street lights and EV charging points

[Sureitsoff?]

not having any experience of street lighting infrastructure this comment in my local rag got me thinking. will it work??

"Another "exciting" project working with Norfolk County Council is looking at adapting streetlights to create charging points in residential areas.
The columns, the report states, normally have a larger electricity supply that the street light actually needs.

Power from a street light can work at 5kW - enough to charge a 60kW battery overnight, or to top-up following an average daily commute in just over an hour."

are the supply cables for street lighting big enough to do this?

 

[JohnD]

No

 

[boringoldcodger]

are the supply cables for street lighting big enough to do this?

They're certainly deemed to be big enough around me (near Pimlico tube station), there's one in the lamppost outside and several in the street as a whole. Also I frequently see cars being charged, from a lamppost, in the Chelsea and Battersea areas.

 

[Mottie]

My mate has them down his street in East Ham, Newham, East London. Mind you, the space next to the posts are not reserved for EV's so it’s pot luck whether an EV owner can get anywhere near one!

My mate who would like an EV asked the local council if he could pay for an EV charging point to be installed outside his house and be made a dedicated EV vehicle parking bay and they basically told him to **** off. This is why EV vehicles are not going to work for those that don’t have their own off-street parking.

 

[Taylortwocities]

This is why EV vehicles are not going to work for those that don’t have their own off-street parking.

Yes, add that to the levelling up agenda!

EVs only practical for Mr detached house with driveway but not for Mrs Terraced House with on-street parking.

 

[davelx]

All the terraced houses round here were built with a small front garden, most of which have been converted for off-street parking. I can get two vehicles on mine.

That still leaves those with no space out front though.

 

[JohnW2]

All the terraced houses round here were built with a small front garden, most of which have been converted for off-street parking. I can get two vehicles on mine.

In some parts of the country, there are still countless houses whose front doors open, literally or almost, onto the pavement. One of my daughters' house, in a small rural village, has a front garden, but less than 1 metre 'long' - and I don't think they make cars that small

Kind Regards, John

 

[ericmark]

In some parts of the country, there are still countless houses whose front doors open, literally or almost, onto the pavement. One of my daughters' house, in a small rural village, has a front garden, but less than 1 metre 'long' - and I don't think they make cars that small

Kind Regards, John

It is the same here, the houses are on a hill side, and around 1 meter house to road, which is sloped so just enough room for the resident to set out of their house and check no traffic coming before crossing the road.

The local railway has two 22 kW charging points, and as it stands only way for a resident to use an EV is to charge it at the railway. There is a car park for the residents, but no charging points, so it is a ¼ mile walk to the railway, in 2019 when I moved here the two charging points are the railway were rarely used, this year seen it where we have needed to ask one EV owner to vacate the charge point so a tourist could charge their car.

I could if I wished charge an EV at the back of the house, I can park four or more cars off the public road, and only one parking place will visitors to the house walk past, but most in the town do not have the ability to charge an EV, and although we turn a blind eye to cars parked on the street causing problems for delivery vehicles, like oil tankers with central heating oil, it is highly unlikely a EV charge point will be allowed on most of the roads.

 

[bernardgreen]

They're certainly deemed to be big enough around me (near Pimlico tube station)

Out in the country the feed cables to lamp posts are very small diameter, protected from overload by the 6 amp fuse. A fault in the cable would be "protected" by the 200 amp breaker in the substation. No way that cable could safely handle a 4kW load.

,

 

[SUNRAY]

No

More information please.

 

[JohnW2]

In some parts of the country, there are still countless houses whose front doors open, literally or almost, onto the pavement. One of my daughters' house, in a small rural village, has a front garden, but less than 1 metre 'long' - and I don't think they make cars that small

Below is the aforementioned daughter's 'cottage' (the one in the middle with an 'overgrown' front door!), in a neighbouring village to mine. It's 'Listed', but for no really good reason other than that it was built in the 1700s - most of the other properties in the terrace have been 'de-Listed' by request of their occupants! Given the satellite dishes that can be seen, the Listed Building folk don't seem too strict around there!

As you can see, there's just about enough room for an (eyesore!) 'wheely bin' between the houses and their 'front walls.

Even if it were 'legal'/'allowed' driving a car onto that 'grass verge' would be impossible. It's not at all obvious from the photo, but that verge is very 'steep', the pavement in front of the houses being at least 2 metres above road level. People have, however, been known to drive cars up onto the 'elevated pavement' (up the slope that can be seen on the left of the pic)!!

Kind Regards, John

 

[ericmark]

This

is typical in Mid Wales, parking is already a problem, and there are moves to paint yellow lines, hard enough finding space for the waste collection bins, EV cars are a non starter.

 

[flameport]

parking is already a problem

Fixed by the inevitability that in the near to mid future, the whole idea of everyone owning a car or three for their own exclusive use must go away.

 

[JohnW2]

Fixed by the inevitability that in the near to mid future, the whole idea of everyone owning a car or three for their own exclusive use must go away.

A logical/rational idea (if I recall, often promoted by BAS) but, given human nature' / sociology / psychology / whatever, I'm not so sure about "near to mid future"!

I have similarly heard it suggested that it is irrational that countless millions of pairs of people each individually heat a building, when substantial groups of them could much more (energy) efficiently occupy a single building (or even single room!) - and even that they should perhaps re-consider their expectation of being able to wear 'indoor clothes' when inside a building

It may come down to a question of whether sociological evolution should always go 'in the same direction'

Kind Regards, John

 

[cdbe]

Reminds me of when I got my first car in 1910. I had to drive 80 miles to the nearest petrol station. I knew then that these things would never catch on, even with the government plan to ban the sale of horse and carts a few years later. If only those industries who could have made vast fortunes from providing the infrastructure to support these contraptions had got their fingers out things could have been very different today!