The announcement that the UK is to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030, a full decade earlier than planned, has prompted hundreds of questions from anxious drivers. I’m going to try to answer some of the main ones we’ve had sent in to the BBC
Charge your electric car at home
If you have a driveway and can park your car beside your house, then you can just plug it straight into your domestic mains electricity supply.
- The problem is this is slow. It will take many hours to fully charge an empty battery depending on how big the battery is.
How long does the battery last?
Most electric car batteries are lithium-based, just like the battery in your mobile phone.
- If you overcharge the battery or try to charge it at the wrong voltage it will degrade more quickly, so check whether the manufacturer offers a warranty on the battery.
How much will it cost to charge my car at home?
It is significantly cheaper to charge an electric car than filling up a fuel tank
- The cost will depend on what car you’ve got.
- Those with small batteries with short ranges will be much cheaper than those with big batteries that can travel for hundreds of kilometers without recharging.
What about public charging points?
There are already more than 30,000 charging stations in the UK, according to the electricity company EDF
- Many local authorities are putting in street charging points
- Lots of new electric cars now have apps installed that will direct you to the nearest charging point
- A few manufacturers, most notably Tesla, offer access to “superchargers” which allow very rapid charging
