08 Apr Electric vehicles and solar power on the agenda at Barwell Business Breakfast

Electric vehicles (EVs) were the focus of @Work:sustainability, the latest business breakfast event held at Barwell Business Park.

Part of Kingston Chamber’s regular new programme of peer-to-peer, sector networking, the 28 March event took place at Unit 50. Guest speaker was David Symons, co-founder of Joltify, local multi award winning solar, EV chargepoint and battery installer.

There are more than one million EVs on the UK’s roads today and forecasters predict that electric car and vans will outsell petrol or diesel engines by 2025 – yet there are presently only 40,000 public charge points to service them.

David said: “Now is a great time to think about getting a chargepoint either for your home where you can benefit from cheap off-peak electricity or perhaps at your work place where you may be eligible for a £350 Workplace Charging Scheme grant from the government.”

The lifetime emissions of an electric car are three times lower than modern petrol vehicles and while more expensive to buy, they are much lower to run – depending on factors such as battery size and model, an EV full charge can cost as little as £7. Electric cars are also cheaper to maintain than internal combustion cars as they are designed to be as efficient as possible, with generally around three components powering the vehicle. They are also exempt from the London Ultra Low Emission Zone. When it comes to solar power, the opportunity for savings is potentially limitless, but depends on a variety of factors from roof direction to pitch, and size of the system installed.

David said: “It is also worth noting that due to the high price of energy, solar power is becoming a far more popular and attractive option than ever before with both domestic and commercial premises benefitting with much earlier returns on investment. This is especially true if your premises consume much of its energy during the day. Currently, 7 per cent of energy generated within the UK is from solar.”