For most owners, 90-95% of all electric car charging will be done at home, either from a domestic power socket, or more commonly with a specialist electric car charging point. Charging from a domestic power socket is fine if you are borrowing a power socket when visiting a friend or when staying away from home at a hotel. In North America, where domestic power sockets only provide 110 volts, it can often take 15-16 hours to provide a full charge for your car in this way, but in the rest of the world where 220-240 volts is the norm, you can typically fully charge your car from a domestic power socket in around six to nine hours, depending on which car you drive. If you are charging your car whilst you are at work, or charging at home overnight, a six to nine hour charge is ideal: you leave the car plugged in and it is fully charged by the time you need to use your car again. Most manufacturers recommend that you do not use a domestic power socket for every day charging.

Because of the constant high ampage drain, constant charging from a power socket can lead to overheating and there have been cases where the socket overheats and burns with constant, regular use. For regular home charging, it is recommended that an electric car charging point is installed at your home. These can be fitted to an outside wall by a qualified electrician quickly and easily. They provide a waterproof power connection and can also work at a higher ampage, reducing the amount of time it takes to charge your car. Home charging points work at 220-240 volts, typically at either 16-amps or 32-amps. A 16-amp charging point will typically charge an electric car from flat to full in around six hours. A 32-amp charging point can charge an electric car from flat to full in around 3½ hours, although not all electric cars are capable of charging up If you live in the United Kingdom, there is a government grant scheme available for electric car owners to get

a charging point installed at home for free. A number of different suppliers have subscribed to this scheme, giving you a great opportunity to have a charging point fitted at no cost. Companies that subscribe to the scheme include Pod Point and Rolec. It is worth shopping around and talking to different suppliers as each of the offerings are slightly different. For example, Charge Master and Pod Point only offer the 16-amp charging points free of charge and charge a premium for their 32-amp charging point. Rolec offer both 16-amp and 32-amp charging points under the scheme. a range of mounting options, such as a charging post, for when it is not convenient to fit a charge point to a wall. If you live elsewhere, you can arrange for an electric car charging point to be fitted by your car dealer or by contacting your local electrical wholesaler. In the United States, you can buy units from retailers like or from specialist suppliers like EV Solutions

Planning and Environment  >  Planning  >  Transport  >  Electric Vehicle Charging Pointscost of replacing ac unit The points are now available for members of the public to use at 21 sites.what does it mean when ac unit freezes upThree different types of electric vehicle charger are available. commercial air conditioning unit cost Charging times vary from vehicle to vehicle and may be longer than those quoted as not all vehicles are able to accept charge at the maximum rate that the post can deliver. Please consult your vehicle handbook for details.Electric Vehicle Charging Points can be found at the following locations: Rapid Triple Charger (43kW AC Mennekes connector, 50kW DC CCS connector and 50kW CHAdeMO connector.)

Can charge two vehicles at once – one AC and one DC – and will de-rate to supply 25kW to each side: Fast Charger (Double unit with 22kW AC Mennekes socket on each side.) Can charge two vehicles at once. When two vehicles charge, Chapel Street and Frederick Street units will de-rate to supply 11kW to each side: Standard charger (Double unit with 7kW AC Mennekes socket on each side. Can charge two vehicles at once) How do I use them? The operating system for the units is run by a company called "Charge your Car". You can become a member of "Charge your Car" for �20 per year. On joining, you'll receive a "Charge your Car" card which you swipe across the unit in order to use it. As well as allowing you to use the  charging points listed on this page, it will allow you to use any "Plugged in Places" funded charge point in Scotland. You can also use the points, without being a member of "Charge your Car" by downloading the "Charge your Car" mobile phone app or by telephoning "Charge your Car".

However, joining "Charge your Car" is advised as the card is easier to use and does not rely on mobile phone reception or battery! For details of how to purchase the card, how to download the app, phone numbers or to find locations of other Charge Your Car points please go to: How do I charge at the unit? There are two different makes of electric vehicle charging units that Aberdeen City Council operates. Siemens units and APT (Evolt) units. Although they do a similar job there are some slight differences in the way they operate. For full details of how to use each unit, click on the following link to access the instructions as a pdf file:The charging service will be offered free of charge until 31 December 2015. However, where parking charges apply, users are expected to pay these as normal. For the Golden Square charge point, those with parking permits for Zone A can use the charge point without being charged for parking. The Gallowgate Rapid Charger, provided that users stay with the vehicle whilst using the Gallowgate Rapid Charger, the parking charge will be waived.

The project has been funded by the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV), Transport Scotland and the Energy Saving Trust as part of the Chargeplace Scotland scheme. Find out more about the Chargeplace Scotland project here: Q Do you have any electric cars that I can try out? A Co-wheels car club in Aberdeen have 17 electric vehicles on their fleet, including cars and vans. Members of Co-wheels are able to hire cars from time periods of 30 minutes to 10 days. To find out more about Co-wheels and how you can join them, go to Q Given the time benefits, why haven't you installed rapid chargers at all locations? A Unfortunately this is not practical due to the cost of the units and the lack of availability of an adequate power supply in some locations. We have deliberately tried to match the speed of the charger to the type of location with Rapid Chargers located in high turnover locations or beside strategic routes and Standard Chargers in longer stay car parks where people are likely to be leaving a car for longer periods.

Q Can all electric vehicles use these charging points? A Most mainstream production electric cars should be able to use these charge points without risk to their internal components. However, there are some exceptions. It is worth checking with your vehicle manufacturer to be sure. Q Can electric vans use them? A Some electric vans are able to. Q Do I need a special cable to connect to the units? A All the AC units use a Mennekes Mode 3 Type 2 connector which is a 7 pin socket. If you have the standard 3 pin socket, compatible with many home charging systems then you will not be able to use the charging points. However, most manufacturers offer a 7-pin cable as an option. Check with them for details. The Rapid Charge unit has its own cables. However, the AC and DC sides both have different connections and plug into different parts of the vehicle so check your handbook for details. Q Can I connect a mobility scooter up to these points?The batteries in such vehicles are unable to cope with the size of the power supply and the rate of delivery from these units.

Q Can you give me more details of the make and model of the charging points? A The charge points at Golden Square, Dunmail Avenue and Aberdeen Snowsports Centre are Siemens Chargers. The others are from APT Technologies under their EVOLT brand. Q Are these the only publicly available electric charge points in Aberdeen? A No, some other organisations have charge points available and more and more places are installing them. For an up to date list click on the following link: National Charge Point Registry Other sources also give information, such as Q Can I speak to a current owner to get a real-life perspective on owning an electric vehicle? A Yes you can. The Energy Saving Trust Scotland have an online tool where anyone keen to find out more about a specific vehicle's range, driving style, charging time etc. can find an owner of that vehicle and ask them the questions they are keen to get answered. The tool can be accessed at the following link:

Home and Workplace Charging Points Installation information Want to charge at home? You could get a grant towards the cost of a home charging point. The Energy Saving Trust are offering funding to supply and install domestic electric vehicle charging points across Scotland. The units have a smart meter facility, whereby all power consumption and charging activity can be viewed online. Click on the following link for details of what is covered, how to apply and receive funding: Domestic charging point grants Want to charge at work or are you a workplace looking to put in charging infrastructure? You could get a grant towards the cost of this. The Energy Saving Trust are offering funding for workplace charge points. Click on the following link for details: Electric vehicle charge point funding Interest-Free Loans for Electric Vehicle PurchaseElectric vehicle purchasing could be cheaper than you think thanks to an interest-free loan from the Energy Saving Trust, offered over a range of lengths up to 6 years!