Green vs Gas – The Road Ahead

The country is under more scrutiny than ever when it comes to sustainability issues and as businesses, we all have a social and environmental responsibility to ensure our actions underline our determination for change.

However, with electric vehicle registrations on the up, many are concerned that the country’s power grid isn’t ready to meet demand. There have been hard suggestions within the electrical fraternity that our national resources are already creaking so what would a further influx of not only electrical vehicles but also electric boilers do to the system?

Our company owner Kyle Gamble believes substantial investment will be required if the current market trend continues.

“There would need to be a major upgrade to sustain the projected usage of electric cars and boilers but in order to do that it would mean a comprehensive plan would have to be unveiled which would require a new network installed down roads and across fields across the nation, causing disruption ‘even more road works’ and not to mention the cost of such an extensive upgrade.”

“The average household is already heading towards the maximum capacity of the electricity it requires to operate so the next logical option to “future proof could be to upgrade each house to a three-phase supply system, which again would involve major disruption around towns, cities and villages.

So what is the future? How can the UK cope with the increasing demand for our roads to become more carbon neutral?

Hydrogen cars have been touted as an option and although examples of this are already in evidence, the scale of this project raises some safety concerns with the correct storage of the flammable gas the biggest talking point. But despite this, some suggest this as a progressive alternative to petroleum. Honda have been taking steps in this direction for some time, and are promoting this option heavily in Japan.

KG explains “Hydrogen would run on a normal combustion engine, similar to our current petrol/diesel models, so the modifications to your current car could be minimal, in theory.”

Another, perhaps more sustainable, option would be self-charging cars. New models of electric cars could be developed with more than enough energy generated during travel than the car actually uses, keeping reserves and topping up to a constant level every time you use it. Using kinetic energy as the wheels turn and perhaps having solar panels in the roof to generate further charge as you drive along. Electric cars are powered by lithium batteries and although the element is very much in abundance at the moment, it wouldn’t take long for reserves to diminish if the public were to pursue this avenue as a mode of transport, whereas Hydrogen is one of the most abundant elements on the planet.

“The only time you would need to charge the self-charging car is when a new battery is fitted. This system would also eradicate the issue which current models have of a limited battery life. You need to factor your charging time into any journey, a problematic concern when travelling long distances.”

Of course any option would have its obstacles, whether it be efficiency, cost, reliability, or functionality. There are probably more questions than answers at the minute but one thing is absolute; the desire to for a cheaper, greener, more resourceful form of fuel is very much driving the argument forward