BT Group to turn old street cabinets into EV chargers

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-67873890

I wonder exactly what this means:-

Engineers will be able to retrofit the cabinets with a device that enables renewable energy to be shared to a charge point alongside the existing broadband service with no need to create a new connection, because they are already connected to a power source.


I would not have thought that the incoming 230/400 volt supply would have the capacity for 7 kW (single phase) or 21 kW (three phase) charging for one EV let alone two.

Cheers!

But most of these cabinets will be on the wrong side of a pavement or on grass verges so hardly the ideal positioning for having trailing cables to vehicles. More PR spin by BT and the government methinks..

They do this when they can’t even be bothered to provide fibre to places with long standing extremely unreliable copper infrastructure, nor will they replace the knackered cables with new.

Customers & former customers with an extremely unreliable service who were ignored for FTTC welll over a decade ago, with driveways, verges & roads constantly being excavated to find faults, with FTTC in all adjacent areas, and all those areas now with FTTP availability.

We are the back of the queue, truly the premises passed, totally passed & ignored.

Fibre remains a very, very, very distant prospect.

And yet home chargers work.

They do indeed.

I charge my EV at home. Single phase at 7.2 kW. Depending on state of charge of the EV's battery, it takes between 9 and 10 hours. Our EV, a Kia, can also accept three phase - so 1/3 of the time, or DC.

It depends upon what size cable, cut-out and fuse was fitted during the installation of the supply as originally specified. Our house has an 80 amp fuse (the cut-out is rated at 100 amp should the supply cable be deemed adequate. It is part PILC and part split-con.)

Street lamp posts would not normally be supplied with cable, cut-out and fuse for high current.

Cheers!

Street lamppost chargers work, so I would imagine that repurposing cabinets wouldn’t be a problem.

https://greenwichlamppostchargingphase2.commonplace....

In reply to a post by TinyMongomery:

And yet home chargers work.

For those that can get close to their wall. In the papers last month was reported around 50% of the UK has no regular place to park, so those people can't invest in their own charger. This includes those whom park on the side of a road where they live in a terrace, can easily move up and down the road every time by as much as 10 or 15 car lengths.

One person wrote in that they have a house with sufficient electricity supply and they park on hard standing next to the house, but its not part of the same property. The car is essentially right next to the exterior wall of the home. The DNO (District Network Operator) has refused them a home charger as the hard standing is not part of the home property.

If BT can use old cabinets (I assume FTTC cabinets, as the PCPs aren't powered) to help in the transition it will be useful, but probably not make much of a difference in the big scale. What is needed is some way that public chargers (e.g. at Filling Stations) are not 70% more expensive than charging at home, for the large number of people whom will never have a home charger. Right now if you always use public charging you pay much more than petrol

Here’s a link from a similar thread elsewhere, and as you can see. No trailing lead from the cab.
https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/bt-to-con...

What is needed is some way that public chargers (e.g. at Filling Stations) are not 70% more expensive than charging at home, for the large number of people whom will never have a home charger. Right now if you always use public charging you pay much more than petrol

Well said, I heartily agree.

In reply to a post by jchamier:

If BT can use old cabinets (I assume FTTC cabinets, as the PCPs aren't powered) to help in the transition it will be useful, but probably not make much of a difference in the big scale. What is needed is some way that public chargers (e.g. at Filling Stations) are not 70% more expensive than charging at home, for the large number of people whom will never have a home charger. Right now if you always use public charging you pay much more than petrol

Unless you buy petrol at Motorway service stations! I wonder what premium they are putting on charging charges?

Charging at home, and using a cheap night time tariff gets it for around 12p per kwh.

Filling stations and other public charging points are around 83 to 85p per kwh

In reply to a post by Zarjaz:

Charging at home, and using a cheap night time tariff gets it for around 12p per kwh.

Filling stations and other public charging points are around 83 to 85p per kwh

That though is "normal" filling stations. Motorway ones probably charge way more - petrol is around 30% more with them.

In reply to a post by MHC:

That though is "normal" filling stations. Motorway ones probably charge way more - petrol is around 30% more with them.

Yes, I've seen reports they are higher. A friend of mine last summer saw a rural charger that was £1/kW so it doesn't have to be motorway!

The BP round the corner from here (when it works, which is infrequently) is currently 83p per kWh, just checked, and Fleet services is 79p per kWh.

Both prices too dear really …. but it kinda dispels your perfectly reasonable theory.

The Shell near Woking, 81p

Anyone would think these petrol and diesel sellers didn’t want folk moving to full electric vehicles, who’d have seen that coming ? 🙄

In reply to a post by TinyMongomery:

And yet home chargers work.

If people can park their car close enough to their home to do that. This is one of the problems with EV and one of the reason why some people are put off them. relying on third party chargers is not a good idea and will make owning a EV more expensive and maybe cost more to run than a ICE car.

I will need to check next time I'm close to teh M'way ...

Tesco near here was cheepaer than most - last tie I looked, it was FREE with a Clubcard! Although, I have heard that will be changing.

A bigger problem than the electricity cost for EVs is that as ICE vehicles disappear from the roads the fuel duty + Vat (on both the fuel and the duty) will have to be replaced somehow.

Presumably the solution will be something like (real-time variable) road use charging with GPS type satellite tracking in all EVs.

The current cost saving of EVs particularly when home-charged is only short term, as an incentive to change to them.

In reply to a post by Zarjaz:

Here’s a link from a similar thread elsewhere, and as you can see. No trailing lead from the cab.
https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/bt-to-con...

Thanks for that. Obvious once pointed out. (/me smacks head).

I am amused by what seems to be a BT claim in this and the Beeb report that all the electricity will be renewably sourced. It comes over the National Grid!

It's a bit of a stretch to say that BT's green cabinets "have become redundant".

There can't be many cabinet areas yet with 100% FTTP coverage *and* all existing users migrated to FTTP.

They said that many FTTC cabinets that are still in use can be dual-purposed for this.

In reply to a post by Zarjaz:

Here’s a link from a similar thread elsewhere, and as you can see. No trailing lead from the cab.
https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/bt-to-con...

so not really using bt cabinets as chargers actually just using them as a junction box to connect the mains to a charger remote from the cabinet so more street furniture for us to walk around
And I dont see why I as a taxpayer have to subsidise the installation of chargers. the "fuel" suppliers ie the electricity suppliers should be installing chargers just as BP/Shell etc put in all their "fuel" recharging points ie filling staions

Edited by threelegs (Mon 08-Jan-24 20:34:44)

Presumably the control circuitry is in the cabinet.

Tesco near here was cheaper than most - last tie I looked, it was FREE with a Clubcard! Although, I have heard that will be changing.

Damn … you’re right, it WAS free. Now at 44p per kWh is still not to be sniffed at. Thank you. Hadn’t spotted them before, as don’t use Tesco.
All the chargers are 7kWh …

Not really relevant to the thread (but many posts here aren’t). It’s disappointing that so many argue against EVs because of the lack of chargers. Then when a pilot project is announced to increase availability they immediately pile in with what a rubbish idea it is.

Give it a chance to see if it works out.

In reply to a post by pluralist:

A bigger problem than the electricity cost for EVs is that as ICE vehicles disappear from the roads the fuel duty + Vat (on both the fuel and the duty) will have to be replaced somehow.

Presumably the solution will be something like (real-time variable) road use charging with GPS type satellite tracking in all EVs.

The current cost saving of EVs particularly when home-charged is only short term, as an incentive to change to them.

Yep, that is the other thing, which people don't realise and the government will also have to replace the tax they grab from smokers as more give up.

No doubt all cities will have some sort of Congestion Charge, not sure how they would do that here, as it would kill our city even more so than it is now.

In reply to a post by TinyMongomery:

Not really relevant to the thread (but many posts here aren’t). It’s disappointing that so many argue against EVs because of the lack of chargers. Then when a pilot project is announced to increase availability they immediately pile in with what a rubbish idea it is.

Give it a chance to see if it works out.

I like the idea of EV, and we could have had EV years ago, but greed stopped it happening. While using the cabinets may seem a good idea, a lot of them are not in the right place, the other thing is no doubt EV users will no doubt have to pay high prices, this is BT after all.

In reply to a post by Zarjaz:

Tesco near here was cheaper than most - last tie I looked, it was FREE with a Clubcard! Although, I have heard that will be changing.

Damn … you’re right, it WAS free. Now at 44p per kWh is still not to be sniffed at. Thank you. Hadn’t spotted them before, as don’t use Tesco.
All the chargers are 7kWh …

It's one of the problems round my way. There is a lack of high power chargers. Most are 7kW and a handful are 22kW. There's a couple of 150kW Tesla Superchargers at a local hotel but they are only for use by guests.

There’s a 175kWh one at a Shell garage, but that’s about 4 miles away. There’s 150 in three BP garages, one is at the entrance to our estate … but damn if it isn’t broken more than it’s been working (seriously) the last time it was working 2+ weeks ago, it lasted 3 days before that, had been out if action for about three weeks.

The next nearest is the identical type of charger … and this is OOA just as often it seems. …….
now the thing is, and here’s the thing … last charge I had, was in another BP , a bit further away, a different type of charger, always seems to be work, but you have to cross over the motorway to get there, using a notoriously bad round about (genuinely not uncommon to wait 20 mins to cross it) so by the time you get there, the bay that was empty is now in use ….this happened last time, and I parked up to wait. Just as the bay comes free, and electric hire van pulls in, and is trying to jump on it. I politely explain that I’m next in the queue. I then tell him of other nearby chargers that might be of use if he’s desperate … turns out, he is the technician sent to fix the two non functioning BP ones near me (oh, the delicious irony ) He tells me that the chargers fitted near me pack up ALL the time (no [censored] Sherlock) and that BP ought to replace them, but don’t . I guess chargers installed is the tick they crave, it doesn’t matter if it’s out of service.

We have long way to go on what is, to me, a very important journey.

To add some balance, I think this is a good idea. I run a PHEV and find it excellent, and am fortunate to be able to charge at home with a 3 pin "granny" charger. When I need to do a longer journey I can switch to ICE. However about 85% of my existing milage is battery. So far, I have availed of several chargers when out and about touring, and have even used some chargers in the lamp posts, Any additional chargers are always welcome in my opinion, so at least the cabinets are not going to waste.