EV Charging. Courses, amount of work et al.

[gerry.slater65@]

Hello all.
I’m a 55 year old, old git.
Retired at 50 and did a few other things.
Now, though various reasons, I find myself unemployed.
I did my C and G 2330 levels 2 and 3 around 10 years ago. (17th) Not in NIC etc.
Done copious amounts of house bashing with other people.
I’m asking all you learned people, what do you think about me taking the EV Charging course?
Who with?
Am I qualified enough?
Would it be worth it, financially?
How would I get work?

Most of the above could ‘how long is a piece of string’ job....... but any advice or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Need to get this straight in my head before I spend money on all of the above..... money I haven’t really got to waste.

Thank you in anticipation.

Gerry.

 

[Zerax]

There needs to be more transparency over the real world range of EV's in differing environmental conditions
for them to be better accepted, we have government fuel consumption figures for ICE vehicles so why not range or watts/mile figures for EV's taking into account battery drain in differing environmental operating conditions
Until this happens people are going to be wary EV's and the manufacturers claims and rightly so

I'm sure we already have range figures for EVs... WLTP or something like that. They are generally accepted as 'best case' and will of course vary depending on your personal driving style and traffic conditions. That's pretty much exactly the same as you'd see for ICE vehicles.

But the point is... people focus on an issue that in 95% of cases is not an issue. You, personnaly may need to be able to drive 300 miles without a break... but for the vast majority of people it's not an issue. It often becomes an issue because people are told that is it not as high as an ICE and that it's a problem... as soon as someone looks seriously at the journeys they do... the penny drops and they realise it's not an issue at all.

There are issues with EVs that affect far far more people than range... mainly the lack of easily accessible public access charging points (for people without a home/work charging option)... that's the issue we should be focussed on... not range.

I must be coming across as some sort of EV evangelist... which I'm not... I've just done alot of research over the last few months to see if an EV van would suit me... and so far, it does... it makes alot of sense.

 

[gerry.slater65@]

@gerry.slater65@ What area are you in as company i work for always looking for installers

Very nice of you. I’m in London. Not far from Kings Cross. I see you’re in Southampton?

 

[UNG]

I'm sure we already have range figures for EVs... WLTP or something like that. They are generally accepted as 'best case' and will of course vary depending on your personal driving style and traffic conditions. That's pretty much exactly the same as you'd see for ICE vehicles.

Looking into the WLTP it appears to only compare vehicles over a standard driving profile

The best case only taking account of personal driving style and traffic conditions fails to take account of the climatic conditions like driving into a headwind, heating the vehicle, using the fan to demist it, using the wipers to clear the windscreen etc all use that precious power source in an EV, while driving into a headwind will affect the fuel consumption in any type of vehicle in an ICE vehicle you hardy ever give a second thought to the other factos as heating is delivered as a by product of engine combustion and the power needed to run all the electrical items is generated on board

But the point is... people focus on an issue that in 95% of cases is not an issue. You, personnaly may need to be able to drive 300 miles without a break... but for the vast majority of people it's not an issue. It often becomes an issue because people are told that is it not as high as an ICE and that it's a problem... as soon as someone looks seriously at the journeys they do... the penny drops and they realise it's not an issue at all.

I agree that in most cases range will not be the major problem that people perceive for probably 95 - 99% of their journeys. It is the same as asking why do a lot of people drive a vehicle that is larger than their normal daily needs require and it's because a number of times a year they may tow a caravan, a boat or a car trailer or drive to their holiday destination and need the extra capacity

There are issues with EVs that affect far far more people than range... mainly the lack of easily accessible public access charging points (for people without a home/work charging option)... that's the issue we should be focussed on... not range.

I must be coming across as some sort of EV evangelist... which I'm not... I've just done alot of research over the last few months to see if an EV van would suit me... and so far, it does... it makes alot of sense.

Accessible charging is the big issue especially in the rural and semi rural areas and one of the big gripes in urban areas is those EV users who hog the charger parking spaces all day to get free parking even though the vehicle completed it charging cycle in just a few hours.

Don't have a problem with you taking the high ground promoting the EV it is all part of a good debate, I've been watching EV development for the best part of the last 50 years and it has been, was and is still viable for local journeys for many years the electric milk float being a prime example, although I do remember a few times when there was a power cut and the milk floats never got the full charge they needed so caused total chaos with the deliveries
While an EV might suit a lot of people for most of what they normally do it is the inconvenience that it presents for the occasional longer journey that deters a lot of possible users

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

If installing chargers domestically you need olev approval to be competitive as the £350 grant is a big enticement.
It's not mandatory but you are £350 more expensive without.
The EV charging course isn't mandatory. The one day niceic course will suffice for olev.
You no longer need manufacturers approval for each brand. If it's olev approved and you are olev approved you can install it claiming the grant.
Truth be told installing an ev charger is quite simple. It's ensuring it's safe is where it gets complex. The new generation of chargers can now use PME and monitor loads so can be installed with a 60amp dno fuse.
There is a growing market it's now 50% of my work

 

[gerry.slater65@]

If installing chargers domestically you need olev approval to be competitive as the £350 grant is a big enticement.
It's not mandatory but you are £350 more expensive without.
The EV charging course isn't mandatory. The one day niceic course will suffice for olev.
You no longer need manufacturers approval for each brand. If it's olev approved and you are olev approved you can install it claiming the grant.
Truth be told installing an ev charger is quite simple. It's ensuring it's safe is where it gets complex. The new generation of chargers can now use PME and monitor loads so can be installed with a 60amp dno fuse.
There is a growing market it's now 50% of my work

Thank you. Just what I needed. Cheers.