Is Range Anxiety Really a Problem?

One worry you may have about making the switch to an electric car is recharging. When it comes to recharging, careful considerations need to be made and planned around. Compared to refuelling at a petrol station, currently, there are fewer options and recharging and topping up a vehicle’s battery can take longer.

The issue arises when looking at how far you can travel before recharging in relation to finding somewhere to recharge.

This fear of not being able to recharge; is often referred to as range anxiety, but as electric cars become more advanced and charging infrastructure continues to develop, is it something you need to worry about?

How far can your electric car go on a single charge?

Knowing how far you can travel on a full charge is vital as it helps you understand when and if you will need to recharge on a journey.

The distance new models can travel is increasing, with long-range variants of cars being developed that can go hundreds of miles on a single charge.

The average journey is significantly less than this, roughly 8.4 miles. For day-to-day driving, your range should not be an issue. For longer trips where you might need to recharge, planning is essential. There are a few things to keep in mind to make your next road trip stress-free:

Where are the chargers on my route? You might need to tweak your route to a destination slightly or schedule a stop earlier to top up a battery.
If I have an overnight stop planned, can I recharge there? Hotels and larger car parks might have facilities for recharging; it is worth checking in advance and considering pre-booking a space if this is possible.
If I am going away for a few days, are there chargers near to where I am staying/visiting? Think about where you are planning to visit. If some places don’t have chargers, you might need to make alternate arrangements to get there, such as via public transport.

Building a charging infrastructure

In the short term, these tips can help, but it is important to keep in mind that getting around in an electric car will only get easier as the UK’s charging infrastructure continues to grow and develop.

Car parks are a prime location for chargers. Recharging an electric car takes longer than refilling a petrol tank. Having chargers in locations; where you can safely leave a vehicle, allowing you to stretch your legs, get something to eat or do some shopping, means that you are not simply standing around and waiting.

The UK’s infrastructure is improving all the time. This is essential as in 2030 the sale of new petrol vehicles will end. There needs to be significant investment in chargers before then to ensure supply meets demand.

However, the number of chargers is only one issue. It is important to make sure that existing chargers are readily available when they are needed.

Protecting your chargers

There is nothing worse on a journey than trying to find a parking space, especially when you’re looking for a specific bay and it is being misused.

From blue badge spaces being taken up by motorists ‘just nipping into the shop’ to petrol cars parking in electric charging bays, space abuse is a massive inconvenience. If you’re looking for a place to top up a battery in an area with limited chargers, it can heap anxiety onto a journey. You can go into the store and ask customer services to solve the problem, which is the sensible approach. But those complaints only add to the situation and add to the jobs staff members already have to deal with.

Thankfully, with Evology chargers, there is a way to combat this. Our chargers are designed to protect the spaces they are in. We’re able to issue parking charge notices as a deterrent, meaning when you want to park in a charging bay, you are much more likely to be able to.