Native Land has installed 50 electric car charging points in the underground car park at the Burlington Gate development, which is due for completion in September 2017.
The developer hopes that the possibility to charge the electric and hybrid cars within the development will encourage drivers to switch to more sustainable vehicles.
Native Land is looking to the future with the fitting of the charging system as over the last few years UK registrations for both pure electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles have increased from 3,500 to over 100,000. The recently announced ban on diesel and petrol cars from 2040 is anticipated to increase both demand and supply of electric cars, which account for less than one percent of new sales at the moment.
Joe White, Development Executive at Native Land, commented:
“The system at Burlington Gate will accommodate a growing need for electric car parking points as the interest and market for electric vehicles continues to increase. The electric car market is evolving constantly and for us it is incredibly important that our developments are equipped to the highest specification to accommodate to this rapidly growing market.”
The charging system at Burlington Gate is user-friendly and controlled by a RFID reader (radio frequency identification reader), which uses radio-frequency waves to wirelessly transfer data between the device and a card. All the user will have to do is plug their vehicle into the system and hold their card to the reader to start the “charging” procedure. The card instantly recognises the user and charging of the vehicle commences.
Current figures show that most European electric cars can drive 100 miles before needing to be recharged; meaning charging cars at home is the best option for many people.
Ensuring energy efficiency is fundamental to the project. Specially designed features guarantee that as soon as the vehicle’s battery is full, the socket is switched off, meaning that there is no energy wastage.