What about weight? Like anyone in the industry, we do tend to carry a lot of kit, but we find it doesn’t affect the overall range at all. I think that’s a bit of a misconception. The other misconception is you’re burning the battery when you’re stationary in town but you’re not – you only use energy when you’re moving. People say, ‘Oh, I’ll drain the battery in a traffic jam on the motorway,’ but nothing could be further from the truth.
Do you have to drive any differently? The interesting thing is that with EVs, you do change your driving style – I think it makes you calmer. From personal experience, there’s a difference in attitude from driving a diesel van. It’s notable that our EVs haven’t had any accidents compared to the diesels, which have had one each over the last three or four years. It would certainly be interesting to look at the national statistics for EV accidents.
Like everything, some people were sceptical at the start, but then they drove an EV to Glasgow, did the job while it was charging and drove home again, and realised how simple it was. Getting people to actually use them is the biggest challenge, but once they do, they understand the advantages. In fact, one member of staff has now bought their own EV.
And where does your business usually take you? We’re mainly Central Belt, so the EVs cover Glasgow and Edinburgh no problem. Our EV vans are in and out of Edinburgh all the time, with the diesel fleet usually covering any trips north.
What’s the range on the EV vans? Winter does impact on range, so currently they’re doing 65-70 miles on a full charge, going up to 80-85 miles during the summer. Both are ideal for what we need in and around town. The Renault Kangoo ZE only did 40 miles, so wasn’t really suitable in the long run.
only does six or seven miles a day, so why not replace that with an EV?
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Essential Cloud Solutions (ECS)
BASED: 37-45 Peffer Place, Edinburgh EH16 4BB PHONE: 0131 322 9230 WEBSITE:
www.ecs.scot
What about the infrastructure, such as charge points? Edinburgh isn’t great, but Dundee is terrific, Glasgow’s not bad and East Lothian is doing quite well. The infrastructure is getting there and with a little bit of planning you can go long distances. For example, we had someone who went up to Aberdeen and back in the EV, which took three charges in each direction, so it’s not impossible. In fact, if you’re driving long distances, you’re advised to take regular breaks anyway, so using them to charge your EV is exactly the same.
Are you looking to invest in more? I’d like to get some bigger
battery vans and eventually have 70% of fleet as EVs, so we’d have one or two diesels and five or six EVs.
What about running costs? They’re definitely cheaper. I look at our fuel card bill and we’re spending £600 a month on diesel, yet the Tesla costs me around £7 to charge, which gives me 220-odd miles. The Nissans are £4 to £5 each for around 80 miles. I filled up one of our diesel vans the other day and thought, ‘Oh, so that’s how much diesel costs.’ It’s a real eye-opener after electric. The vehicle tax and servicing costs are a lot less too – we’re not replacing loads of things like brake pads etc.
And the cost of the vans themselves? The Nissans cost £14,000 each, and a regular equivalent would be £11,000, but over the five years we’ve had them we’ve made up the difference in cost savings.
Any drawbacks? At the moment, it’s really just range anxiety. But do people really need to do 300 miles a day? We find that, at most, our staff only do an average of 40 miles a day. And in fact, one of our diesel vans
And from a personal point of view, do you enjoy an EV? Absolutely. I’ve always had traditional diesel beasts, such as Mitsubishis and Volkswagens and so on, but it’s just a calmer drive now. I would much rather do a long-distance drive in the Tesla than a diesel, put it that way.
So EVs are the future then? I do think that in the electrical industry, we should all be driving change. And this change is going to start with the smaller contractors who don’t have huge fleets. I would challenge everyone to start recording their daily mileage and ask themselves, ‘How far do I actually go?’ Times are changing – people just need to be brave and do it.
Is it time you took charge? Discover the answers to the most commonly asked EV questions on Pages 20-22
CABLEtalk FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020 19
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