[Londonista]

Hi all I need a van for my work and live in central London, zone 1. Living in a flat I won't be able to home charge and there's no possibility of a garage or lockup available near here. Is it possible to own a non hybrid vehicle in central London on this basis? Would be great to hear from anyone who is managing to do this. Thanks all!

 

[cah197]

Yes. Depends on your daily mileage.

When we lived in London we had a Zoe that could do about 90 miles on a charge.

We needed to charge it once a week.

If you have a supermarket near you with destination chargers you can charge there whilst doing your weekly shop.

Or look up Ubitricity on street lamppost chargers.

 

[Londonista]

Thanks Cah. Unfortunately even ubitricity themselves say
-"Don’t hold your breath. It can be a lengthy process in the best of times. And this year councils have been stretched by coronavirus"

Could easily do 20 miles in a day and if I can't drive I can't work...

If I get an ev I will be completely at the mercy of the public on street charging network which from what I've heard isn't very good.

If anyone needs a vehicle for work and relies on the on street charging network would like to hear.

 

[HandyAndy]

There are some people who rent out their driveways for parking during the day (I forget the website names), so if you were lucky enough to find one handy, this could be a way to negotiate parking-space rental, esp. if they have an EVSE there.

 

[teepee]

Hi all I need a van for my work and live in central London, zone 1. Living in a flat I won't be able to home charge and there's no possibility of a garage or lockup available near here. Is it possible to own a non hybrid vehicle in central London on this basis? Would be great to hear from anyone who is managing to do this. Thanks all!

Not a problem. We live in a flat in Zone 1 and rely totally on public charging. I use supermarkets while we are shopping (Tesco and Sainsbury have free Pod Point chargers) and on street chargers the rest of the time. So far (fingers crossed) we've not had any issues with either reliability or availability of chargers. On a couple of occasions I have had to resort to my second choice charger though.

Running costs will be much lower than ICE vehicles - especially if you can get some free charging at supermarkets. Good luck.

 

[Londonista]

Hi Andy. Thanks but there are very few houses here, and particularly no houses with driveways.

 

[Londonista]

Not a problem. We live in a flat in Zone 1 and rely totally on public charging. I use supermarkets while we are shopping (Tesco and Sainsbury have free Pod Point chargers) and on street chargers the rest of the time. So far (fingers crossed) we've not had any issues with either reliability or availability of chargers. On a couple of occasions I have had to resort to my second choice charger though.

Running costs will be much lower than ICE vehicles - especially if you can get some free charging at supermarkets. Good luck.

Hi teepee that's very good to know. I have to do more research on the different charging options and supermarkets may have to be a part of that. I don't currently shop at out of town type supermarket (ie with carparks).
Can I as approximately where in London you are based different boroughs seem to have slightly varying infrastructure. I suppose I would technically be in Bloomsbury - South of Euston road.
Financial costs may be lower but the inconvenience of not being able to charge at home is the issue. Thanks for your input

 

[Londonista]

Sorry also how long have you had the ev?

 

[Electrickery]

You could always just get an EV with a relatively large battery, eg 200 mile range or so. If you only do around 20 miles a day you'd only need to charge it at a rapid charger once a week for 20 minutes or so,

 

[teepee]

Sorry also how long have you had the ev?

Had the EV since March this year. Live in Paddington and supermarkets we use are Tesco at Hammerssmith and Sainsbury on Cromwell Rd or Camden Town. (all free). Morrisons and Lidl have rapid chargers but they do charge for them. We are in Westminster who do have a lot of Ubritricity lampposts - you're right in that different boroughs have different infrastructures - some much better than others!

If you download the ZapMap app you will be able to find chargers local to you. I see there are lots of Ubritricity around Fitrovia and Bloomsbury.

 

[mikeselectricstuff]

Have a look on zap-map for chargers near you, and near where you work ( if applicable). Rapid chargers may be an option instead of on-street AC ones, especially if you can be doing something useful sitting in the van or nearby cafe etc. for 30-45 mins while it charges.

 

[Roo]

Zone 2, Camden, lots of Ubitricity and Source London chargers. I've always found somewhere to charge,

 

[ohit1]

Hi all I need a van for my work and live in central London, zone 1. Living in a flat I won't be able to home charge and there's no possibility of a garage or lockup available near here. Is it possible to own a non hybrid vehicle in central London on this basis? Would be great to hear from anyone who is managing to do this. Thanks all!

Yes, loads of public on-street chargers around.

 

[dk6780]

Hi all I need a van for my work and live in central London, zone 1. Living in a flat I won't be able to home charge and there's no possibility of a garage or lockup available near here. Is it possible to own a non hybrid vehicle in central London on this basis? Would be great to hear from anyone who is managing to do this. Thanks all!

Do you also work in Zone 1 or do you go further out? A lot of office blocks have some form of EV charging that you may be able to use if you are working there - I've had no problems charging up when visiting clients by car (EV).

 

[E7EV]

Hi all I need a van for my work and live in central London

Apart from being reliant on public charging, the other issue is that you need a van. What size vehicle do you need? What would be the equivalent ICE van that you’d choose? What’s your budget? Where do you park overnight?

Could easily do 20 miles in a day

Would you also use the van to go further afield, at weekends for example? Not all electric vans rapid charge.

Sorry about all the questions, but otherwise it’s difficult to give specific advice

 

[E7EV]

This dealer offers a lot of practical advice on electric vans as well as having a few for sale.

 

[Londonista]

You could always just get an EV with a relatively large battery, eg 200 mile range or so. If you only do around 20 miles a day you'd only need to charge it at a rapid charger once a week for 20 minutes or so,

Thanks electrickery. Do you have a vehicle in mind?

Apart from being reliant on public charging, the other issue is that you need a van. What size vehicle do you need? What would be the equivalent ICE van that you’d choose? What’s your budget? Where do you park overnight?


Would you also use the van to go further afield, at weekends for example? Not all electric vans rapid charge.

Sorry about all the questions, but otherwise it’s difficult to give specific advice

Thanks for the questions. Small van Probably Partner or nv200.
Would like kangoo e33 but no fast charge on them.
Budget is flexible it's a need to have situation. What concerns me is the charging not the outlay.
I use rechargeable power tools and when im busy and I've forgotten to charge enough batteries esp if I'm working outside in a cold snap I'm dead in the water... I can see the same happening with the van.
Park overnight on street.
An off street parking space would be lush but will cost the same as the deposit on a small flat!

 

[ohit1]

Thanks electrickery. Do you have a vehicle in mind?

Thanks for the questions. Small van Probably Partner or nv200.
Would like kangoo e33 but no fast charge on them.
Budget is flexible it's a need to have situation. What concerns me is the charging not the outlay.
I use rechargeable power tools and when im busy and I've forgotten to charge enough batteries esp if I'm working outside in a cold snap I'm dead in the water... I can see the same happening with the van.
Park overnight on street.
An off street parking space would be lush but will cost the same as the deposit on a small flat!

On the rechargable power tools - some EVs (cars, not sure about vans) can achieve 180W on the cigerette lighter socket. So a power inverter that gives you a 3pin socket would work.
For example : I've done this to charge laptops and things on our e-Niro

 

[dk6780]

The shape of things to come?

Further features include a ‘Pro Power Onboard’ option, enabling customers to use the E-Transit as a mobile power source, providing up to 2.3kW of power for various tools and equipment. It’s claimed to be an industry first, and is expected to be a popular addition.

Clearly a bigger beast than you are looking for and not available until next year, but I suspect that others will do similar in the future.

 

[Londonista]

On the rechargable power tools - some EVs (cars, not sure about vans) can achieve 180W on the cigerette lighter socket. So a power inverter that gives you a 3pin socket would work.
For example : I've done this to charge laptops and things on our e-Niro

Sorry, my point about tools was that I've had experience of essential equipment running out of juice. My power tools become at best a very expensive hammer. A bv without juice wouldn't even have that use... !