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posted by Fnord666 on Tuesday June 20 2017, @11:27PM   Printer-friendly
from the hope-the-cable-has-locks dept.

The global fleet of electric vehicles grew 60% last year, and while predictions vary, some people claim that we'll all be driving (or riding in) electric vehicles within just a few decades.

But in many cities, one major impediment could slow down adoption: Where the heck do you charge your car if you don't have a driveway or garage?

Hounslow Council in London has implemented an interesting—and aesthetically pleasing—solution to this problem. It has converted its streetlights to energy efficient LEDs and, in doing so, is integrating electric vehicle charging points in the base of those streetlamps. The charge points themselves come from German company Ubitricity, and they integrate with a custom charging cable—which is ordered by the EV owner/driver—that has an electricity meter built in.

So if you happen to live in Hounslow, you simply request a charging point from your council, they install three near your house (they are trying to avoid painting dedicated electric vehicle bays). You then order an Ubitricity cable, you plug in, and you start charging. Ubitricity then sends you a monthly bill, charged at a competitive rate of £0.13 per kWh. And that's it.

Who's liable when pedestrians trip on the charging cables?

[Ed note - As a side note, apparently the LED streetlamp replacement has some issues.] - Fnord666


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  • (Score: 2) by realDonaldTrump on Wednesday June 21 2017, @12:59AM (5 children)

    by realDonaldTrump (6614) on Wednesday June 21 2017, @12:59AM (#528817) Homepage Journal

    Folks, that's not great.

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   2  
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 21 2017, @01:25AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 21 2017, @01:25AM (#528829)

    Totally inefficient government, the free market has already installed....oops...

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 21 2017, @02:27AM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 21 2017, @02:27AM (#528851)

    I didn't vote for you because I disagreed with one of your campaign associates' position on the issue of whether or not we should put taco trucks on every corner. I'm pro-taco truck.

    Can we compromise?

    If we privatize the conversion of streetlamps into charging stations, can we have a system where you request one taco truck and they install three? I am comfortable with privatizing the taco trucks as well.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 21 2017, @03:44AM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 21 2017, @03:44AM (#528871)

      Is taco truck code-word for abortion clinic?

      • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 21 2017, @01:29PM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 21 2017, @01:29PM (#529000)

        No.

        I'm not happy with Taco Bell or Qdoba. We also have this local place that's completely overpriced. I have had consistently good experiences with taco trucks, but there are none in my area. The food is very reasonably priced and delicious. Sometimes you can even get tamales in addition to tacos. I have not tried the taco bowl at Trump Tower, but the taco bowls and taco salads I've gotten at taco trucks before are fantastic.

        There is a real taco truck gap in this country, and I think the taco truck gap is going to be a very important issue in the midterms.

        It's very simple. I voted for Hillary because I wanted taco trucks on every corner, or at least on my corner. Normally I vote Republican, but this issue is very important to me. In the midterms, I think I'll have little choice but to vote Democrat again if the Trump administration hasn't changed its position on taco trucks.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 21 2017, @01:33PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 21 2017, @01:33PM (#529002)

          I should also add that we do have a couple very excellent and authentic Mexican restaurants here. The problem is that they're too far from where I work to even order carry-out. Are they intimidated by the Trump administration's position on taco trucks? Is that why they haven't deployed taco trucks to every corner on their own? Big government really shouldn't be in the business of intimidating local businesses against deploying taco trucks to every corner.