Charging electric cars on Club sites.
Comments
-
That is ridiculous to equate the two, electricity is supplied to keep van batteries topped up in order to power the habitation equipment on site, not to fuel the towing vehicle for excursions etc. As I said, that is not the club's responsibility.
2 -
I thought that heating and power on 240V will work equally well (though not recommended in some cases) without a battery in place? My 240 sockets work
0 -
An interesting thread with opinions divided, but why? You 'pay' for your electricity and have 16A (3Kw) to use to enjoy your stay. Provided you keep to this it is up to you to allocate that power as you see fit. Either heating on 2 Kw, kettle, awning heater, hairdryer, microwave... or heating off or on 500W and the rest to charge your car, why are people saying you shouldn't do this? Will it have any effect on your stay? This 16A rate has been going for years so no adverse effects?
Is it the 'free' fuel that is upsetting some? I have to pay for my fuel so should you type of thing?
1 -
Rules is rules as is oft quoted on this forum Mr C👍🏻. If the T&C’s allow it then it’s allowed. Some threads go on for 100’s of posts arguing over piffling points. . . .They change nothing😊. Charging of Electric Vehicles is allowed until the rules say otherwise.
1 -
Will it have any effect on your stay.
The answer to this would certainly be NO in the short term, as there are so few EV's being charged. However, in the longer term the answer will almost certainly be YES, as with increased usage there will be cost implications. For many increased cost will certainly have an effect either in duration, or wether to stay in the first place.
Although the 16 amp rate has been going on for years, it is highly unlikely the CC include in it costs for everyone using 16 amps. Therefore, particularly in the warmer months there will be significantly increased usage.
I think this is all folk are reacting to. Same as the WiFi, I don't expect someone else to pick up the tab for my browsing, when others are paying to use their phones or a MiFi. Why should anyone expect others to buy there vehicles fuel.
However, as I said currently not a problem and probably unlikely to be for quite a few years. We have been being promised longer life batteries for ages and we are still in the dark ages as regards range.
2 -
Fossil fuels and electricity are taxed in different ways so if we all change to leccy you can bet future governments will change the tax regime to make up the revenue loss. Presumably that means the club would have to significantly hike electric prices
1 -
agree with you as well Steve. I have said that if the club does decide to install fast chargers they should charge, either on a bollard on in the car park.
I was merely pointing out that there seems to be 'anti charge' theme as things stand now which 'allows' use of other electrical usage, awning heaters in summer evenings for example but not if you plan to use that electricity to charge your car?
0 -
I think the main push is to get away from fossil fuels to renewables, maybe the club will start to look at boosting energy sources on sites. I think Poolsbrook has some "green" credentials, I don't know about other sites. The national grid has had some days this year when energy came more from renewables rather than fossil fuels, perhaps this is the way forward? I suspect energy sources will gradually change? Early days at present.
0 -
We have an outside electric socket on our caravan, so no need to have electric cables through the window!
0 -
If there's no extra charge for running your Alde heating on electric at 2 or 3 kw, there should be no extra charge for charging your electric car because you are not using any more electric than the 16 amp permitted by the site. You would have to turn other electric appliances off to make enough available to charge up your EV.
1 -
As far as I am aware we all pay for electricity in our site fees and as long as we don't use it excessively and cut out the supply we can use it to suit our needs. However there are some who do run every appliance known to man and the club always asks for users to be considerate. Charging an EV will cost pence and for those of us who are considerate in our use this is not an unreasonable demand. As an EV owner I would probably charge off site due to swifter charging etc. The club will hopefully review all possibilities if EVs become the norm.
3 -
agree with that as well
0 -
The number of EV's in our area has increased at an enormous rate. Not just the Hybrid versions but proper EV's. We have charging points at Railway stations and some Supermarkets which are usually continuously populated by EV's charging their batteries.
If this trend continues, Camping organisations, not just the CMC, will have to get off their rumps and make a decision. Do we continue to allow all those EV's free electricity from the bollard - or - Do we ban charging from the bollard on all our sites and put a notice on the office notice board as to where the location of the nearest charging points are. -or - do we go to the huge expense of installing proper charging points on all sites on the network and obtain added value to the business income by charging the customer for their use.
Depends how forward looking each of the organisations are. Doing nothing will not be an option soon.
K
1 -
Quoting: "do we go to the huge expense of installing proper charging points on all sites on the network and obtain added value to the business income by charging the customer for their use."
I certainly see a looming need for dedicated on site charging points though hopefully the clubs don't lumber their collective memberships with the huge expense.
Here like WiFi on sites and little doubt what is done for EV charging at most other outlets, a specilised provider is contracted, to provide the service? The club simply sublets the location and takes its commission, and user members can buy what they want.
1 -
I have been thinking about this and bear with me on a couple of issues here.Certainly people with EV vehicles and electricians with more knowledge than me could assist.
Say I purchase and EV I bring it home and plug into a dedicated Pod Point installed on a spur from the house consumer unit.This is a fixed installation.Dedicated to the job of charging the vehicle.
But now the Club is saying,you can plug your caravan into a 16a site bollard with the hook up lead and then charge the EV with an another extension lead from the caravan.I would have thought this would be governed by PAT (portable applicatance testing)testing because a EV now actually becoming a portable appliance.
If the EV is plugged straight into the site bollard (fixed installation) and say disconnect the caravan from the hook up then that is satisfactory within all earthing regulations.
My electrical theory is getting greyer by the years,but a caravan socket in an outside box is not a to me a dedicated charging point.I would also guess it will only be 1.5 squared mill.
Perhaps Brue could inform me is there a selector within an electrical vehicle to control different charging rates I.e. overnight charging,20 minute charging etc.or is charging an EV controlled by the supply that feeds it.
0 -
Fozzie, your caravan itself doesn’t require PAT testing, neither does your George Foreman grill or multiple other devices you might run from an extension lead. It would be a different matter if you were hiring out the caravan, car, or extension charging point.
"The law simply requires an employer to ensure that their electrical equipment is maintained in order to prevent danger. It does not say how this should be done or how often. Employers should take a risk-based approach, considering the type of equipment and what it is being used for. If it is used regularly and moved a lot e.g. a floor cleaner or a kettle, testing (along with visual checks) can be an important part of an effective maintenance regime giving employers confidence that they are doing what is necessary to help them meet their legal duties. HSE provides guidance on how to maintain equipment including the use of PAT."
http://www.hse.gov.uk/electricity/faq-portable-appliance-testing.htm
2 -
Fozzie, if charging on a site you would use a special cable connector between your EV and a socket in the van, you won't be using the bollard. Your van is attached to the bollard not the car. However if you use this method and you need a long charge it will take a few hours of charging and obviously you'll have to balance out the draw with other equipment in use. Just like you would do if using a lot of electrical equipment in the van.
At home, we can plug into a domestic socket and then into the car, a slow charge. We did this at first but now have a dedicated power socket (installed by my OH) which provides a fast charge, for us probably two to three hours although we sometimes run the battery down to give it a super charge which gives us more mileage. Our domestic wiring can cope with the draw, we don't have to switch anything off etc.
There are about four types of chargers on the market ranging from slow to super rapid. Different cables and sockets are provided to enable this, we carry two types. The charge unit switches itself off when complete, we can also select a timer on the car computer system to switch on a preheat in cold weather etc....if we anticipate cold weather we can defrost the car before using it. However that's a bonus so the simple method on a site would be a slow charge via a suitable cable. Hope this helps?
0 -
Normally there is:
Portable: a lead with a 13a plug one end and a car specific socket the other, within that cable there is a supplied portable charger, usually limited to 10a, much like a CTEK 10 amp charger.
Standard and Fast: Then there are the 16a and 32a charger leads , these have there own special plugs and push into dedicated sockets via standalone house circuits fed with 6mm or 10mm cable sizing. These do not require a separate charger as it is inbuilt with the car.
Rapid: These are dedicated where there is a 3 phase supply and again utilise the charger within the car.
There are obviously variations with different vehicles and super rapid chargers are relatively new, but other than differing plug/sockets they all work in a similar fashion.
My daughters Taxi company which run Nissan Leafs use a mixture of the above.
1 -
Got timed out.
Anything away from home can use the Fast or Rapid on special bollards as these will accept the special plugs on the leads supplied, no extra charger is needed, just plug in both ends and alls good.
As for on site without special bollards, then you must bring your Portable charger and lead to plug into a 13a socket, remembering the caravan cable circuit will normally be protected and limited to 10a by the onboard MCB.
0 -
People will have leads strung out across their pitches charging their car up. Its not the same as a lead within the awning.
Sooner or later there will be a "garotting" incident, fire, electocution or something adverse with the leads and then the Club's Elf & Safety & liability averseness will kick in and charging your car with a flying lead from the van will be banned....
As has been said already, the Club's current stance that all is hunky dorey, fill your boots (or batteries) with any Heath Robinson arrangement that you can lash up is fine will quickly change.
It's only fine at the moment because very few are doing it and nothing has happened yet.
Sadly, that won't last.
0 -
well there are already EHU leads across pitches and often three leads in to one bollard and very few accidents? All we are talking about is one lead from your outfit to the car which is often parked to the left of the caravan so most of the lead will be close or underneath the van?
While they may be a tripping hazard as these leads will be on the ground I can't imagine these leads will be at head height?
0 -
My EV is charged totally from a green/natural source. It takes approximately 6 weeks a charge. It’s cheap but slow😢
5
