You can run an electric car with nowhere at home to charge it, honest

While charging your battery at home for a few pounds every week is a huge attraction, it’s not the only advantage of an electric car. For many, seamless power delivery, a hushed cabin and the easy drive are a big part of the feelgood factor that comes with ‘doing your bit’ and no tailpipe emissions. 

But previously, despite all the upsides, I wouldn’t have countenanced going EV without the safety net – and major financial incentive – of having a home charger fitted. However, recent developments in public charging, plus the increasingly long-range battery options, are changing my mind. 

In online forums, it’s easy to find electric car enthusiasts who’ve survived solely on public charging for years. Hats off to them, but I don’t have that sort of commitment. 

The thing is, though, I think there’s a sea-change in our view of what charging should look like, courtesy of the steady roll-out of ultra-rapid hubs in convenient locations. These can give drivers of EVs with long-range batteries an experience not too dissimilar from what we’re used to at petrol stations, allowing them to pop in once or twice a week for all the charging they need, without having to hang about for much longer than it takes to browse the store on site. It’s at a price, of course, but how much are you spending on petrol?

When ultra-rapid charging arrives in a driver’s town or locality, I think they may forget about hassling councils to put lamp-post chargers in their street, or worrying about neighbours hogging ‘their’ lamp post for 24 hours. For me, ultra-rapid charging hubs are already showing they have the potential to make slow on-street chargers pretty much redundant.

The latest figures on UK charger roll-out from mapping expert ZapMap reveal these hubs show the highest growth, with 49 installed in the last three months. ZapMap highlights the new sites at Winchester (Hampshire), Dartford (Kent) and Banbridge (County Down), which between them offer 80 ultra-rapid (150kW+) chargers, with 286 rapid (50kW+) chargers installed across the country in the same period.

“These hubs are popular with electric car drivers, especially to support longer journeys and are also beginning to show the future direction for the UK’s EV infrastructure, with faster charging times, an increased focus on sustainable energy systems and locations which deliver enhanced amenities,” says ZapMap – and it’s spot on. If there’s a decent hub near you, and you can’t charge at home, I’d definitely suggest you give EVs a go.

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