Promoting electric vehicle use

EVs fall into two main sub-types: battery electric and hybrid.

Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs)

These are EVs which rely only on battery power. They use electricity from the grid instead of petrol-based fuels from pumps like an ICE car.

Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs)

These are vehicles which usually use a combustion engine with an electric propulsion system. You charge the battery by using the combustion engine. This means the electric propulsion range can be quite limited.

Mild hybrids are a further sub-type. These use electric power to supplement the combustion engine but do not have an electric-only mode.

Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) are another HEV sub-type. They use a combination of combustion engine and battery power. You can charge the battery by plugging into a charger like a BEV. These vehicles have a greater electric range than standard HEVs, but a lower one than BEVs.

We focus our Electric Vehicle Strategy on BEVs and PHEVs. This is because they use plug-in electricity to power their electric propulsion systems.

The sources of this electricity are more and more becoming greener ones, such as wind and solar power. So as the grid begins to rely less on the burning of fossil fuels to generate power, it will make them cleaner than other types of EV.

This is why it's important to us to provide suitable charging points across the authority. In line with national policy, we're looking to promote cleaner, more environmentally-friendly modes of transport. This is in keeping with our Zero Emission Transport City proposals.

EV chargers

You can charge EVs at home or in public. At home, you can charge some EVs using a standard plug connection. Others may need a device such as a wall-mounted charger.

There are specialist companies who install these, but unfortunately we cannot offer advice on home-based charging.

Public EV chargepoints are an area we are trying to improve countywide. We have an upcoming on-street chargepoint pilot scheme in Norwich. We're also working with other local authorities such as parishes and districts. This is to roll out better charging facilities in rural areas.

The main chargers found in the public realm are 'fast' and 'rapid'.

Fast chargers

This is the 7-22kW range, which will charge most vehicles. Depending on the vehicle's battery capacity and charger type, most vehicles will be fully charged in 3-8 hours.

For this reason we aim to install these in long-stay areas. For example, Park & Ride sites, or residential streets where people can leave their car overnight to charge. It's considered that anything less than 7kW is 'slow' or 'trickle' charging.

Rapid chargers

These are usually 43kW and over. Some 'ultra-rapid' facilities also exist. Some rapid facilities can fully charge a car in an hour, depending on the wattage and car's battery capacity.

But not all EVs can accept a rapid charge. Many will charge at 11kW and will so use 'fast' chargers instead.

While 'rapid' charging sounds more ideal, these chargers usually cost more to use. They're not suitable for every vehicle and problems with capacity on the electricity network can make their installation difficult.

Additionally, 'fast' chargers in the 7kW range use about the same amount of power as an electric shower. This means it can be possible to take a supply to them from an existing building like a community centre or village hall. That can help to reduce initial costs.