Charging Forward – The Pros and Cons Of EV Charging

27 October 2022

We are only 8 years away from a proposed ban on newly manufactured diesel and petrol cars, with this in mind electric vehicles are now gaining traction in the UK. According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), Electric vehicle use rose by 71% to 748,349 cars, vans, buses and trucks, with growth in all sectors in May 2022. Further information is available at https://www.smmt.co.uk/2022/05/three-quarters-of-a-million-evs-now-on-uk-roads-but-car-ownership-falls-for-second-year/.

With the growing requirement to go electric, it’s important that the infrastructure is available to support commercial and domestic users.

Although a government initiative with car manufacturers buy-in to not producing any more diesel and petrol vehicles by 2030 and 2035 for hybrid vehicles. Is our infrastructure ready for an EV shift?

As of 1st April 2022, there were 30,290 public electric vehicle charging devices available in the UK, 5,494 were rapid chargers. Source: Department of Transport, Electric vehicle charging device statistics: April 2022, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/electric-vehicle-charging-device-statistics-april-2022/electric-vehicle-charging-device-statistics-april-2022. The government announced its new Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy to build a network of 300,000 chargers in the UK by 2030 – a tenfold growth in the country’s public charging infrastructure.

Are there pros and cons to Electric Vehicles?

Although there is a government drive for electric vehicles, we’ve identified the current advantages and disadvantages of EV charging:

Disadvantages

Only 18% of public EV Charging devices are rapid chargers meaning longer times to charge your car’s battery source https://pod-point.com/guides/driver/how-long-to-charge-an-electriccar:~:text=A%20typical%20electric%20car%20(60kWh,with%20a%2050kW%20rapid%20charger.
You are better to continuously “top up” the charge instead of draining the battery which can take between 4-8 hours to charge, depending on the charger.
You need to research where the nearest EV charging points are.
Environmental factors can affect the performance of the battery such as temperature.
You have various factors that affect the charging speed such as the size of the battery, the state of the battery etc.

Advantages

Better for the environment as there are no on-road emissions
There’s a Tax Benefit on electric vehicles
Reduced maintenance costs
Improved ranges with around 200-300 miles dependent on make, model and driving style.
Technology is developing all the time
The Government and local councils have an infrastructure target plan in place making it more accessible to charge your car
It’s still currently cheaper than buying fuel

As you can see there are still some disadvantages to electric vehicles but it’s a behavioural shift that we’ll all need to adopt to help minimise carbon emissions for the planet. The infrastructure will be critical to the success of this pioneering technology.

How can KDM Group help?

KDM has the proven capability to provide design, expertise & installation from a single unit to multiple chargers (internally & externally) across multiple charging types – Fast Charging, Rapid Charging and Ultra Rapid Charging.

We can adapt existing supply characteristics to facilitate increased demand & future Electric Vehicle installations, working with the District Network Operators, Regional Suppliers, and Meter Operators wherever necessary, and working with the End User to ensure the highest compliance & service level.

We also review and interpret cost returns, providing detailed cross-summary analysis to achieve cost assurance and commercial value, scrutinising the detail required to ensure that the project requirements are met in every aspect.

Want to know more?

Contact Nick King on 07780 046 589 or email: [email protected]

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