;

Alfa Power aims to awaken a sleeping giant

30th November 2018


The purpose

Poor air quality is a problem that many schooling districts face as many of them are situated in areas of heavy urbanisation. Alfa Power proposed to install Electric Vehicle Chargers at the Grammar School at Leeds to encourage the use of EVs (Electric Vehicle) to both teachers and students.

The long term strategy for the government and the current status

Currently, there is a deprivation of available funding, so as a result there is minimal charging infrastructure in schools, and charging limitations at the home addresses of potential EV users. In addition, 50% of residences in Yorkshire are either terraced with no off road parking, flats, apartments, shared or rented accommodation. Therefore, they do not have access to a residential charging point.

Teachers as a market segment

Teachers are by and large, an environmentally conscious demographic with a strong adherence to sustainability, which makes them part of the key target market for EV adoption. Therefore, Alfa Power would like to make electric vehicle infrastructure available, and increase adoption of EVs for this particular market segment, in order to create a new community of EV drivers.

One of the great benefits of having EV charging infrastructure at a school is that the students will also see and experience it on a day-to-day basis, increasing exposure and awareness of the technology from an early age. Laws regarding petrol and diesel cars will have changed dramatically by the time the students have grown up. When factoring in that teachers are, in the main, an environmentally focussed group; they are perfectly placed to shape the attitudes and behaviours of their students. This makes teachers and indeed schools an excellent target market for EVC (Electric Vehicle Chargers).

The barriers teachers face to EV infrastructure

Even if the majority of teachers are pro-sustainability, they are currently very unlikely to make the switch to EVs, there are so many barriers that they will face when making the decision to switch. For example, NQTs (newly qualified teacher) are unlikely to have the option of owning a home charger, as they are most likely to be living in shared accommodation or a rented property. Landlords might not see value in tenants having a home charger installed as they see it as a disruption and a restriction. In conjunction to this, there is currently no EV infrastructure in the workplace, giving limited opportunity to charge. NQTs are also faced with the issue of limited finance. The primary cost of purchasing an EV may be off-putting for this demographic, and the lack of understanding of the benefits they could make when factoring in a total cost of ownership perspective. The running costs in terms of fuel and maintenance and repairs is hugely significant but not common knowledge in the public domain. This knowledge gap will be a contributor to teachers being less likely to ta take up the opportunity to purchase an EV. Furthermore, the current lack of widespread high performance infrastructure serves as an additional barrier to this uptake.

The following table shows the average lifetime of parts (in miles) for both internal combustion (IC) engine vehicles and modern electric vehicles (EV).

 

IC EngineElectric vehicle
Brake Pads20,000 miles100,000 miles
Brake Discs50,000200,000
Exhaust Brackets10-15,000none
Spark Plugs20,000none
Fan Belt50,000none
Timing Belt100,000none
Injector Cleaner10-15,000none
Oil and filter15-20,000none
Gearbox50,000none
Clutch60-100,000none

What Alfa Power has done to combat the issue at schools

Alfa Power has tried to allay the fears around the lack of infrastructure and range anxiety at the Grammar School at Leeds to encourage EV usage. The business has also raised awareness of the benefits of EVs and how they contribute towards combating the issue of poor air quality and improving public health.

The outcome of the proposal at GSAL

To test this hypothesis Alfa Power has installed a fast charger at the Grammar School at Leeds, which has immediately resulted in increased staff EV adoption by 150%. At the point of installation, there were 2 EV drivers in a staff consisting of over 200. This number within the first 3 months of the install has risen to 5! This demonstrates that teachers have the knowledge and are mindful about the advantages of owning an EV, and more importantly when infrastructure becomes accessible they are willing to make the switch to an EV. This uptake could not have happened if it was not for the installation of the fast charger at the Grammar School at Leeds.

Future plans for Alfa Power

We are optimistic that this case study will help Alfa Power to champion this strategy to other schools as the outcome has been positive. The result of the installation may help to increase wide scale awareness of the benefit of EVs in schools with the solutions that Alfa Power offers.

Alfa Power would like to continue to take this development one stage further. Through sister company Evie a proposal is on the table to offer a small number of EVs such as a Nissan-Leaf or Renault Zoe, to give teachers the opportunity to trial and test an EV. The aim of this is to increase EV usage within the community of teachers at the school. If there is a further increase in usage of EVs at the school, it could further spread awareness to students and parents too.

More Recent News


Card image
14 November 2019
Alfa Power Scoops Prestigious Industry Award
Read More
Card image
29 September 2019
Does a horse react to an EV? Yay or Neigh
Read More
Card image
22 September 2019
How Jeff Bezos just helped us on the Road To Zero.
Read More
Card image
15 September 2019
Can the national grid cope with demand from electric cars?
Read More
Card image
08 September 2019
Will changes in planning regulations make a difference to EV uptake?
Read More
Card image
01 September 2019
Is size everything?
Read More
Card image
25 August 2019
How we’re improving fault-finding and charger uptime
Read More
Card image
18 August 2019
Alfa Power wages war on ICEing
Read More
Card image
11 August 2019
Motorsport, Electric Cars & Renewable Energy: A Fans Perspective
Read More
Card image
04 August 2019
Why incentives for taxi drivers aren’t working
Read More
Card image
28 July 2019
Will extreme heat affect my EV charging session?
Read More
Card image
21 July 2019
Alfa Power welcomes changes to planning guidance
Read More
Card image
14 July 2019
The importance of innovation
Read More
Card image
07 July 2019
Golf Clubs - Are you hitting the green in regulation?
Read More
Card image
30 June 2019
New OLEV regulations come into effect on July 1st
Read More
Card image
25 April 2019
Alfa Power venture into London
Read More
Card image
08 April 2019
Alfa Power installs 70kW rapid charger in Nottingham
Read More
Card image
13 March 2019
One fob. Two networks.
Read More
Card image
15 February 2019
The Death of the Petrol Station
Read More
Card image
11 January 2019
DC charger on the A1
Read More
Card image
10 January 2019
Rutland’s first fast EV charger
Read More
Card image
30 November 2018
Alfa Power aims to awaken a sleeping giant
Read More
Card image
17 November 2018
Launch of 60kW EV charger at Huddersfield
Read More
Card image
16 November 2018
Alfa Power launch UK’s first 120kW EV Charger
Read More
Card image
10 November 2018
Victoria Service Station launch event
Read More
Card image
09 November 2018
Cabinet member to switch on multiple chargers on November 15
Read More
Card image
02 November 2018
Celebration for 60kW charger at Brighouse Crown Service Station
Read More
Card image
13 October 2018
How long does it take to charge an EV?
Read More
Card image
13 October 2018
How much does it cost to charge an EV?
Read More
Card image
04 October 2018
Alfa Power arrives!
Read More
Card image
04 October 2018
Is your car eligible for an OLEV home charge grant?
Read More
Card image
20 September 2018
Alfa Power hosts MOBA event
Read More
Card image
15 October 2020
Alfa Power Join Octopus Energy’s Electric Juice Network
Read More
Card image
01 August 2020
Alfa Power to Offset Carbon Emissions
Read More
Card image
01 September 2020
Find the Perfect EV Charger for Your Business
Read More
Card image
19 August 2020
Alfa Power Start To Offer Contactless Solutions
Read More
Card image
06 November 2020
Alfa Power Offset Carbon Emissions With Make it Wild
Read More
Card image
11 November 2020
Do Electric Cars Reduce Your Carbon Footprint?
Read More
Card image
18 November 2020
5 Tips On How To Increase Electric Car Range
Read More
Card image
14 January 2021
5 Reasons You Should Buy An Electric Car In 2021
Read More
Card image
28 January 2021
Why Your Business Needs To Install An EV Charger in 2021
Read More
Card image
25 February 2021
Alfa Power Joins Bonnet App
Read More
Card image
26 May 2021
Alfa Power Issue Statement in Response to HMRC Brief
Read More
Copyright © 2021 Alfa E-Charge Ltd | Reg No. 11119473
This websites uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Learn More