which by definition would have to be much expanded to cover all eventualities. The nightmare scenario of over 75% adoption and Bank holiday trips to the seaside is one for the future.

 

[M44LCY]

I've been doing a lot of investigation into the general perception that you cannot charge at home unless you have off-road parking. I cannot find ANY reference to documents in legislation or elsewhere which say that this is the case.

On the issue about cross-pavement charging, some local authorities say it's OK. They do, however, advise that if anyone incurs an injury as a result, the person charging the car could be held liable. (It's my understanding that all EV insurance policies have to cover such eventualities, since charging is counted as "using the vehicle".)

Other authorities say it's illegal to put a cable across a pavement, usually citing the Highways Act (Roads Act in Scotland). What they say is partly correct -

The Highways Act 1980, section 162, says "A person who for any purpose places any rope, wire or other apparatus across a highway in such a manner as to be likely to cause danger to persons using the highway is ... guilty of an offence". But they are quoting selectively. In fact, both items of legislation say it's illegal UNLESS you take cognisance of any risks and take steps to address the risk:

"A person who for any purpose places any rope, wire or other apparatus across a highway in such a manner as to be likely to cause danger to persons using the highway is, UNLESS HE PROVES THAT HE HAD TAKEN ALL NECESSARY MEANS TO GIVE ADEQUATE WARNING OF THE DANGER, guilty of an offence"

(Although not specifically stated, the implication is that you should also assess & mitigate any risks including, for example, making sure that your electrical installation is safe and includes protection against earthing (PEN) faults.)

It's fair to say that a clause elsewhere in the Act say that's it's an offence to cause an obstruction and another clause addresses placing ANYTHING on a highway. But, since they appear before S162, it can be argued that S162 is a clarification of the preceding provisions.

Last point - the remedy available to the authority is to issue a notice requiring that any obstruction has to be removed. The notice must allow a minimum of one month for the removal to take place. I can't imagine any responsible person leaving their cable protector out for a month!

No - this is the last point - the rules regarding the design and use of items such as cable protectors can be found in the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991.

 

[OriginalBigAl]

Good points, but going back to my example, even if I followed all the recommendations , signage, approved covers, electrical certificates etc , I think the council would be the least of the problems. Cable cutting and vandalism through, theft, ignorance, jealousy and "having a laugh " would be more of a worry, along with people parking there on purpose just to stop you charging. A utopian future doesn't take into account human nature.

 

[M44LCY]

Good points, but going back to my example, even if I followed all the recommendations , signage, approved covers, electrical certificates etc , I think the council would be the least of the problems. Cable cutting and vandalism through, theft, ignorance, jealousy and "having a laugh " would be more of a worry, along with people parking there on purpose just to stop you charging. A utopian future doesn't take into account human nature.

Yes, there's no allowing for some people. At the very least you would need to be parked near (10m) your house a couple of times a week. It sounded like the chap in the article wasn’t having problems similar to yourself. It seemed to be just the unnecessary bureaucracy.

 

[OriginalBigAl]

Yes , I agree , he seemed to live in an agreeable neighbourhood , but as he only had on street parking he would not have the right to a dedicated street parking spot ( unless disabled ) . This is true for many households ,not just in Britain, which unfortunately going forwards is going to be a major sticking point in EV take up. To say public charging will be readily available is one thing , but unless its at the same price point as the more well heeled members of society with private off road parking can achieve then the disparity will cause dissent and anger. Presently the price of a litre of petrol is the same if you have a Corsa or a big BMW no matter where you park.

 

[apzs]

Personally, I would not have even considered any type of EV if I was not able to charge it on my own property.

Lucky for me I park the ZS in our carport at the front of our house

I had an EV for 2 years and stayed in a flat and only used public charging. It's possible to live without home charging. Comes with a small amount of planning and a bit smart with different charger prices.

It also makes one more comfortable to make longer journeys as you get to know the public charging quirks.

 

[Pebblefeline]

All lampposts should have low power ac charging maybe? Maybe at 2kW.

In the council app you select your lamppost approve a Payment and charge? For whatever the standard electricity charge is plus a maintainace fee
So 30p per kWh say.

Not saying there aren’t a lot of challenges.

We do need a significant infrastructure change.

 

[M44LCY]

All lampposts should have low power ac charging maybe? Maybe at 2kW.

In the council app you select your lamppost approve a Payment and charge? For whatever the standard electricity charge is plus a maintainace fee
So 30p per kWh say.

Not saying there aren’t a lot of challenges.

We do need a significant infrastructure change.

This is true. With the move to LED street lighting, the power consumed must be a fraction of what used to be the case. That spare capacity could be used to feed chargers. Probably not every lamp post, but maybe two or three in every street.

 

[fred12345]

This is true. With the move to LED street lighting, the power consumed must be a fraction of what used to be the case. That spare capacity could be used to feed chargers. Probably not every lamp post, but maybe two or three in every street.

They have that in Westminster where I sometimes park, some of them reserved for local residents, some general public.

 

[Roldorf]

Unless the lampposts are right at the curb then you have the same problem with a cable running over the footpath.

 

[M44LCY]

Unless the lampposts are right at the curb then you have the same problem with a cable running over the footpath.

That's the problem in most of Scotland - lamp posts are not at the kerb.

I can't see any way that cross-pavement charging can remain blocked - especially when it's perfectly legal. The Lords prepared a paper on cross-pavement charging recently but, while they talked about channels sunk onto pavements, cable protectors were hardly mentioned. This despite the obvious fact that provisions exist which define measures for the protection of excavations, etc. in pavements. If builders can put protection plates across a pavement for an excavation, surely there can be no objection to using a similar item to prevent a cable being a trip hazard?

 

[fred12345]

Unless the lampposts are right at the curb then you have the same problem with a cable running over the footpath.

Not really, see photo. Charger point is on the side so the cable goes from the post to the car and there is no space to walk between the lamp post and the curb. But, I would be worried about some people knocking the cable off just for fun ... but then again, if you have no other choice ...
p.s. used to be 10p (or was it 30p) parking charge if you have EV and charge it there as opposed to about £4 per hour + 50% surcharge for dirty diesel ... !!!!