Charging electric cars on Club sites.

I have sent an Email to Kia asking some similar questions as we are looking at a hybrid to replace our Sportage,we in the past had a Soul and were hoping that would be made as Hybrid but it is full EV so out of the running 

If the vehicle is limited to 10amps by the breaker in the van, then it is simple to work out what is left and look up what the fixed  items use (fridge and charger) , then they will see what is left.

In summer, charging overnight would not be a problem, just turn off the HW if in doubt.

As we have the Alde load monitor, it would automatically turn off HW and heating if we were trying to go over the 16amps the bollard can supply, so we could leave the HW on.

It would be stuff like a kettle or the microwave we would need to think about, but unlikely they would be needed overnight.

They were also not sure which 10amp breaker was for the external socket

Thanks Corners but it's quite difficult to offer much advice due to the types of vehicle out there. Ours is a full EV, to get the driving range it has regenerative braking plus the big advantage of a range extender. This can give indefinite battery power as long as you keep the small petrol motor topped up (by small, think lawn mower and minimum fuel costs) this motor doesn't drive the car, it is for the battery. We tend to use it on longer journeys when we see the battery power dropping to a certain point. It will automatically come into use too if needed. If choosing a car look at what gives you the best technology around. Some hybrids have very limited battery power and some EV cars with very small batteries are only suitable for city use etc.

I'll dig out a YouTube video for our type of car to give you an idea, a lot to consider,  it took us awhile to sort out what was best for us. Hopefully the prices will come down as more people start buying.

An example given by my daughter who runs 12 Nissan Leafs.

They have approx 40kW batteries and if they had to use the portable charging lead and charger, like one you would take to a caravan site. The charger would be 2.5kW (10a) plugged in at 13a wall socket, the charge time from empty to full would take 16 hours, not good but less time if not flat.

Compare this with a Smartcar with say a 17kW battery, then the same portable charger could be full in 7 hours from empty, easily done overnight, and of course they can use rapid chargers elsewhere for 30 minute top ups.

This is why my daughters cars use rapid charging, they need the range and the speed in charging for the business, so its horses for courses with full on battery cars.

thanks for the reply, the plug in Niro says it was last 30 miles while the non plug in 3! But that would suit us as our nearest supermarket we use is 2 miles away and visting in laws about the same, and most of the time that's probably all we do but yet would use the car for longer journeys once maybe twice a week on (non caravan) days out. 

a range extender. This can give indefinite battery power as long as you keep the small petrol motor topped up (by small, think lawn mower and minimum fuel costs) this motor doesn't drive the car, it is for the battery.

That is another bit I cannot understand.  If such a small engine as a lawnmower can keep the car going indefinitely, why are the cars not just fitted with lawn-mower engines?  Driving a generator which drives motor(s) in wheels, instead of a large engine driving a gear box.

It generates battery power only. Have a look at the video clip which shows the internal lay out. 

Yes.  The power from the lawn mower engine generator goes into the battery.  The battery then powers the electric motor. 

So the battery is acting as a store to even out the constant rate of generation and the varying demand by the motor.  If the lawn mower enging is powering the set up indefinitely, then it will be producing ALL the energy used by the electric motor (apart from regenerative braking, which is restoring to the battery energy that it had previously supplied to create momentum in the vehicle).

Hmm, well it keeps the battery at a certain level, it's not in use all the time and the ideal would be to go and find a charge point rather than keep topping up with petrol. The initial power comes from an electrical charge. The idea is to get this power from renewables rather than fossil fuels, hence ecotricity supplies etc.