Barnet Council in north London is set to install 1,000 new EV sockets in lamp-posts following a strengthening of its relationship with chargepoint firm Chargy.
The plugs are being installed in “streets and neighbourhoods where demand is rising”, with a focus on areas where there is little access to off-street parking.
The first 500 chargers will be rolled out in the next three months, with the remaining points installed over the next three years. Installation of each point is said to take under two hours, though due to relying on electricity delivered via lamp-posts, charge rates are capped at 5kW compared to the 150kW that is fast becoming the industry norm for public sockets.
Given the residential nature of the sockets’ locations and their slow nature, the chargers are intended to be used overnight by residents, rather than providing ultra-rapid half-hour charging sessions. An EV with an 80kWh battery could charge from 0-100% in 16 hours assuming the maximum 5kW rate is consistently delivered, while a 20-80% charge, which is a more common session, would take a little under 10 hours.
Alan Schneiderman from Barnet Council calls the new points “another step in the right direction as we move towards becoming a Net Zero borough by 2042”.
Barnet will have 2,5000 public chargepoints once the 1,000th new lamp-post charger is installed, with the council having received £800,000 of funding from central government as part of the Office for Zero Emissions Vehicles’ On Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme.
