Fully Charged Live at Silverstone

Roberts Fully Charged project is having a Live event at Silverstone racing circuit on the 9th and 10th June this year. You can register for tickets now. Apparently they have a lot of companies showing their electric cars, bikes, low carbon energy systems like solar energy, batteries and other stuff and there will be talks and other great things.



http://www.fullychargedshow.co.uk/fully-charged-live-event

Litter at the entrance to B&Q

I visited B&Q recently to buy some paint and other DIY stuff. Whilst walking to the DIY store I looked down the embankment between the road entrance and the motorway bridge I spotted anormous amounts of Fast Food takeway litter.

The fact is a lot of it is in a location that would imply that it was thrown there by people in cars visiting the store and not cars passing the store heading for Leigh Park or Walmart.

The packaging is from a variety of sources including Kentucky Fried Chicken and McDonalds.

It is sickening, especially as I believe the store provides bins in the car park.

I think authorities need to put in temporary cameras that will capture licence plate numbers and catch the culprits responsible.

As well as that I think the Fast Food businesses identified by the packaging along with B&Q need to get the mess cleared up.

Robert and Jonny talk electric vehicles and rapid charging

Robert Llewellyn and Jonny discuss the Geneva car show and rapid charging EVs.
Have to say that Fully Charged has grown from a small niche video channel into a mainstream automobile video channel, with Rob and Jonny getting invites to discuss and review Electric Vehicles and low carbon tech all over the world. It is amazing how electric vehicle technology has developed in the 11 years this blog has run. Technically it was inevitable, but politcally it is surprising how much has changed. The main problem is Trump and his nationalist policies to desperately prop up the outdated American car industry. But I think (and pray!) that it will be a minor moronic glitch.

Anyway, here is the video:

Upgraded street lamps become EV charging points

A German company has developed street lighting technology that allows Electric Vehicles to be charged at adapted street lamps. When street lighting is upgraded to low energy LED technology, the cables that supply the lamps with power are effectively under used. This is where the EV charging technology comes in. Ubitricity can install the EV charging technology in any style of lamp post, retro or modern.

Once a street lamp is installed all an EV owner has to do is to sign up with Ubitricity, the owner then receives a special cable from Ubitricity which monitors electricity usage of the owner. The user is then debted the cost of the electricity. The cable has an inline small box with buttons and a display, so I presume that it is password protected to prevent possible mis-use. However I assume that if the cable were stolen, it could be reported and the account suspended until a new cable were supplied.

No additional load is put on the local electricity cables because they were originally designed to take a bigger load than the LED lighting puts on the system.

Robert L explains in this video how it works and interviews the local council that has installed the lamps as well as a representative of Ubitricity.



https://www.ubitricity.com/en

Trump can't stop progress

It is now inevitable that electric road vehicles, boats and even aircraft will replace our fossil fuel transport. I really don't think anything can stop it now, certainly not the ignorant Trump.
Bloomberg this week reported on research about battery technology reducing in price in the next 4 years to the point that Electric Vehicles will likely be cheaper than diesel or petrol engined cars.
Cheaper maintanance as well, with so few moving parts in EVs.
Robert in this video says a company is installing super fast chargers in the UK that have the capacity to charge the batteries of a suitable EV in 5 or 10 minutes. An Israeli company has developed batteries that might take that charge.


Anyway here is Roberts latest video:

The Koch brothers fund anti-electric car research?

Interesting POV on the subject of electric car batteries, dodgy research, nuclear energy and community energy:

Riversimple - now for something completely different

Interesting company rethinking car design and ownership:

Robert test drives the BMW i3 REx.

This car is electric with the addition of a small engine (647cc) that is used as a generator to charge the batteries and extend the range of the vehicle. There is no direct drive from the engine to the wheels and for most driving it can be operated as an electric vehicle.

Morgan electric 3 wheeler

150 mile range in a little 3 wheeler!

Pompous anti-cycling columnist

Ugh.

Just listening to Radio 4 and a pompous anti-road cycling journalist who is happy that her husband cycles off-road but hates cyclists getting in her way on the road. She also claims cycling is a religion.

Hmm.

So driving a car isn't a religion?
We get bombarded every day with 'religious' car related advertising and like all religions, driving a vehicle has strict rules! It's a bit like an established religion (car driving) being challenged by a new religion (cycling).
Frankly I get bombarded every day with information about roads and motor vehicles, rarely do I hear much about cycling unless I mention.

But really extremists like this journalist are the problem. They don't have the brains or skills to do anything useful, like making cars or bicycles.

Some ludicrous and insane videos

A bit different to Roberts reviews.

Tesla S P85D Insane mode:





Tesla S P90D Ludicrous mode:

Berlin Formula-E race highlights.

Something a little different.
Highlights of the Berlin Formula-E electric car race:

A real path at Wellington Retail Park??

After years of battling with cars trying to find a parking space at Wellington Retail Park, it looks like
pedestrians and cyclists trying to cross the numerous car park entrances and exists are going to get a proper path, with curbs??

At least I think this is going to be a path??
Feel free to post a comment if you know better.

Related blog posts:
http://lovelywaterlooville.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/chaos-at-retail-park.html
http://lovelywaterlooville.blogspot.co.uk/2009/02/waterloovile-pedestrian-access.html
http://lovelywaterlooville.blogspot.co.uk/2008/12/salvador-caetano.html
http://lovelywaterlooville.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/paints-and-belligerent-car-drivers.html

Cadillac ELR test drive

Robert test drives the Cadillac ELR, which frankly is a boring car, but what is more interesting is the discussion Robert has with Chelsea Sexton who featured in 'Who killed the electric car?':

Chaos at retail park

Years after the Waterlooville retail park was expanded and the primary pedestrian route into Waterlooville wrecked by poor Havant Borough Council planning.
The trek into Waterlooville is still a nightmare with cars driving down the pedestrian and cyclist path.
The silver Audi in the photo is seen having just driven along the path, seconds before I had seen another car drive down the same section of path in the opposite direction.

The local councils (Havant Borough and Hampshire County) between them killed the old road into Waterlooville. The very road which had probably seen a few Battle of Waterloo soldiers on it 200 years ago. Now it's a car park that pedestrians struggle to negotiate. Oh yes, 'Waterlooville 200' is just great!

Related blog posts:
http://lovelywaterlooville.blogspot.co.uk/2009/02/waterloovile-pedestrian-access.html
http://lovelywaterlooville.blogspot.co.uk/2008/12/salvador-caetano.html
http://lovelywaterlooville.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/paints-and-belligerent-car-drivers.html

Sainsburys update

Sainburys large store (above) is due to open this winter. My mother who once didn't really mind or understand it's impact is now of the same view as me. It will have a negative impact on Waterlooville. What Havant Borough Council and others choose to ignore is that it effectively disrupts the flow of activity that was once present along Hambledon road into Waterlooville and effectively adds another 'block' to the traditional access of Waterlooville. The view is that Waterlooville will be cut off because many now won't bother going into the centre, especially in from the Hambledon road route.

The history of development and the cut off of Waterlooville started when the bipass was built and Hambledon road was cut off just below St Georges church. Following that event, Havant Borough Council sold the part of Hambledon road servicing Wadham Stringers to private investors. This eventually led to the retail park being developed and the road being turned into a feeder to the retail car park (above)

And so Havant Borough Council continues it's anti-local business agenda that supports mass car use and the monopolies of big business. In the photo above is Sainsburys attempt - that is fully supported by the council- to provide access to cyclists and pedestrians. The fact is it highlights the pro-car agenda the council has. The car park is a nightmare to get through for pedestrians and cyclists even now years after it was created and the ramp is just another meandering attempt to bodge another solution.

Pedestrians and cyclists are the leaders of sustainability and healthy life styles that reduce costs for the council, yet Havant Borough Council continue to push the car onto us with ideological intensity.

Formula E racing starts soon...

Get ready to tune into ITV4 to watch the first ever season of Formula E electric car racing.
Starts on 13th Sept:

Richard Noble test drives the latest Nissan Leaf

Richard Noble (world land speed record until 1997) joins Robert and test drives the latest version of Nissan Leaf:

Robert test drives the e-Golf

These are such good videos, I just have to post them!
Robert test drives the new electric VW e-Golf:

Robert test drives the Tesla S