When thinking about getting an Electric vehicle, this is a common question that comes up. However, it is not a problem that needs to stop you. Across UK, about 30% of homes don’t have off-street parking. There are 16,000 public charging locations & 500 are added every month. This is twice as many charger locations as there are petrol stations.
Below we outline a range of option you can explore as an alternative to being able to charge your car at your home.
Make Use of Public Charging points:
You don’t need to charge every day, so plan when it’s convenient to use:
- Chargers at Supermarkets, Pubs, Leisure Centres, Stations & Car Parks
- Locate your nearest Rapid and Ultra-Rapid chargers and Charging Hubs
- There are new and faster chargers coming on stream every week
- Thame Green Living is working to get public chargers in Thame
- Currently we have Rapid chargers at Postcombe, Aylesbury & M40 services
Find local chargers:
There are good, free Apps that show locations and status of chargers, eg:
Charge Overnight in secure local car parks:
Oxfordshire County Council is rolling out its “Park & Charge” scheme.
- banks of Fast chargers are being installed in car parks across the county
- they offer regular charging during the day, and provide ‘overnight’ charging
- these car parks have good lighting and security cameras
- it would be great if Thame could be one of the P&C locations
Charge at Work:
Workplace chargers for staff and visitors are becoming more common.
- ask your company to provide this facility
- government grants are available
Charge in your local street:
These options are being trialled across GB:
- charging from local lamp posts
- ‘pop up’ chargers in the pavement
- having a ‘channel’ in the pavement so you can run a cable from your home
Charge at a neighbour’s home, using the CoCharger App (or similar):
This App organises the booking and payment
- it just needs someone local willing to share their off-road charger
- this App manages the practicalities including the payment for the energy
- all charging sessions are documented
- the home owner can make a reasonable return for providing the service
