Innovations in Electric Motor Vehicles

Innovations in electric motor vehicles and how we charge them, is the way forward for a clean future. Problems, problems, problems and a serious change in lifestyle!

The problems we face are:

• Choosing an effective material and structure to manufacture our energy storage cells from, for example using minerals that destroy our planet as a basis for manufacturing is not a viable proposition, this is probably an area beyond our control and will require legislation and innovation.
• Choosing an effective way of charging our vehicles is something to which we as individuals can have direct input and influence.

Let us take a look at some of the options we are facing as the future of our personised transport evolves into clean energy.

Electric cars have long faced two key problems, that of a limited range and a lack of places to charge. Electric car ranges are extending with each new model launch and battery technology breakthrough but what of the charging facilities?

Does the UK have the EV charging infrastructure to support widespread electric car use and could an EV fit in with your lifestyle with the charging infrastructures we have now?

Personally I believe this is going to be a market area that needs specialised electrical installation expertise ranging from small localised chargers that can plug into a 13/16 amp socket outlets in domestic/small businesses to three phase high current charging systems for industrial purposes.

Firstly, most electric vehicle (EV) owners plug in at home, at work, or both.

Most cars are parked for many hours, a perfect time to recharge the cells so you have full capacity when needed. A modern 7kW unit will take a car from flat to full in about four hours, easily achievable during an overnight or working-day charge.

If charging from normal household power, the process will take significantly longer.

The big question with electric car ownership is – how long it will take my electric car to charge? And how much will it cost?

As you can imagine with differing models, charger types and charging networks, the answer is – it depends.

The average EV charging time can be from eight hours on domestic power to less than an hour with a higher voltage charger.