Residential electric vehicle charge points questions and answers
Who are the charge points for?
Anyone can use them, but their primary purpose is to provide access to local charge points within a 5-10 minute walk for residents who do not have dedicated off-street parking. Usually, these residents are unlikely to have home charging facilities or feel comfortable transitioning to an electric vehicle if there is nowhere to charge either at home, or near to home.
How many are being installed?
At all sites, 4 dual socket 7-kilowatt charge points are being installed over 8 parking bays. This caters for existing and future demand, and reduces the need for further construction works and inconvenience.
How long will it take to charge a vehicle?
Depending on the vehicle type and battery, these charge points should fully charge the average vehicle in 6-8 hours. These slower speeds are more suitable for residential use, particularly overnight charging.
When can you use the charge points?
The charge points are available 24/7, with some bays dedicated as ‘EV Only’, and the remaining bays available to all vehicles (to limit the impact on existing parking spaces). If you are using any of the bays to charge your vehicle, there is a 6-hour maximum stay during the daytime, to allow the bays to be available for other drivers to use (specific timings vary between sites). Outside of these hours, when residents will likely be charging overnight, there is no maximum stay. Relevant signage will be installed to provide users with information on the bay types and parking restrictions.
How much will it cost to use the charge points?
The charge points are operated and managed by BP Pulse, with pricing set as per its national tariffs. There are different rates available depending on whether you are using pay-as-you-go or its membership scheme. There is no fee for using the parking space.
Read BP Pulse's tariff information.
Why have these sites been chosen to host charge points?
The grant funding criteria stipulates that the land must be in local authority ownership and be accessible 24/7, which does limit the site options available to host this provision. The biggest constraint is the cost to connect to the electricity grid and the length of dig needed to get a point of connection, again limiting the number of sites that are viable for charge point installation through the grant funding. In addition, the chosen sites are located close to clusters of properties which do not have access to dedicated off-street parking, which forms part of the evidence required to support the application for grant funding.
Are there going to be other sites in my town/village?
We're always looking at potential sites to be able to provide charge points. In some places, this will be led by the private sector. However, there is grant funding available to local authorities to be able to provide charge points in some of the more difficult locations, in order to provide fair access for residents across the area. We're also exploring the use of street light columns and pavement gullies to provide a suite of options for charging, and are advancing proposals to provide rapid charge points in some towns and along main transport routes. There is a requirement to have a variety of charging speeds and types, as there is not one solution that works for every need.