New or improved hubs announced, Government EV Loans in Scotland and free & no longer free public charging places..

[wyx087]

I Emailed them twice about it, nothing. I phoned them on Friday and was promised the note call handler send to admin team will be looked at by end of next week. 🤞

[Ootohere]

5.30 am I was at the charger within walking distance for me.  Not far.   Rapid broken. My card denied access to what is supposedly a 22 kW AC.  I have had 11 kW from it.   11 x 11 being 22.    Denied access with phone app.   Got through to Broughty Ferry in 2 minutes even though answer machine says very busy etc.    So the young Dundee guy who has helped me many times get chargers started took card and charger number and started charge.    I was @40 % and car says 8.00 am til at 100%. This is to get less than 20kWh.    Ok though.    We dealt with broken charger next to it.  Never reported.  I reported twice this weekend.   We dealt with him passing on to Admin my account issue.   Nice lad. Near end of shift.       CPS / SWARCO can be nice.  But patience is required in Scotland with CPpS chargers.    If full at 8.00 I might only need one charge and 180 miles might be only 3 1/2 hours to cover.  But it could be 4. Or more. Depends on next charge stop. 

 

Edited 5 May by Ootohere

[Ootohere]

So Stirling Park and ride and card not Authorised.   Tried 2 CPS accounts.  Tried cards and app.  Tried 3 chargers while phone was ringing.   Guy starts off asking email address or address,s. Names and address,s.  I told him as earlier take the card number and charger and remotely start it.  He says the account is closed because no STRIPE completed. I told him check charging session earlier, earlier this week and the errors on the money taken already.  He apologised and started the charger.     Anyone that has to put up with this nonsense should rightly be pithed off.     Personally I am still quids in from their errors over the years that have gone my way.       PS. Charging at 49kW so that is ok.  Not busy here.  Maybe to do with the tariff now.  PPS 51kW.

Edited 5 May by Ootohere

[Ootohere]

@ Greggs /  Starbucks Westhill Aberdeen.  ESB 6 X 300 kW Dual Charger. 12 plugs. 74 pence a kWh.

@ McDonalds,  meters away, Ionity 12 350 kW chargers, 71 pence a kWh.

@ Tesco PodPoint, Rapid 62 pence a kWh.

[Ootohere]

@Graham Butcher Thanks for that on AC. But again teaching egg sucking.

We (some Briskoda members) all the time each winter on this forum explain about using it when people speak about frozen interior glass windscreens to reduce moisture left in the vehicle and it freezing.   People thinking saving fuel is more important than safe and comfortable driving.

It does not work on your car if it is 2*oC or lower, or maybe 3*oC on your car. 

 

Too many EV,s are driving about steamed up inside.  the main man on Fully Charged Robert Llewellyn has been guilty of it often when filming driving EV,s.

Steamed up side windows and unsafe driving IMO. 

 

Too many Motoring Journal Roadtester are driver or driver a 1 other in a car.

That is maybe not important for the weight difference rolling along, but it is different from the sears occupied, the passengers comfortable and the car not steamed up and freezing overnight, or until preheated & windows maybe open.

 

EV,s really can benefit from Wind Deflectors for cracking open a widow. Passengers, Animals in cars, not only when driving but in the car while charging, maybe having a nap.

Not all charger hubs are sheltered, or near places with food, or toilets, or if they have they might not be open. 

Then not all can afford to travel and eat in places with crazy prices.

BP Filling stations with BP Pulse chargers being stupidly expensive to buy munchies at. & to charge at.

[Graham Butcher]

@Ootohere I can't comment about EVs being driven with steamed up windows, however I can understand what you're saying and I agree, it is very dangerous.

 

But heat is a waste product with ICE so the impact on range is the minute amount of power for the fan, also there is some ram air effect with the fan switched off.

Edited 7 May by Graham Butcher

[Ootohere]

Exactly.  Heat can be a waste product and no need to to take it into the cabin when available if cold.

It can be with EV,s as well but heat is no use without ventilation and for many a decade people had no AC but also not damp interiors. 

 

We know he is doing stuff for affect and might not always be a d1ck.  Sometimes he must sleep...

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 7 May by Ootohere

[Graham Butcher]

4 hours ago, Ootohere said:

Exactly.  Heat can be a waste product and no need to to take it into the cabin when available if cold.

 

But, if it is cold, then why would you not want to take the heat into the cabin, even without having the fan on? Modern cars are designed to have some through air flow unless the recirculation system has been activated, but even then, that is only for a limited time before the system opens up again. With a car on the move there should not be a need to crack a window to get air flow.

[Ootohere]

Typo.     "not to"   not  "to to"

[wyx087]

Best ICE are said to be 40% efficient at converting chemical power to kinetic. That's 60% wasted, mostly in heat. Perfect for cabin heating in winter. But everytime you look at an ICE car front grill, the large radiator is a giant reminder how inefficient it is.

 

EV are generally 80% or more efficient. Let's be pessimistic and say there's 10% wasted energy, if motorway driving and need 20 kW of power, that's 2 kW of waste heat for cabin heating. 2 kW of heat is way more than what's needed for the cabin of the car.

 

Problem is, some EV simply dump the heat outside, such as Nissan Leaf.

Every EV need a heat scavenger system such as this:  (note how it isn't dumping any heat outside via radiator)

[Ootohere]

Broxden Park and ride Perth.  Some chargers covered up still.

[Graham Butcher]

7 minutes ago, Ootohere said:

Broxden Park and ride Perth.  Some chargers covered up still.

In the future it would more sense to find ways of incorporating these hubs with sites such as supermarket car parks etc, just look at the that huge chunk of land being used up, you could fit many filling stations into the space.

[Ootohere]

Podpoints and filling station is at a Tesco's. There is a Dobbies site with chargers.  Then Ionity down near the Inverness road and BP ultra chargers.  There is a very big BP filling station down from these chargers, just below using the same entrance with HGV pumps and parking bays.  And MFG chargers. And the busses stopping places.   And Chargers.  Up the road next to it as McD,s and a Travel lodge.   1/2 a mile away is going the Hydrogen plant and filling station. The houses that got approved along with that. This is Scotland first proper Low carbon transport hub.   This is the greenbelt on the outskirts of Perth at the junction for Edinburgh, Glasgow and North A9.    Near is the Porsche Dealership and chargers and Others.   The Super markets are near the football ground and the car dealerships then Down at the Motor mile.    The planners are not stupid.   The EU paid for the Charger Hub years ago.   The car parking was there before chargers it is a Park and Ride. 

Edited 20 May by Ootohere

[Ootohere]

On PlugShare there shows a planned charging hub above McDonalds with 36 more charging points. 

 

 

Edited 20 May by Ootohere

[Graham Butcher]

Good, Scotland seems way ahead of England, or at least my city, where we have 1 large Sainsburys, zero charging points, 1 large Asda, zero charging points, 2 large Tesco's, 1 has 4 bays for charging at pod points, the other bays for 5 cars only, 2 Morrisons, 1 with zero bays, the other has 2 bays only, 1 Lidl store, zero bays, 3 Aldi stores, zero bays then we have 5 retail parks with zero charging bays, and hence my earlier comments about finding ways of incorporating charging at such places. We have many public car parks but only having 8 charging bays between them and 1 Tesla centre with 8 bays.

 

So thats a total of 27 chargers for an entire city, we are certainly the poor relative it seems. 

Edited 20 May by Graham Butcher

[Luckypants]

FWIW Sainsburys have their own charging arm that is rolling out rapid charging to it's stores. See https://smartcharge.co.uk/ They are aiming for 100 hubs this year IIRC. That might see something come to your town. As for other supermarkets, AC charging is the wrong model. People don't spend long enough at a supermarket to get a worthwhile charge. At short dwell locations, rapid chargers like Sainsbury are doing is the way forward.

It does look like Perth will have an embarrassment of riches in the charging department. Shame that for me it does not fall as a natural stop if heading north of there.

[Ootohere]

Perth & Kinross Council charging still @ 35 pence a kWh for 50 kW chargers.  Which suits some still. 

30 pence on 7kw. 

Edited 20 May by Ootohere

[Luckypants]

Ideal for a lunch stop then. (or a supermarket shop! )

[Graham Butcher]

Harlow is currently the nearest one @75p kWh.

Edited 20 May by Graham Butcher

[Graham Butcher]

In the park and ride car parks, are they open to anybody requiring a charge, or only people using the park and ride in its entirety?

[Ootohere]

@Luckypants  Or us that only have a 50 kW max charging on DC. 

 

@Graham Butcher  They are just car parks with Free Parking and that have Bus Stops.

 

Busy with all sorts.  Dropping off cars, meeting up, heading off on bikes etc.

Charging just a bonus.

 

The other side of Perth coming in from Forfar has a Park and ride but no chargers.

The ones in Perth near shops still require a parking ticket paid as well as payng the charging. 

 

Chargers between Perth and Aviemore are unreliable.  CPS.

Heading to Aberdeen without  going to Dundee the charging is at Forfar with Angus Council / CPS beside the A90, and McDonalds, KFC and Marstons. 

Then either Brechin or Laurencekirk. 

Edited 20 May by Ootohere

[Graham Butcher]

36 minutes ago, Ootohere said:

@Luckypants  Or us that only have a 50 kW max charging on DC. 

 

@Graham Butcher  They are just car parks with Free Parking and that have Bus Stops.

 

Busy with all sorts.  Dropping off cars, meeting up, heading off on bikes etc.

Charging just a bonus.

 

The other side of Perth coming in from Forfar has a Park and ride but no chargers.

The ones in Perth near shops still require a parking ticket paid as well as payng the charging. 

 

Chargers between Perth and Aviemore are unreliable.  CPS.

Heading to Aberdeen without  going to Dundee the charging is at Forfar with Angus Council / CPS beside the A90, and McDonalds, KFC and Marstons. 

Then either Brechin or Laurencekirk. 

Down here they are pay to park and then ride free, they however have limited charging bays but I discounted them on the basis of them being expensive for parking on top of charging costs. 

 

We don't the freebies that Scotland seems to enjoy in abundance 😕

[Ootohere]

EU funding.  Better together.  As in Europe. All for one and one for all.   Just that England was always playing it like they were special.    Scotland might be a poor poor country with so poor poor people.  But then it had a small population lots of land and is resources rich.    Funny how keen some were to keep together the Union even though Scotland is supposedly a drain on it.  

[PetrolDave]

16 hours ago, Graham Butcher said:

Down here they are pay to park and then ride free

Same thing at the Exeter park and rides.

[Graham Butcher]

15 hours ago, Ootohere said:

EU funding.  Better together.  As in Europe. All for one and one for all.   Just that England was always playing it like they were special.    Scotland might be a poor poor country with so poor poor people.  But then it had a small population lots of land and is resources rich.    Funny how keen some were to keep together the Union even though Scotland is supposedly a drain on it.  

I often wonder if the UK government and local councils had been more open and honest about how much of our infrastructure and facilities that we have was actually funded directly by the EU if today we would still be in the EU as there was so much cost savings that the UK benefited from big time from that were not made public that we are now paying for on our own whereas we only had to pay a percentage of the cost before "B".

Edited 21 May by Graham Butcher