Air Pollution - Will They Act Now?

[grufty]

It would be nice to think that the need for the private car will be reduced (autonomous vehicles, car clubs, active travel). However these EVs will surely still be the cause of toxic particles from brakes and tyres?
For those on terraced streets who must have a car perhaps the installation of sunken channels is an option, in a similar way to the possibility of installing dropped kerbs, at a cost.

[Tangled Metal]

We used to run temporary telephone cables across paths and roads, covered in a protective strip. But what sort of voltage is in a charging cable? Presumably low, otherwise I can imagine trouble ahead....

240v. The charging cable is nothing more than a mains lead, the actual charger is in the car.
They're armoured cables though so you'd need to be fairly determined to damage them.


Kerbside chargers aren't difficult to install, just needs political will (or in this governments case a "mate" with no experience who's willing to bid 10's of billions for a job that should only cost a tenth that).
The good thing about houses - even terraces is they line streets which have power lines running along them.
But as I've already pointed out, you can charge the car elsewhere just like you do when you fill up with petrol.

Interesting. How can I tap into the overhead power cable? Free electricity as outside of our meter?

[Tangled Metal]

Btw if you're thinking of getting an EV to be green, isn't it better to run your existing car into the ground than buy the pollution of a new ev when there's life in the old car jest?

We are at the point where our car isn't safe. Sure it'll pass it's mot every time but the things wrong with it make it unsafe in certain weather conditions. Without that fact being the case we would never look at getting another car.

Btw what's the secondhand situation with EVs? We usually buy ICE car at about 5 years old. Is it wise doing the same with EVs?

[kwackers]

Interesting. How can I tap into the overhead power cable? Free electricity as outside of our meter?

You have overhead power!?

Find an old dodgem and nick the pickup off the back.

[kwackers]

Btw if you're thinking of getting an EV to be green, isn't it better to run your existing car into the ground than buy the pollution of a new ev when there's life in the old car jest?

We are at the point where our car isn't safe. Sure it'll pass it's mot every time but the things wrong with it make it unsafe in certain weather conditions. Without that fact being the case we would never look at getting another car.

Btw what's the secondhand situation with EVs? We usually buy ICE car at about 5 years old. Is it wise doing the same with EVs?

My last car was 15 when I got shut for an EV.
I guess you should allow for the fact that the payback for an EV in terms of pollution is only a few 10's of thousands of miles and if you're replacing an old car then IC engines don't age well either.

Second hand EV's are really just about the range. Does it do what you need it to? If so then why not.
Not huge amounts of choice second hand atm but its growing all the time.

[merseymouth]

Hi, With the latest VW 1 ton Electric Van having a maximum range of just 87 miles, it will be little use to many carriers! As that class of van is also the base vehicle for many camper vans it will be even less useful in that scenario!
So many elements of the governments strategy are only workable in dense urban areas it won't be a game changer.
When it is pointed out that we can't re-fuel our fossil fuel vehicle outside our front door, I'd counter with the fact that one can be in and out of a service station in as little as 5 minutes, try that with Sparky's chariot?
What is really needed is for politicians to develop a backbone, then put in place a strict time-table for the removal of wasteful vehicles from our roads. But we all know that compliance to ridiculous E.U. regulations always gives false figures when compared with real world consumption figures. That will not change when we depart the E.U., we will still be stuck with all of the daft stuff!
Before they built a railway station near to my home the bus service was not great, now it is awful! But we did have a Helicopter Pad .
Only when it is accepted that change will actually happen will change begin to happen.
Manchester said "We will have a congestion charge, we will improve public transport, there is no plan B"? Well obviously the selfish wasters voted it down! They've since then had Plans B, C, D etc ever since. MM

[Oldjohnw]

I guess EVs have to start some where. Modern ICE vehicles such as we see now are not the same as those 100 years ago.

[mjr]

It would be nice to think that the need for the private car will be reduced (autonomous vehicles, car clubs, active travel). However these EVs will surely still be the cause of toxic particles from brakes and tyres?

Tyres yes but those are not quite as bad as brakes. Brake particles are reduced on cars with regenerative braking, basically using motors as a dynamo to put some energy back into the batteries.

For those on terraced streets who must have a car perhaps the installation of sunken channels is an option, in a similar way to the possibility of installing dropped kerbs, at a cost.

Many older terraced streets still have their sunken channels to take drainpipe water to the street gutter. Some even have metal covers with slots in, making it easy to thread a mains wire through. I suspect most anti electric arguers haven't lived in one much.

[Tangled Metal]

Interesting. How can I tap into the overhead power cable? Free electricity as outside of our meter?

You have overhead power!?

Find an old dodgem and nick the pickup off the back.

Yes. They had to replace it 9 years ago because it was leaking into the wall where it went into our house and then round the corner into next door. Our builders employee got a right shock when he got close with the wet render!!!

Electricity Northwest dropped everything and a supervisor dashed up from Manchester to check n it out. Couldn't fault them and it was fixed in 2 weeks. At least it was beyond the meter so we didn't get overcharged!!!

Now it's against code to put overheads in.

[Tangled Metal]

It would be nice to think that the need for the private car will be reduced (autonomous vehicles, car clubs, active travel). However these EVs will surely still be the cause of toxic particles from brakes and tyres?

Tyres yes but those are not quite as bad as brakes. Brake particles are reduced on cars with regenerative braking, basically using motors as a dynamo to put some energy back into the batteries.

For those on terraced streets who must have a car perhaps the installation of sunken channels is an option, in a similar way to the possibility of installing dropped kerbs, at a cost.

Many older terraced streets still have their sunken channels to take drainpipe water to the street gutter. Some even have metal covers with slots in, making it easy to thread a mains wire through. I suspect most anti electric arguers haven't lived in one much.

Some down our street have those drains, long since covered over in our street though. You would struggle to get a cable into them. TBH you could easily charge with an overhead arrangement from a window in our street. The issue then is an open window and no guarantee you've got a parking space anywhere near your house.

If anyone thinks it's practical they obviously haven't lived in a terraced street recently. It's a car based warzone at times. Although at our end of the street we've got the parking version of nuclear deterrent, our neighbour. He's had a few arguments and made a few points so interlopers from other streets no longer do that at our end. It means we usually get near to our house if on the other side or round the bend a little.

[merseymouth]

Hi MJR, If you include me in the anti-EV group I would counter with the provable fact that I have only ever lived in terraced housing!
Yes, I certainly recall the cast-iron channels for rainwater dispersal, but even they only occurred every three of four houses, so not a lot of use with universal car ownership. Add into the mix the prevalence of multi car ownership in many houses it shows that the car is the problem not the solution.
Like Cyril we don't own a car, merely rent when no other way is possible. I do miss my bubble car though, no frills. MM

[paddler]

I don't think they would allow a mains cable in a drain somehow.

[mjr]

If anyone thinks it's practical they obviously haven't lived in a terraced street recently. It's a car based warzone at times. Although at our end of the street we've got the parking version of nuclear deterrent, our neighbour. He's had a few arguments and made a few points so interlopers from other streets no longer do that at our end. It means we usually get near to our house if on the other side or round the bend a little.

Sorry to hear about your neighbour. Sounds like ASBO territory.

It is practical for many, not all, and will become more practical as more charging points and types are offered. There are "electric forecourts" in a couple of places already (one in Essex) and more will come, possibly recycling petrol/diesel ones as they phase out. The not long refurbished co-op service station in little Necton already has 8 chargers.

Yes, I certainly recall the cast-iron channels for rainwater dispersal, but even they only occurred every three of four houses, so not a lot of use with universal car ownership.

I thought ours were every two houses, but maybe we lived in posh old fishing houses!

Agree about the multicar ownership problem. Should insurers be banned from offering multicar discounts?

I don't think they would allow a mains cable in a drain somehow.

1. Why not? People put mains cables in garden ponds.
2. How would they know anyway? I doubt there's a Mains Cable Surveillance Officer roaming the terraced streets now.

[paddler]

Garden ponds aren't public highways. Anyway, a quick perusal of the HSE website says that a cable should be surrounded by 75mm of sand. I think they will struggle with terraced roads.
I wonder if battery technology will progress to the point where they are small and light enough to take indoors and charge overnight, obviously they will have to be cheap too. Or at least manageable enough to swap over in a filling station for a charged one.

[pete75]

Meanwhile, also in today's news, the enemies of the people have given the third Heathrow runway the green light

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-55322340

Now, all it needs is for that anti-bulldozer chappie to lie in front of them ......

No problem with that he lies everywhere else.