If you have an electric vehicle the local charge points are indicated below (as of Nov 25).
EV charge points in and around the Duddon
The Green
Thwaites Village Hall, Fuuse (2 available)
Broughton in Furness
Victory Hall at LA20 6HN, Fuuse network (2 available)
Millom
Millom Market Square at Hubsta network
Milligan and Son Garage at LA18 4BB, MER network for the general public and free for use for paying customers when their car is in for service
Port Haverigg Marina village at LA18 4LG, Wyldecrest Parks network
EV charge points further afield
Dalton
Nelson Street at LA15 8AF, Fuuse network
Barrow
Abbey House Hotel, Abbey Road, Paybyphone
Tesco Superstore, LA14 2NE
Asda Barrow Superstore LA14 5UG Evdashpoint.com
Morrisons Supermarket, EVpower
Market street car park (adjacent to Town Hall) Fuuse
Hall Street carpark Fuuse
And others
If you are thinking of purchasing an electric vehicle there are some points to consider below (ref. https://www.autotrader.co.uk/content/advice/benefits-and-downsides-of-owning-an-electric-or-hybrid-car?msockid=3e615e15cd5f6857110e500eccce6900&refresh=true)
Benefits of driving an electric car:
1. Energy efficiency
An EV’s electric motor is highly efficient and converts around two-thirds of the electricity to mechanical energy. This is much higher than conventional cars, which usually convert less than one-third of fuel to power the car.
2. Low running cost
As fully electric cars don’t require fuel running costs can be a fraction of those for a petrol or diesel vehicle, depending upon the electricity tariff applied.
3. Zero direct emissions
Conventional vehicles use an internal combustion engine (ICE) which produces direct emissions through the vehicle’s tailpipe – known as tailpipe emissions. ICE also produce direct emissions through the fuel system during evaporation. Fully electric cars, on the other hand, emit zero direct emissions since they run on electricity. As the UK and other countries ramp up their efforts to decarbonize the energy grid, the overall environmental impact of electric cars continues to decrease. Battery recycling initiatives are improving, reducing the environmental footprint of electric car batteries.
4. Home charging points make electric cars more convenient
If you have a home charger, you can recharge your electric car from the comfort of your own home. This helps in avoiding waiting in long queues for fuel and it means that you can recharge your car at any hour of the day.
5. Electric cars require lower maintenance
Conventional cars use a combustion engine which has hundreds of moving parts that increases their chances of breaking down. These parts also need to be lubricated from time to time to keep them running smoothly. Electric cars, on the other hand, use very few moving parts – usually less than 20 – in the electric motor so there are fewer serviceable items which makes them less likely to require maintenance.
6. Electric cars are fast and have better performance
The driving experience is different with electric cars – they usually feel responsive as the torque is near-instant once they’re put in motion
7. Electric cars are easy to drive
Electric cars are simple to drive as they have only one gear, so you don’t need to keep shifting between gears. It also means that electric cars don’t stall.
Electric cars only have two pedals – brake and accelerator – much like an automatic car. But, with an electric car, the accelerator can do most of the job because of its regenerative braking mechanism – a way of recovering energy when you let the car slow down on its own rather than applying the brakes.
8. Improvement in infrastructure as EVs grow in popularity
The number of EVs on the road has grown massively in the last couple of years.
The increase in demand for EVs has helped support the expansion and improvement of the required infrastructure for electric cars. This has also resulted in the growth in the number of EVs produced by manufacturers.
9. Reduced noise pollution
Since they don’t use an internal combustion engine, electric cars do not make the noises that we’re used to hearing when travelling in a diesel or petrol car as there are no gears, valves, fans or engines being used when the car’s in drive.
Note, however, that the noiselessness of an electric car can be quite dangerous for pedestrians as they may not hear the car coming.
Disadvantages of owning an Electric Vehicle
1. The range of an electric car depends on its battery
The number of miles an EV can cover in a single charge depends upon the battery size, the weather, the age of the battery, as well as your driving habits. As a consequence, drivers need to plan for charging on longer trips, especially in areas with fewer charging stations.
2. Recharge Points
The number of recharge points available to you depends upon the area you stay in – some places have enough charging points while other places might require a bit more time to find a suitable charging station (see above for charging points in and around the Duddon)
3. Charging takes more time than refuelling
Charging an electric car takes much more time than it does to refuel a petrol or diesel car, even when using a rapid charger that can take up to 30 minutes to recharge an EV to 80%.
4. Battery repairs or replacement can be expensive
Batteries are the heart of an EV – they’re responsible for storing electricity and powering the car to make it run. This makes batteries one of the most expensive components in an EV.
Batteries can break down or need repairs, the cost of which can be quite high, depending upon the damage and the model. Batteries are generally backed by a warranty of several years duration, depending upon the manufacturer.
5. EVs cause pollution and e-waste
Electric cars may not produce tailpipe emissions but they still contribute to emissions.
EVs emit harmful gases when they are manufactured. They also use unsustainable materials and methods of extraction to access these materials. EVs may also source energy from a grid that uses fossil fuels which again contributes to greenhouse emissions.
Another source of emissions is the batteries: Electric cars are fitted with lithium-ion batteries that use a lot of energy and raw materials. Finally, there’s no fully sustainable way of recycling these batteries yet, although, there are ways to re-purpose these batteries for other uses once they become inefficient for electric cars.
