To qualify for congestion charge exemption your vehicle will need to meet strict emissions limits. These are defined as any plug-in hybrid car that produces less than 75g/km of carbon dioxide and is capable of doing a minimum of 20 miles of electric-only running. Fully electric cars are also exempt as they don’t give off any emissions and only use battery power.

This depends on your vehicle but for our purposes, we’re going to use a typical electric car with a 60kWh battery and around a 200-mile range.

According to some of the most recent studies (2021), the cost of charging at home will equate to around £9.20 for a full charge. Rapid charging locations can be found at major motorway service stations and will often charge by time instead of amount. These costs are typically £6.50 for a 30 min charge which would equate to about a 100-mile range. There are also free charging sites with workplaces and some public locations offering free charges to promote electric vehicle use.

These prices will vary according to the type of vehicle you have.

The government has a complete guide to applying for OLEV, OZEV  and plug-in vehicles grant schemes. Our complete service, from survey to installation takes care of this for you so you can start saving on fuel costs and reducing your carbon emissions efficiently and economically.

Installing an advanced electric vehicle charging point or points is easy with Trent Vehicle Charging.

Our team will start with a free survey and initial assessment before suggesting a system and installation programme. Once signed off, we will send a team out to install your vehicle charge points. Our installations are carried out with BS7671 wiring regulations and IET Best Practice Guidance.

Every installation is different but the basic steps for a charge point installation are;

• Install wiring from the consumer unit or distribution board to the chargepoint
• Install chargepoint to the wall and connect the wiring to it.
• Install any other associated equipment required and connect the wiring to it.
• Make the final connection to the CU or DB.
• Carry out inspection and testing of the circuit for certification.
• Commission the chargepoint.
• Hand over to the customer.

Once installed we will make sure your charge point is working efficiently and even offer ongoing maintenance checks to ensure the longevity and safety of your charge point.

Only plug-in hybrids, otherwise known as PHEVs, can be charged at a charge point. These vehicles have all the benefits of electric and petrol vehicles and many people have taken to opting for PHEV before committing to a fully electric vehicle.

This all depends on the vehicle you have and the charge point you are using to charge. Most electric vehicle owners rarely use the full charge before finding somewhere to top up. For example, rapid charging points can add 100 miles of range in as little as 30 minutes. 

However, if you do need to charge to full you can use the benchmark of fewer than 8 hours to charge a 60kWh battery to full on a 7kW charging point. This time will change depending on the size of the vehicle’s battery and the speed of the charge point.

Some vehicle charging stations are free. Workplaces are one of the biggest proponents of free charging with company parking lots offering employees free vehicle charges as a perk. You can also find free charging points at various public spaces. When planning a trip, it’s a good idea to search for free charge points en route and plan your trip with these stops in mind.

Not counting private charge points there are now more than 35,000 charge points across the UK. These points are all easy to find on sites like Zap Map with over 13,000 locations up and down the country servicing electric vehicle charging needs. This industry is booming with 2020 seeing more than 7,000 new charge point connections installed with the largest increase in ultra-rapid 150-350kW chargers.

EVs have come a long way with the range of vehicles depending on the model and purpose. Smaller, city-focused cars are incredibly efficient and quick to charge but max out at under a 100-mile range. Mid-range family vehicles can achieve between 100-200 miles on a single charge, while premium EVs like Teslas and Jaguars can reach more than 250-300 miles on a single charge. 

If you’re using one of the modern plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) then you will mainly rely on the combustion engine for travel with the electric-only mode working for between 15-40 miles. PHEVs, when using both fuel types, can easily reach 500 miles or more.

In short, yes. There are several claims that producing electric batteries is bad for the environment but EV batteries can be recycled and repurposed. EVs also have zero emissions which is a drastic improvement on the fumes released by petrol and diesel engines daily.

Electric car batteries, like petrol car batteries, have a lifespan. Most new electric vehicles will have a warranty on the batteries with most car manufacturers offering a time or mileage warranty. Make sure to check your car’s warranty so you know exactly the circumstances for a replacement. 

When EV batteries need to be retired they can be used in other industries such as solar panels for homes or in industrial uses. This creates a closed-loop system that makes better use of the materials used in making the lithium batteries in EVs.

Large car manufacturers like Nissan and Volkswagen have also begun to offer customers a recycling scheme with Toyota planning to install retired batteries in convenience stores around Japan to supply power. Renault also has a home energy battery storage scheme in place for retired batteries.

Batteries that aren’t repaired for use in vehicles or used in recycling schemes have to be disposed of safely. Volkswagen is leading the charge in this endeavour as they are introducing a scheme to break down batteries safely and extract materials such as nickel, manganese, and lithium which can then be used to create new batteries.