One of the big questions as we move toward electric vehicle technology is where all these new cars will charge. Several London boroughs are upgrading some street light poles to accommodate electric vehicle charging, The Independent reports. Car owners purchase a charging cable with a built-in meter that can be connected to a modified street lamp post. The meter records the cost of charging. Having this technology on the street means that residents without on-street parking will be able to charge their cars, and also means that the number of official dedicated EV charging stations can be kept to a minimum. Planners identified issues such as “concerns about installation costs, cluttering charging stations on streets and creating dedicated parking spaces.” Locating charging stations on lamp posts means that no expensive charging station infrastructure is required and minimal disruption to the existing streetscape. Politicians hope that by making charging points accessible to everyone, it will further encourage London’s transition to electric cars and cleaner air.
“Vehicle owners purchase a charging cable with a built-in meter that can be connected to the retrofit lamp post. The meter will record the charge” and can be paid like any other utility bill, the release said.
If it were me, I would want to be able to physically attach the cable to the post. This amount of copper has value in the copper scrap market.
The cables are connected to the car, not to the lamp post. https://www.designboom.com/technology/ubitricity-06-22-2017/
However, some users may be concerned about security since there doesn’t seem to be any way to stop someone from stealing the expensive cable or simply unplugging it to charge their car at your expense. Find out more: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-4607870/A-1-000-conversion-turn-lampposts-EV-chargers.html#ixzz4saHKdICN Follow us: @ on Twitter MailOnline Daily Mail on Facebook |
“No expensive infrastructure required”? A street lamp can have a power of 100 watts. For example, a well-lit block, 4 street lights on one side of the street can consume 400 watts, and a car can use between 1,400 and 10,000 watts. If there are 22 parking spaces, that’s between 30,800 and 220,000 watts. The infrastructure needs to be upgraded and, like all road infrastructure, it will be subsidized by all of us.
It supposedly starts out slowly, with users paying by the hour or per kilowatt-hour. I see revenue opportunities here for the city, like parking meters. Procurement prices, lack of profitability among EV makers and range concerns remain key challenges.
Most street lighting wiring is done for high pressure sodium lamps or high intensity discharge lamps. 100 watts is not far from the power consumed by street lights. This is a bright incandescent lamp that was in your home 5 years ago. A 10 year old street light probably has at least a 1000 watt HPS/HID connected to it. There were 4 street lights in the circuit which have now been replaced with 100W LEDs and we have 3600W. And then, given the point Thomas raised, only a few people will own them, and many will park in them, because EVs are bought in a new car market that is more likely to use private parking. Therefore, although this is not the only solution needed, it should not be underestimated.
A quick search reveals that HPS are about half as efficient as LEDs, and many use as little as 150 watts. LEDs are superior in color and possibly durability.
There is a big difference here and there: their light is 240 volts, ours is 120 volts. This makes a huge difference in battery charging time.
This obviously does not apply to all vehicles. Only a very small number of cars parked on the roadside approach the lampposts, which are usually spaced 30m apart on one side or staggered from one side to the other. I don’t really like this idea because it goes against the concept of fair road pricing, which charges based on distance traveled unless basic electricity is taxed at a special meter. It is not a private power and distribution network like the oil companies and their gas stations. Electricity and lighting networks are supported by taxpayers, which, coupled with the costs of subsidizing existing large road systems, tend to increase car dependency.
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Post time: Sep-13-2024