Probably there's no one better than Michael Boxwell to tell us about the implications of owning an EV, since he has gone from a G-Wiz, to a longer range Tata Indica Vista EV going through the pre-launch version of our own vehicle, a Mitsubishi i-MiEV. Despite his mere £80 to run Michael's EV in a year there were some other drawbacks associated to that. And planning this route to Cardiff has confirmed that indeed those challenges still exist. As mentioned by one of my colleagues, "Driving 400 miles in a car with a 60 mile range?' The rational answer to would be: I am an Engineer, it sounds like fun!
So here we go... following Google's suggested route for a normal petrol vehicle suggests that the trip (one-way) is 306 miles (490km). But we can't just go down that road, as the charging points aren't quite exactly distributed along the debatably scenic A1, M1 and M5. So as an engineer, I shall ponder, what is the optimal route? Answer is simple: the one with the greatest amount of charging points density with the shortest distance between Durham and Cardiff.
At this point I feel I should get a refund for my undergraduate degree... Not quite, but almost.
Fortunately, the good guys at Next Green Car have developed a map that shows exactly what we wanted: the charging point density along the way in the UK. After some careful pondering, logical navigation sense, and maybe a beer, the high-level route to follow is this one:
- Durham
- Darlington
- York
- Halifax
- Manchester
- Stoke-on-Trent
- Sutton
- Worcester
- Bristol
- Cardiff
But since images (or maps) say a thousand words, here's the google map.
Was it really that easy?
Of course not.
Despite the awesome efforts made by others in consolidating all charging locations, to make use of them one still has to book in advance a charging session, pay for the charging session (or not since some of them are temporarily free), ensure that the charging station is operational (and compatible). And just to add a wee bit more flavour to the experience: fast, slow, or rapid charging? rapid? huh?
Fine, I'll get technical:
- Rapid is a 125 Amp DC CHAdeMO DC connection.
- Fast is a 32 Amp, 1-phase AC Mennekes connector (IEC 62196)
- Slow is a 13/16 Amp 1-phase AC 3-pin plug (BS1363)
Without a doubt, we will start the road trip wearing beanies and winter coats in silence, as the distance Darlington - York is 58 miles, just about the lower end for the range of our i-MiEV. As one may imagine, anything going from the radio, to the heating of a car will drain down the energy capacity faster. Excellent excuse to depart after sunrise, why use headlights when you have the sun right?
Most distances between charging stations are 45 miles appart though, which gives me some relief as getting stuck in between towns would definitely not contribute to my own definition of "fun", or at least, "enjoyable fun".
The stations are hybrid, in the sense that some of them have a combination of Fast, Slow/Fast, Slow/Fast/Rapid, etc. charging outlet capacities. To my surprise, five of the stations we plan on visiting are "Slow/Fast". Three are "Fast". One is "Slow/Rapid" and one is "Slow/Fast/Rapid". Maybe we'll have to be nice to people in the "Slow/Fast" stations to get a better charging time? - Maybe we'll just have to book in advance? We'll find out next week.
Am I missing something? Yes! The charging point deviation represents a mileage increase of about 31.4% from the shortest possible route suggested by Google (402 miles or 647 km instead of 306 miles or 490 km).
Will we able to make it on time for the conference? or simply make it to Cardiff? Well, I shall be more peaceful after tomorrow's first attempt at learning how to use Durham's i-MiEV. After all, it's only a 60 mile range car right? What can go wrong?
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