Page 3 - HGS Suburb News 151 - Autumn 2022

EV charging in the Suburb

IVAN BERG climate change, because in 1997 house and run it over the
it wasn’t on anyone’s agenda. pavement, forget it. It’s not only
admit to being a bit of a petrol- And now, a quarter of a illegal, but the power flowing to the
head, my pride and joy is an century later, electric cars really battery will be just a trickle. You
I oldish BRG (that’s British Racing are here, and they have more than can request a lamp post charge
Green), Jaguar. I was with BBC Top enough power and range to point by emailing Barnet Council
Gear magazine for 17 years, and compete with petrol and diesel at EVCharging@Barnet.gov.uk.
yet, and yet, I have been an powered cars. And in the Suburb What does the Trust say
enthusiastic promoter of the they’re everywhere. about on-street lamp post electric
electric car since I first drove one Now that you know where I’m car charging? I asked Trust Chief
and wrote about the experience coming from, let’s talk about the Executive Simon Henderson. He
for the magazine in, oh, I dunno, only problem with electric cars was unequivocal: “The Trust
maybe as long ago as 1997. that’s left. How and where to welcomes Barnet’s increasing
I think it was a Citroen, or charge them. provision of EV charging points
maybe a Peugeot, and the test If your house has a driveway that provide a discreet and
drive was limited to 20 minutes, you can install a 7Kw/h home convenient on-street facility
as that was about as long as the charging unit on a convenient wall without compromising the unique
batteries would last. I was actually and then plug in your car for an character or amenity of the
at the wheel for 10 minutes as I overnight charge, just as you do Suburb.” He also welcomed the
had to share the drive with the your smartphone. And the idea of the Trojan pavement pop-
Daily Telegraph’s motoring electricity used will cost you no up charger (see below) because of
correspondent. We both thought more than the standard rate, its minimally intrusive nature.
that one day, in the very far off which can be as little as 28p per As you might expect in this
future, but possibly never, the Kw/h. If your electric car has a 21st Century, technology is,
electric car would be practical, typical 50Kw battery, a full charge (pardon the pun), charging to the
and would have enough power can cost as little as £14, usually rescue. Camden and Brent
and range to compete with petrol enough to take you at least 200 Councils are currently trialling the
and diesel powered cars. We did miles. Compare this to the cost of Trojan Energy pavement pop-up
agree that when they eventually fuelling a family car that does 40 electric car charger (see right).
did arrive, they would probably be miles to the gallon for the same This solves the clutter problem of
cheaper to run. We didn’t talk about distance and you can see that chargers on pavement posts while
the benefits to the environment or you’re quids in. making car charging at up to
But, you ask, what about 22Kw/h available to all, at the
those of us who have no option roadside. You can read all about it
The Trojan Energy pavement
but to park on the street? Well, at Trojan’s website trojan.energy. pop-up electric car charger
you may have noticed that Barnet However, and this is a big
Council are installing charge ‘however’, maybe this is a solution about ‘fuelling’ your electric car at charging is much faster, and is the
points in street lamps (see left). I looking for a problem. Electric car a charging station? The answer only solution if you need to charge
say ‘may’ because there are less charge points are popping up the electric car owner will up on a long trip. And it needn’t
than a sprinkling of them in the everywhere; in supermarket car inevitably come up with is ‘time’ be that much more expensive.
Suburb. If you look at Zapmap, parks, in workplace parking bays, and ‘convenience’ and ‘cost’. On a personal note, my son
the ‘must-have’ smartphone app charging bays in petrol stations, Time? It currently takes the Nik, Suburb resident, motoring
for electric car owners that shows motorway service stations and fastest chargers around 15 journalist, pundit and classic car
you where the chargers are, you increasingly in specially designed minutes to add 100 miles to an enthusiast, (he owns a classic
will see what I mean. Electric car and built ‘fast charge hubs’ in electric car’s battery. However, by Lotus Esprit), leases an electric
owners have to apply for one to be forecourts, complete with coffee 2024 Israeli battery company Kia EV6, has off-street parking and
fitted to a lamp post close to where bars, snacks and even cafes. (See StoreDot, backed by Daimler, has never charged it at home. He
they park, and promise to use it. Shell’s Fulham EV Charging Hub: Volvo, BP and Samsung, will have pays a small monthly subscription
*
You will pay a slightly higher rate, https://bit.ly/3OKA0Fk.) batteries that do this in five minutes to Ionity , an international
but of course you can still charge So, there’s an argument for and by 2032 plans to reduce this commercial hub charge company
overnight at up to 7Kw/h. pointing out that as you don’t to as little as two minutes! and pays a rate of 35p Kw/h per
Barnet’s Street Lamp If you think you can run an expect to fuel your petrol/diesel Convenience? Home owners charge at Ionity charge hubs. He
Charging Point
extension lead plugged in to your car at home, what’s so different with driveways already have this reckons he has saved £1,000 on
and the pavement pop-up charger fuel since the car arrived in March.
will make overnight charging
increasingly available to all as the *Ionity is one of a number of
infrastructure develops. subscription charging services springing
Cost? Charging at home over- up. Some of them are BP Pulse, Shell
night is obviously cheaper than Recharge, Podpoint, Instavolt, and
commercial hub charging. But hub Electric Highway.
A JOINT COMMUNITY AUDIT

The four churches that serve Hampstead Garden Suburb are collaborating to
establish the current pastoral and spiritual needs of those living in Hampstead
Garden Suburb. We recognise there are many different faiths within our
community, but we hope we can draw on the support of all the residents to
establish the needs going forward and how our buildings should be used in the
future. We will be using Survey Monkey and a link to the questionnaire can be
found at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/SZ69VHW or scan the QR code
below. All of our buildings need structural repairs and the results of this audit will We wish to purchase items of silver in any condition.
help underpin any future grant application(s) that any one or all of us may make. As a long standing resident of the Suburb, Gideon
Leaflets will have been put through residentsʼ doors in early September and the Cohen is happy to view your silverware in your home
survey should only take a few minutes of your time. Please help us to help you. and will make an offer to purchase, free of any obligation.
With thanks from:
17 The London Silver Vaults
David White, St Jude-on-the-Hill 53-64 Chancery Lane, London WC2A 1QT
Penny Trafford, HGS Free Church 020 7404 1425 | enquiries@gcohen.co.uk
Father Paul McDermott, St Edward the Confessor
Jean Jenn, The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) www.gcohen.co.uk

SUBURB NEWS IS PRODUCED AND DELIVERED TO YOU BY RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION VOLUNTEERS 3