To quote the popular 1982 song Electric Avenue by Eddy Grant, electric vehicles are now “part of today, in every way.” Gary Busbridge explains.

At various speaking engagements I have been offering snippets of information on the introduction and adoption of electric vehicles. It certainly is an interesting topic and one that some scoff at, especially in country regions. Now, with a typical electric vehicle range of about 100km, it does seem laughable.

Can you imagine driving between Adelaide and Perth and ‘filling up’ every 100km? There’s a lot of space even between petrol stations out there, so you might need a very long extension cord.

However, the days of electric vehicles as the norm are coming closer, and governments at all levels are keen to get it happening as soon as possible. It’s a green and clean idea that any local, state or federal government can sell.

Think of local council employees in any city or town in Australia – they probably travel just around their district and are within the 100km limit on a daily basis. That is very attractive to the powersthat- be. So, forgetting the vast distances between capital cities, it starts to become a viable proposition.

Similarly, most commuters in a city or town would cover short distances, and if the price was right there would be more people driving electric vehicles. Price is a real issue at present, but the cost will eventually come down.

Even local couriers may see a need to go electric, and not just because of the ‘green’ concept. An electric drive provides much more torque than a petrol drive and enables a quicker and easier path around town. This has been the trend for smaller delivery vans in Europe.

But, what are the important issues?

First, let’s look at charging the batteries in these vehicles. There are a few types of charging station at present. Although it is early days, they will become more prevalent in daily life.

One obvious option is a 10A or 15A socket on the wall of a home, but a socket on its own is not a very effective way of charging a battery. It will mean an overnight charge (there will be in trouble if you don’t plug it in on arriving home), and studies in Europe have revealed the possibility of excessive temperatures being generated in the socket, especially with older fittings.

So, a new and reputable brand of power point should be installed if the car is to be plugged into a domestic power supply.

Second, the electronics in the car are able to continually monitor the charge and link up with any smart automation in the house.

This suggests that a charge station – still a 10A or 15 amp power point – should have a box of tricks attached to shut off power when the charge is reached, or if something goes wrong. The current offerings are about the size of a four-gang or six-gang industrial switch and socket enclosure.

Then there is the light commercial offering we would expect to see in a shopping centre or council car park. A charge would take two to four hours and a fee would apply. Such a unit would be a single-phase or three-phase 240V AC, 32A or 40A device with a much bigger footprint, but it could still be mounted on a wall or pole.

Installation would require a dedicated supply circuit from the switchboard, and there could be problems in attempting to retrofit to existing dwellings. Such a unit would be more appropriate for new residences or light commercial installations.

Furthermore, there are devices that replace petrol bowsers. They look and feel very similar and feed direct into the vehicle from a dedicated plug and socket confi guration.

Typically they are very high amperage DC devices that charge the battery in 15 to 20 minutes – enough time for a cup of coffee and a snack at the service station.

However, the charging of electric vehicles relies on the ability of networks to provide sufficient power to residential power supplies, commercial chargers or fast-charge devices. This poses some challenges, but energy suppliers are working hard on solutions. ‘Smart city,

Smart grid’ initiatives in Australia (Newcastle is on the go at present) are giving electrical distributors firsthand experience of the issues.

Third, Standards are helping to an extent. There are several Standards throughout the world for electric vehicles, and several different plug and socket confi gurations.

Electric vehicles from Japan, the United States and Europe will require adaptor cords between the vehicle and the charge point until a global plug and socket is mandated – and this is still a long way off.

Standards Australia has just begun the process of developing its own series of Standards, which will be based on an existing one. I would put my money on the IEC (European) Standard being adopted, but that won’t preclude other pin confi gurations unless they do not comply with the performance requirements.

Fourth, the electric vehicle is usually 12V DC, so – as a 240V AC electrician – all you have to do is put in the charge point and away you go. Well, you may need to get friendly with your local auto-electrician, as there is a possibility that 240V AC and 12V DC work may need to be carried out under the bonnet.

The battery of an electric vehicle could be used as a feed-in to the supply grid when the vehicle is not in use.

It works like this:

Your solar panels feed into storage batteries at home during the day;

The storage batteries feed into the vehicle battery system during the night;

You drive to work and plug into a charge point that could feed the unused charge in the vehicle battery into the grid; and,

An hour or so before driving home, the vehicle battery is recharged from the grid. Sweet – charging costs for your vehicle have been offset.

It may seem a bit of a pipe dream, but I like to think electric vehicles will gain their rightful place and contribute to a sustainable energy future.

Keep your eyes open, as you may have to avoid walking in front of an almost-silent electric vehicle.