15th Nov: Unravelling EV Charging Networks

Today marked another landmark for EV Zoe  and the Electric Alice family.

So, far I've used either trickle charging or charged my Zoe at Ikea which is supplied by Ecotricity.  After the Bath Debacle (Electric Alice: Day 2: The Bath Debacle) on the second day of having the Zoe, I've been a little cautious.

I had a free afternoon and a good friend of mine was in Bristol for the afternoon, so I decided to try out a sourceWEST charging point for the first time.  sourceWEST is funded by Bristol City Council and is an EV car charging network that covers Bristol City.  You need to register online for a card, this costs £20 per annum, but at the minute you can get the first year free.  There are some charges (I explain these below) but if you use the 7Kw chargers, they are free.  

So, EV, me and Mini Alice started our trip to the centre of Bristol in search of a sourceWEST point, heading for the Millennium Square charging point as our preferred option.  

The journey, as always in EV, was great.  I haven't spoken much about actually driving EV yet, but it is honestly the best car that I have ever driven.  You feel as though you are floating down the road, it's quiet and accelerates amazingly quickly.  The climate control doesn't seem to be working on EV at the moment, so it's a bit chilly, but hopefully I can get that fixed by Renault. 

We arrived at the Millennium Square car park and managed to find the EV charging points straight away (they are just on the left as you go in).  The charging points are unteathered, this means that you have to use your own charging lead to connect to the point.  However, the card was recognised straight away and there is a sign on the wall with detailed instructions on how to charge your car at the sourceWEST points.

The points look a little different to any others I've come across and it was worth reading the signs to check I was doing everything correctly.  This is what they look like:

With EV plugged in,  Mini Alice and me when to meet our friends for our own sustenance.  By the time we returned, EV was fully charged and we'd only had to pay the usual car park fee.  This has to be the easiest public charge to date.

Public Charging Explained

One thing that you'll need to know and understand if you're considering using an electric vehicle (EV) is how to charge your car at public charging points.  This took me a minute to get my head around when I first started looking into EV driving.  So, I thought that I'd explain how things work in the UK.

Unlike in Ireland, where I believe that there is a single charging network to sign up to (ESB), in the UK charging points are fitted and maintained by different companies who each have a network of charging points.  To be able to charge your car at a public charging point you need to check three things:

1. which type of chargers are supported by the charging point
2. which network the charging point belongs to
3. whether there is a cost for using the charging unit

Types of charging points

Depending upon your car, you need to select a charging unit suitable for your car's connector type.  The Renault Zoe uses a Type 2 charger, the others are listed here by this informative piece written by Zap-Map: Know Your Connectors.  This link will give you all the information you need.

Networks

In the UK most of the charging networks require some kind of subscription before you can start using them.  At the time of writing this, the majority of charging points are still free to use.  However, I've noticed that many of the companies who run charging networks seem to be setting up their services to be able to accept payment for charging in the near future.  I sincerely hope that this is not the case, because it's my opinion that having a fee for public charging will prevent owning an EV from being a viable option for most.  Below, I list the main networks and whether there is a fee for using the charging points.

The main networks:

Ecotricity. These points are most commonly found at UK motorway service stations and IKEA stores.  You need to register for an Ecotricity Swipe Card but these are free and arrive very quickly.  Most of the Ecotricity points are provide a fast charge (47Kw/ 50Kw) and these are free to use.  Personally, I am a huge fan of Ecotricity. 

Plugged-In Midlands.  This part of the national network scheme that runs at council and other regional public spaces, for East and West midlands.  You will need to register of a PiM card which will cost you £20, but this is the only fee that you will need to pay (unlike sourceWEST, a similar scheme for the Bristol are, where there is a fee for rapid charging). 

POD Point.  These points are fairly wide spread and you can also ask them to install your domestic charging point (I don't know whether there are fees for this).  In order to use POD Point charging units you will need to register for a Charge Card, this costs £12.50.  At the minute, the use of POD Point chargers is free.  However, their website is referencing a Pay-as-you-go mobile phone app, which makes me think that free charging through POD Point is limited. 

POLAR Network.  This network is part of the chargemaster company.  POLAR do not offer any free charging points.  The fees for using the charging units vary depending upon the subscription you choose. The full list can be found here POLAR charging fees.  I have not used any POLAR charging units because I do not see the need to pay for public charging at the present time.

Source London.  Personally, I don't have any experience of this network.  However, from the website it looks as though there is only a £5 registration fee to use the Source London charging units.  There is no mention of any other fees, you also don't have to pay the congestion charge if you're driving an EV. 

sourceWEST covers Bristol City and also covers: Bath and North East Somerset, and the Counties of South Gloucestershire, North Somerset and Gloucestershire.  The sourceWEST network is provided via Charge Your Car.  You need to register for a charging card that will give you access to the charging units provided through sourceWEST. There is a fee of £20 p.a although you can claim the first year free at the time of writing.  You will also need to register a credit or debit card to your account because there is a cost for some of the charging points.  There is no clear link to charging costs on their website.  However, as far as I can see, the standard charging points (7Kw and under) can be used free of charge.  The rapid charging points are charged at £4.50 per hour. 

ZeroNet  run by Zero Carbon World.  This is a network of charging units that you do not need to register or pay for.  The units are provided to businesses free of charge by Zero Carbon World for members of the public to use.  Although there are no registration fees, sometimes there are access restrictions when using these charging points (for example if the business is only open 9-5, the point may only be accessible 9-5).  The charging map provides details of the types of charging unit at different locations and any access arrangements that need to be adhered to.

There may be other networks that you'd like listing, if so, just comment and I'll add them.

Finding a suitable charging point

There are a number of websites that provide details of the different charging points and types.  Each network also provides an interactive map of their point on their websites.  So far, I haven't been able to find a smartphone app that covers all the charging points (I wish there was one!).  The best app I have found is: The Open Charge Map

Zap-Map provide the most comprehensive list of charging points, their fees, types of charging point and the networks supporting them, but I have also stumbled across charging points not listed, so it is by no means complete.