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cyb3rdud3

macrumors 68040
Jun 22, 2014
3,344
2,089
UK
Yes, if that can be done then I'm all for it. Something that could retrofitted into a kerbside etc would be great.
Happens in many other countries. The street our home in the Netherlands is in has got loads and loads and loads of onstreet charging, even the canals in Amsterdam has them. Our home luckily (otherwise I wouldn't have bought it) has its own driveway, dropped kerb, and despite being build in 1928 already got 3-phase power. Unfortunately it doesn't have floors, ceilings and heating :p But we will fix that.
 
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Apple fanboy

macrumors Ivy Bridge
Feb 21, 2012
55,574
53,474
Behind the Lens, UK
That's alright as long as you can manage to park outside your own house.
It’s not perfect for sure. But it’s a solution for some.
Here is another common one.
1715713030598.png

Lots of options for those without drives.
 
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The-Real-Deal82

macrumors P6
Jan 17, 2013
16,546
24,310
Wales, United Kingdom
It’s not perfect for sure. But it’s a solution for some.
Here is another common one.
View attachment 2378016
Lots of options for those without drives.

Unfortunately a lot of local councils don’t have the investment to offer these services for on street charging and aren’t focusing efforts towards it in the near future. My local council Blaenau Gwent have this stance:
e6d22c98c5b79c487ce7bab225cc0242.jpg


People living in terraced streets here would have just 5 public chargers to choose from and not necessarily near where they live. Richer authorities like in major cities like London have much better resources, but this hurdle will definitely affect the rate of adoption. The other issue is vandalism of the chargers. Last year a local supermarket here removed their chargers because people kept smashing the screens on them and damaging the cables.
 

Tagbert

macrumors 603
Jun 22, 2011
5,740
6,717
Seattle
It’s not perfect for sure. But it’s a solution for some.
Here is another common one.
View attachment 2378016
Lots of options for those without drives.
How do you prevent theft of the cable in that situation? Is it locked to the car or the outlet? I’ve seen people drive their tire on top of the cable for an EVSE though I don’t think that is good for the cable, long term.
 

Tagbert

macrumors 603
Jun 22, 2011
5,740
6,717
Seattle
Unfortunately a lot of local councils don’t have the investment to offer these services for on street charging and aren’t focusing efforts towards it in the near future. My local council Blaenau Gwent have this stance:


People living in terraced streets here would have just 5 public chargers to choose from and not necessarily near where they live. Richer authorities like in major cities like London have much better resources, but this hurdle will definitely affect the rate of adoption. The other issue is vandalism of the chargers. Last year a local supermarket here removed their chargers because people kept smashing the screens on them and damaging the cables.
What are “terraced streets”? I’ve seen that term come up a couple of times but not clear of the meaning.
 

Apple fanboy

macrumors Ivy Bridge
Feb 21, 2012
55,574
53,474
Behind the Lens, UK
How do you prevent theft of the cable in that situation? Is it locked to the car or the outlet? I’ve seen people drive their tire on top of the cable for an EVSE though I don’t think that is good for the cable, long term.
The cable is locked to the car until you unlock the car. So your cable is perfectly safe.
As for driving over it, neither of the examples I posted would require that. Look at the photos. No way you could drive over them in those set ups (or any other I’ve ever seen).
 
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The-Real-Deal82

macrumors P6
Jan 17, 2013
16,546
24,310
Wales, United Kingdom
What are “terraced streets”? I’ve seen that term come up a couple of times but not clear of the meaning.

Houses attached to each other in rows with no or sometimes small front gardens and open directly onto the street, like this:
ef37194c510d03330523a9125d128773.jpg

These are common in South Wales and other working class areas of the UK, especially in mining and steel towns. Not great when you want to own an EV at the moment.
 

scubachap

macrumors 6502a
Aug 30, 2016
501
811
UK
They’re actually surprisingly common. In England and Wales the four housing types (flats (apartments), terraced, semi-detached - two houses together that share a wall and detached - house on its own) are roughly equal (20-30%) depending on the area. Semi’s are the most common type generally. The sort of housing that you would expect to have a drive/car parking are in the majority but it’s not a massive one.
 

cyb3rdud3

macrumors 68040
Jun 22, 2014
3,344
2,089
UK
They’re actually surprisingly common. In England and Wales the four housing types (flats (apartments), terraced, semi-detached - two houses together that share a wall and detached - house on its own) are roughly equal (20-30%) depending on the area. Semi’s are the most common type generally. The sort of housing that you would expect to have a drive/car parking are in the majority but it’s not a massive one.
When 75% of drivers have access to off-road-parking, that is a pretty big majority in my opinion!

Houses attached to each other in rows with no or sometimes small front gardens and open directly onto the street, like this:
ef37194c510d03330523a9125d128773.jpg

These are common in South Wales and other working class areas of the UK, especially in mining and steel towns. Not great when you want to own an EV at the moment.
Parking in general is a challenge with those types of houses. Often not even anything around the back of them. That be a bigger concern than charging to me.

In the Netherlands, in areas where there are those types of houses, there is plenty of on street charging. And nearly all of those types of destination chargers also come with an overstay tariff associated with it. But in city renewal and rejuvenation projects, those houses come with remote parking spaces, and the parking spaces have smart meters that you can link to your home with a smart card. Problem instantly solved.

None of this has to be a difficulty, just requires a bit of planning.

And then there is that the EV vehicle and charger technology is progressing. Even our Polestar 2 that is old 400v architecture can do a typical 10-80% in less than 30 minutes. Or employers providing charging, and supermarkets. Now with more modern 800v architecture the charging goes faster and faster. And the vast majority of journeys don't deplete batteries by 70% in a day. So charging can be a lot quicker. The need for everyone to charge at home becomes less and less.

Saying that, I wouldn't if I couldn't charge at home, but then again, I'd never buy a property without my own off-road parking in the first place.
 

scubachap

macrumors 6502a
Aug 30, 2016
501
811
UK
When 75% of drivers have access to off-road-parking, that is a pretty big majority in my opinion!
18 million (65 per cent) of Britain’s 27.6 million households have – or could have – enough off-street parking to accommodate at least one car or van - source RAC. (Note they say could have, whether that means it's already available and they're just not using it or whether you'd need to drop a curb to convert a front garden into a parking space etc I don't know but I suspect it knocks a further few percent off the figure.)

Honestly, I'm not trying to make difficulties and I'm genuinely in favour of electric cars but...

Saying that, I wouldn't if I couldn't charge at home, but then again, I'd never buy a property without my own off-road parking in the first place.
And I think that's going to be the problem as we move forward as I think like you do and I suspect most other people do. Perhaps we will be able to solve it easily, it would be good if we could.
 

cyb3rdud3

macrumors 68040
Jun 22, 2014
3,344
2,089
UK
Yup you quoted the homes which I also used earlier. And I quoted the drivers number which I also did earlier. That is because many homes have multiple cars. For example we have multiple cars but one charging point in our UK home.
 

adrianlondon

macrumors 603
Nov 28, 2013
5,030
7,604
Switzerland
Seems to me that everything I need to know before buying an electric car in in this thread. I came to the right place. I better make some coffee and start reading.

It might be quicker to buy the car before making the coffee .... 😄
 
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cyb3rdud3

macrumors 68040
Jun 22, 2014
3,344
2,089
UK
It might be quicker to buy the car before making the coffee .... 😄
Hehehe too true, that thread scares me :)
 

4sallypat

macrumors 68040
Sep 16, 2016
3,497
3,302
So Calif
Lectron Tesla Supercharger NACS - CCS1 adapter arrived.
Arrived 12 weeks after ordering.
Bit late, but they fixed the NHTSA recall issue.

If anyone is looking for one, let them know I have one for sale NIB.

IMG_0603.JPG
 

Mellofello808

macrumors 65816
Mar 18, 2010
1,008
1,884
I only have 100 amp service, but I still have room for a charger on my panel. I moed my range to gas, which freed up a slot.
 

Apple fanboy

macrumors Ivy Bridge
Feb 21, 2012
55,574
53,474
Behind the Lens, UK
So I've finally made the switch to an EV.

2023 Ford Mach-E Premium RWD.

I've got an electrician coming tomorrow to install a NEMA 14-50 outlet in the garage. I also have the Emporia charger waiting to get installed.

I tested quite a few cars before going with the Mach-E. Hyundai, Kia, VW, Tesla.

View attachment 2382445
Enjoy. Once you go EV you never want to go back imo.
 

_justbecause

macrumors newbie
Sep 18, 2023
26
74
Can totally see myself getting my first EV in the next 5 years. The infrastructure in my area (North, UK) is really quite substantial and is only going to blossom in the future. I see a real commitment from the councils in respect to charging points etc. Citroen or a Toyota would be my choice.
 

mvdrl

macrumors member
Nov 2, 2018
38
38
Northwest
So I've finally made the switch to an EV.

2023 Ford Mach-E Premium RWD.

I've got an electrician coming tomorrow to install a NEMA 14-50 outlet in the garage. I also have the Emporia charger waiting to get installed.

I tested quite a few cars before going with the Mach-E. Hyundai, Kia, VW, Tesla.

View attachment 2382445
Great looking car! What made you choose the Mach-E over the others? Did you look at a Nnissan Ariya as well? Enjoy your new ride!
 
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