Electric vehicles and where to charge them

• Electric vehicles
• Advantages of electric vehicles
• Plug-in car and charging point grants
• Public charging points in West Sussex

Electric vehicles

Electric vehicles (EVs) are becoming increasingly popular and more affordable. There are currently 4 types of electric vehicle on the market:

• Parallel Hybrid – powered by a conventional petrol or diesel engine with regenerative braking technology that captures the energy generated under braking. This energy is converted in to electricity which is usually used to power the vehicle at low speeds or boost the engine to improve fuel economy.
  
  
• Series Hybrid – powered entirely by an electric engine but with a small conventional engine used to keep the vehicle batteries charged.
  
  
• Plug-in Hybrid – capable of running on a rechargeable battery or a conventional petrol or diesel engine.
  
  
• Electric – electric engine only, powered by a rechargeable battery pack.

Advantages of electric vehicles

West Sussex County Council currently has an electric car and a hybrid. Whilst EVs are not a ‘silver bullet’ they do have a number of advantages over petrol and diesel fuelled vehicles:

• Very low running costs - 10,000 miles costs approximately £250. This helps to offset the higher purchase costs of electric vehicles.
• Low insurance costs
• No road tax
• Lower carbon dioxide emissions
• No air pollution at point of use
  
  

Plug-in car and charging point grants

The Office of Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV), which has been set up by the Government, is committed to promoting electric vehicles (EVs).

Since January 2011 OLEV has been making plug-in car grants of up to £5,000 available to purchase electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid or hydrogen fuelled cars.

A list of the qualifying vehicles and further information is available on the GOV.UK website.

In February 2013 the Government also announced that grants of up to 75% will be available to help EV owners with the upfront cost of installing a dedicated recharging unit in their garage or driveway. Further details about these grants can be found on OLEV's website.

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Public charging points in West Sussex

Twenty-two electric vehicle charging points are available at locations across West Sussex. Twenty points have been provided free of charge by SSE Contracting, in partnership with the County Council and the district and borough councils, with two additional points funded by air quality grant funding. The table below indicates the location of all the public charging points in West Sussex.

The West Sussex charging points are part of the Charge Your Car network. An interactive map showing the site locations is available on their website.

Membership costs £50.00 per year but the electricity is free. Members of the network also have access to charging points in other areas such as Brighton and Hove.

The County Council is encouraging developers to include provision for EV charging points at new residential and employment sites. Southern Rail is also installing charging points at some railways stations..

Current status and location of all EV charging points in West Sussex

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