Switching to driving an electric vehicle

Alex Randall oversees many of E.ON’s efforts to help upgrade the nation’s social housing stock. This includes improving the energy efficiency of properties through better insulation, fitting solar PV panels to provide renewable energy and installing air source heat pumps to supply low carbon heating.

Earlier this year, Alex took the plunge and made the transition to driving an electric car. He shares his reflections on the changes it has brought to his life.

“Having previously driven a diesel car, I switched to a plug-in hybrid about three and a half years ago, before going fully electric at the start of 2022. Having started the shift towards driving electric with my hybrid, several factors influenced me to go fully electric.

There are obvious tax benefits to having an electric car and they’re more economical to run and maintain. And through my job, it’s also important to be able to practise what I preach – if I drive to a customer’s premises to talk to them about how they could cut their carbon emissions, then I don’t want it to be in a fossil-fuelled car. Having an electric car can also help to start the conversation about their own carbon reduction plans and the sorts of technologies they might consider.

Beyond this though, I read one of David Attenborough’s books which got me thinking about the changes I could make to my way of life to do my bit to help fight climate change. I’ve got a two-year old daughter and I don’t want her growing up on a planet that I helped to ruin.

Getting a charger installed at my home was straightforward and easy. E.ON offers the service as part of its employee benefit salary sacrifice scheme – so I effectively pay for the charger through my salary, helping spread the upfront cost.

Charging away from home on long journeys does take a bit of getting used to and a lot more organising than simply relying on my home charger or finding the nearest petrol station. I need to remember to fully charge my car overnight at home before setting out, but I also need to plan my route with more thought now. And if I’m staying away overnight, I now select a hotel based on its charging facilities.

Downloading all of the different apps you need to charge at public sites is a bit of an effort, but you only need to do it once. I’ve got a total of five different apps installed on my phone, which between them cover all the different scenarios I come across when I’m charging my EV away from home.

I do like driving my EV, it’s quieter and smoother. Passenger comfort and sound does matter when you’re transporting a dog and a baby in the back I’ve found! EVs also come with a range of extra gadgets which I appreciate.

Switching to an electric car does mean making behavioural changes, particularly if you’re a driver who regularly covers long distances. And it’s unfortunately the case that availability of public chargers is far better in some areas than others – coverage is still patchy though this will get better over time.

Despite this, I’m very happy with my decision and recommend going fully electric to anyone. Who wouldn’t want to drive a car which guarantees them the best parking spots with extra space at the front of the car park? And knowing you’re doing your bit for the planet is the real bonus.”