No off-street parking? No problem. Here are five ways to charge your electric vehicle if you have on-street parking.
One of the biggest barriers to EV charging is how homeowners without the luxury of off-street parking are unable to get a dedicated home charger installed on their property – but this is no longer the case with the ChargeArm!
The ChargeArm is an all-new alternative for charging your electric vehicle “over the pavement.” The Dutch-designed ChargeArm allows EV drivers to charge overhead instead of obstructing the pavement with wires and cables.
The ChargeArm is installed at the front of your property and can be wall-mounted or ground-mounted. Given that the charging arm extends and is suspended from a distinct height whilst charging, you can easily charge your EV without bothering pedestrians or posing a safety hazard. Simply unplug your charging connector from the unit, tug the arm down and plug your connector into your EV.
So, say goodbye to untidy three-pin plug charging and long waits at public charging points with the ChargeArm! A unit that promises safe, tidy, and clean charging.
To read more about how the ChargeArm, please click here.
Use Zap-Map to find your nearest public charging point and top up on your charge!
If you are tactical about your charging, you could also find public charging points that allow you to charge for FREE! To find free public charging points, simply click the filter on the Zap-Map app or website.
One thing to note is that public charging is the least convenient out of all the EV charging methods. You may have to leave your home and wait around for a few hours until your EV is sufficiently charged, which is a pain, especially if you don’t have a real need to leave the house. Therefore, a top tip is to always time your public charging for when you need to leave the house, such as if you need to go shopping or to the cinema, as you can charge whilst you are out and about, instead of having to kill time.
However, the bright side of public EV charging is that the network is growing every day. There are now over 31,000 chargers in the UK alone, according to Zap-Map, so there will always be a charger nearby if you need one!
Charging your electric vehicle at work is a great way to save on both charging costs and time! If your employer offers free EV charging, you can charge whilst parked at work, meaning you are significantly reducing commuting costs (especially compared to an internal combustion engine vehicle, given the rising cost of fuel!). Not only that, but you have one less thing to worry about, given that you will have significantly and conveniently charged your EV if you work the typical 7.5-hour day. The length of your working day might even equal a full charge for certain EVs, such as the Nissan leaf! You won’t have to top up at a public charge point on the way home, either.
Having electric vehicle chargers at the workplace can also bring multiple benefits for the company itself, such as increased employee satisfaction and retention and improved green credentials.
What should I do if my workplace doesn’t have electric vehicle charging points?
Tell them about the Workplace Charging Scheme grant – there is up to £14,000 worth of government funding available! To read about the WCS in more detail, please click here.
We install both home and commercial electric vehicle chargers, so if you would like a tailored EV charging solution, first-class customer service and unbiased advice, we are here, and we will help you every step of the way.
To charge your electric vehicle with a 3-pin plug, you will need three things: a standard 3-pin domestic socket in your house, a 3-pin plug car charger that will fit with your EV (either Type 1 or Type 2) and lastly, an electric vehicle. To charge, you simply plug one side into your electric car and the other into a 3-pin plug socket.
While it may sound easy enough, three-pin plug charging has some drastic disadvantages. Firstly, you will need to thread wires in, out and around your home, which is not only messy and tricky but can be dangerous as cables and wires will be on public pavements. With this in mind, you need to check your local council’s policy on three-pin plug charging and on-street parking as some are against it, deeming it to be a safety hazard to others as the wires & cables obstruct the pavement – a hazard to pedestrians, especially children and people with disabilities. When conjoined with other variables such as parked cars and bins too, it can be extremely risky.
Secondly, there is the risk that members of the public could accidentally (or purposefully) unplug your electric vehicle when it is charging – disrupting your charging schedule.
Thirdly, 3-pin plug charging is dangerous in terms of electricals as they are not designed for continuous high-power usage, such as charging electric cars.
Finally, 3-pin plug charging may seem convenient, but it is actually the slowest way to charge your electric vehicle – it could take up to or over 18 hours for a full charge.
As industry experts, we only recommend using a three-pin plug charger in emergencies.
To read more about 3-pin plug charging, please read our blog here.
If your friends, family members or neighbours have dedicated home chargers, they might be kind enough to let you use them! We only recommend this when visiting or as a last resort – you don’t want any fallouts!
Moreover, you would have to check that their electric vehicle charger was compatible with your electric car. For example, a Type 2 EV would need a matching Type 2 charging cable.
Are you looking to get a ChargeArm installed? We Power Your Car can sort it for you!
Call us on 03333 44 96 99, our expert customer service team are always happy to help and will provide you with more information.
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This type of electric charger has it's own cable to charge your car.
This type of electric charger requires a seperate cable to charge your car.
Spread over a 60 month period.
Tenants and homeowners are eligible for finance.
You decide the amount of months.
Minimum of £1000.
We will contact you to process the credit application. Approval is subject to application, financial circumstances and borrowing history. 13.9% APR representative. T&Cs apply.
Your order is not confirmed until your application has been approved.
We lay SWA cable laid at 600mm deep, with a protective cable warning tape laid 150mm above the cable. These are laid on a sand or sifted sand soil bed then backfilled.
We position overhead cables at a minimum height of 3.5m and are run along a catenary wire. The cable run should not be accessible to vehicles.
Standard Installation
Our instant price is fixed if it falls within our standard installation package plus any additions that you have selected (extra cabling for example). This package covers the majority of homes in the UK. Before we undertake your installation we will carry out a digital survey to check that nothing has been missed. After reviewing the survey results some additional work may be required in order to complete your installation safely and to the required standards. If this is the case, we will contact you well before the installation date and advise the cost of any required work. You can then continue with your installation, or alternatively we will refund you in full if you do not want to proceed.
Included in our standard installation is :
• Fitting of a single phase charge point to a brick or plaster wall or other suitable permanent structure
• Up to 10 metres of cable, run and neatly clipped to the wall between the electricity supply meter / distribution board and the charge point.
• Routing of the cable through a drilled hole in a wall up to 500mm (20 inches) thick if this is needed.
• The fitting and testing of electrical connections and protections required for the charge point.
• An additional three way consumer unit, if required
• Installation of a Type A RCBO in an RCBO enclosure
• Up to 3 metres of plastic trunking to conceal interior wiring.
• An O-pen earth protection device if the charge point requires it. (This is NOT an earth rod)
• Up to 4 hours of labour from your installer to complete the work.
• Electrical testing of the whole installation.
• Handover and setup of the charge point and any app that may be needed.
Not included in our standard installation (additional work) :
• Where the installation requires additional cabling over and above the amount you have told us about.
• Upgrade/replacement of the main incoming supply fuse where the local DNO (eg Northern Powergrid) would need to attend site.
• If the charge point is to be mounted on a post/pedestal rather than an existing wall and where you have not selected a post as an extra cost option in your order.
• Installation of a charge point to a three phase supply.
• Where gas and water mains bonding (earthing) is not in place at your property. If this is not in place, additional work would be required before installation of the charge point.
• Any groundwork that has not been selected during the order process.
A Surge Protection Device is not included in our standard installation.
What else you need to know :
• On the day of installation, please ensure that the area around your consumer unit (fuse box), incoming electricity supply meter and proposed charge point location (including where the cable is expected to be run) is clear and free of obstructions.
• We will need your WiFi password as part of the installation process in order to connect your charge point to the internet. Please have this available for the installer. Details will not be kept.
• The charge point must be on your own designated off road parking.
• The charger will be fixed in line with current guidelines at a height where it cannot be hit by a vehicle.
• Our installers are not able to enter loft spaces; lift floorboards or flooring; take apart any furniture of work above a height of 2m. If you anticipate that any of this may be required, then please contact us and we can discuss in more detail and provide you with a quotation.
• Should there be extreme weather conditions our installers may not be able to continue with you installation if it is not safe to do so (for example flooding). They will always do their best to complete the work where they can.
If you have any questions then please contact our customer service team who will be happy to help. Please also read our terms and conditions.
