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Charging points for electric vehicles are becoming more and more common in urban areas.
It is noticeable that in locations where there is a parking charge, these bays are exempt.
For those entirely lacking a a conscience or any sense of morality, the new BorgCo Fake Charging Kit is ideal.
The
equipment consists of a sturdy plastic case containing a selection of decals - both self-adhesive and magnetic - and a cable with a standard EV charge connector on one end.
However, the other end of the cable has the back end of an EV connector permanently fixed to a moulding that looks like a vehicle charger port, complete with battery-powered flashing LED. The dummy moulding can be attached either magnetically, or using the integral large-diameter suction cup.
The decals are to be strategically placed on the front and rear bodywork to add to the air of verisimilitude.
Pull up, plug in, don't pay to park ...
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Annotation:
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I'm not sure of the electronic specifications of charging
ports, but I have heard ideas regarding using the large
capacity of electric vehicle batteries for smoothing some
of the peaks and troughs of electrical demand. Now, that
means that power can flow OUT of the car, in theory at
least. Can I install a charging port outside my house that
uses the excess power to run my drier? This is cheap and
convenient (for me), but will result in an immobile lump
of a discharged car. I am however, on good (commission
based) terms with a local towing company who will
happily remove and store the vehicle in a secure location
far away from any potentially corrupt charging stations.
Owners are free to drive their vehicle away upon
payment of relevant fees, just bring a gallon of electricity
/bucket of AAAs/whatever they run on. This re-sets the
trap.... ahem, clears the charging station for fresh
victims, ahem, concerned environmentalists. |
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I expect the current DNC is the sort of opportunity that
would work well for my service. |
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Out of interest, do people using these bays for
legitimate charging have to pay for the electricity? If
not, then presumably there is an opportunity to build
a car consisting almost totally of batteries, which
could just about haul itself to and from the charging
station, returning home with fresh, free electricity. |
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While you're there, why not use the charging point to charge some batteries ? |
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"I never knew they made hybrid Plymouth Furies!" |
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"Remember, you heard it here first, folks ...." |
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//there is an opportunity to build a car consisting almost
totally of batteries// |
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Van, Shirley? Anyhow, EVs are almost totally batteries. And
if it is possible to get power out easily, there's more than
enough capacity for a small house for a week. |
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So, is charging at these public stations free? |
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<edit> OK, so a quick search shows that many of
these charging points are free in the UK, and have
power outputs of up to 50kW. |
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Mains electricity costs about £0.1 per kWh here. A
Tesla powerpack has a capacity of something like
10kWh. Ten such packs would run your house for
at least day or two, and (on a simple calculation)
would take about 2hr to charge, saving you £10 per
charge. |
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// Mains electricity costs about £0.1 per kWh here // |
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... unless you drain free energy from EV charging points .... or lamp-posts ... |
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I have yet to come across a single example outside
of a secured paddock that didn't require some sort
of ID to enable it here in the states. They all also
appear to be equipped with lights indicating their
current status re. legitimacy. |
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The main objective of the idea is free parking... indicator lamps on the pedestal can be faked with a stick-on LED device. |
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Actually, "harvest" might be a better word... |
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I'll need to spend some time reading this again. I don't get it. |
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// lights indicating their current status re. legitimacy // |
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Obviously the solution is to draw power and just dump it into a dummy load. Maybe fill the boot with water, boiling it away should buy you at least a few hours of free parking. |
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"Why does your electric car have a chimney?" |
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"Not a chimney mate, it's a cooling tower" |
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You could make it look like Mr Fusion. |
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//Maybe fill the boot with water, boiling it away should buy
you at least a few hours of free parking// |
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Hmm, actually that becomes a problem quickly. 50kW is
approx 25 (unregulated by the EU) kettles' worth. That
would be quite a cloud of steam. |
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