Electrifying everything: Electric vehicles

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Which EV is good for me?

We’ve turned to local enthusiast, Sarah Aubrey, of Electrify This, who is passionate about decarbonising our homes and transport. You can watch her easy-to-digest EV reviews and answers to our common questions here.

Another Australian EV information gem is The Driven. This is very well resourced, and covers more than electric cars (includes trucks, bikes, boats and planes). So if you’re in the market for an electric private jet, read on!

We also recommend Australian independent reviewer Choice for their objective and up-to-date recommendations.

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How to charge your electric vehicle

It might seem a bit daunting at first, we are so used to the petrol stations, but we’ve got lots of tips.

Public charging

Some EVs come with clear real-time instructions of where and when to charge your car, making this easy to fit around your day. And there’s always searches online (eg via maps) to quickly find chargers as you go about your day, as you would looking for a petrol station in a new part of the world.

However, we suggest you get to know the PlugShare app also. This platform is updated constantly by users and charge station owners, showing a live map of all charging options in a given location, whether the station is available, out of order, the speed and cost, and amenities nearby. It even includes home chargers available for public usage.

In Australia at the moment, there is a mish-mash of public charging companies and hardware, requiring a frustrating number of app downloads, tap cards, and set ups to start you off. However, other countries have managed this much better and Australia will improve as drivers turn to EVs.

Not all public EV chargers have the cable to connect to your car (these are called “untethered” stations). So to save a panic when you’re getting low on power and are out and about, keep your own Type 2 to Type 2 (T2-T2) cable in the car.

Here’s a down-to-earth deep-dive into public charging if you want more details.

Getting approval to charge on the street using your own power

There are legitimate public access and safety considerations in charging your EV on a public street. Commercial EV chargers have covered these for their installed stations, and you pay for access accordingly.

But what if you want to run a cable from your own property? For some of us it’s definitely doable!

Zero Carbs member, Val, lives in a small 1880s worker’s terrace in Sydney with no off street parking. However, she charges her EV for free on the street any time night or day using her own solar panels and battery (prior to this, using off peak grid power, usually during sunny hours when prices are cheaper -soon to be free- and the grid is bursting with clean solar energy).

I’d heard through the EV community that I could apply to local council to charge my car from home via a “footpath licence”, the same way a cafe would apply to have seating on a public footpath. It was cost and hassle free, but not advertised.

I had to show council my public indemnity insurance (which I had anyway as part of house and contents), and a photo of my proposed charging set up using a heavy duty removable cable cover (which I bought from the local hardware, and could have returned if it wasn’t suitable). The “footpath licence” has to be displayed so it can be seen from the street. And I have to remove the cable when not in use. Easy!

At first I used a regular extension chord and charged from a standard 15A socket in my fuse box, over night when I was sleeping and the pavement was getting little pedestrian use. But after some years I upgraded to a fast 22kW, 3-phase, EV Charger installed on my front wall. With this, charging is quick, so I tend to give the car one or two short charges a week when I’m at home in sunny hours.

I’m lucky that I have easy access to a spot to park within reach of my charger. I live in an extremely busy part of Sydney. But my residents’ parking permit and a good relationship with neighbours helps. They make sure to keep a spot free for me when possible. There are no parking lines painted on the road which also helps me park in reach.

I know not everyone is as lucky as me to get this access, but many would be who may not know it. And access will only increase as EV uptake increases. I can see we’re reaching a tipping point where combustion engines will be the minority and EV infrastructure will blossom.

If you are interested in accessing a similar solution to Val’s, you’ll need to get your local council on board to approve charging across public property. Some already have an approval process in place, some might be collecting community interest.

Different councils allow different options including:

• cable gullies / underground chambers (permanently installed, flush with the pavement), example of council requirements here. You can register your interest elsewhere here.
• underground conduits installed by an electrician, example of council requirements here.
• overhead swing arms (attached to your property and swung out into public space whilst used), example here.
• cable covers (very low cost, placed on top of the pavement whilst used), as with Val’s set up above. Good for renters as entirely portable.
• Pop-Up private kerbside chargers, as supported for 100 trial homes so far by this council.