£4 - £5 per night to charge wheelchair

MouldyOldDough

Just spotted this on BBC news - a disabled chap reckons that he spends £4 - £5 per night, charging his wheelchair - is this even possible ?

 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c98892xnq98o

£4 will provide 12kWh of power - if his chair uses 1/10th of this amount, I would be concerned !!

BBC are sensationalising again !!

Keep_pedalling

A typical heavy duty wheelchair will have a 24v 20Ah battery so it should be nearer 15-20p 

born_again

I would guess chair does not need charging every night.
He also seems to have other electrical equipment that is running at night. Even so, that is like 16kWh a night inc S/C for £4.

So southern is currently 
S/C 63.33p a day
Unit rate 24.66 kWh

Would love to see their actual monthly bill.

https://www.motability.co.uk/find-a-vehicle/powered-wheelchairs/search-results/kymco-k-movie/718650/?awardType=PIP

2x50ah from flat to full would be 24kWh to charge. But that has a range of 20 miles. So the odds of needing a full charge every night is very slim.



Personally even with a EV & doing 1000 miles a month I'm only spending £80 a month.
Last month a total (House & Car) of 400kWh used which even at southern rated would only be £120 cost @ full unit rate, not any off peak tariff.

I guess if the chair was used a lot every day, then it is possible to use that much. With other heavy use electrical items.  

Grumpy_chap

That BBC article would seem to need the "BBC verify" treatment 

Keep_pedalling

born_again said:

I would guess chair does not need charging every night.
He also seems to have other electrical equipment that is running at night. Even so, that is like 16kWh a night inc S/C for £4.

So southern is currently 
S/C 63.33p a day
Unit rate 24.66 kWh

Would love to see their actual monthly bill.

https://www.motability.co.uk/find-a-vehicle/powered-wheelchairs/search-results/kymco-k-movie/718650/?awardType=PIP

2x50ah from flat to full would be 24kWh to charge. But that has a range of 20 miles. So the odds of needing a full charge every night is very slim.



Personally even with a EV & doing 1000 miles a month I'm only spending £80 a month.
Last month a total (House & Car) of 400kWh used which even at southern rated would only be £120 cost @ full unit rate, not any off peak tariff.

I guess if the chair was used a lot every day, then it is possible to use that much. With other heavy use electrical items.  

100Ah with 24v batteries is only 2.4kWh

born_again

Keep_pedalling said:

born_again said:

I would guess chair does not need charging every night.
He also seems to have other electrical equipment that is running at night. Even so, that is like 16kWh a night inc S/C for £4.

So southern is currently 
S/C 63.33p a day
Unit rate 24.66 kWh

Would love to see their actual monthly bill.

https://www.motability.co.uk/find-a-vehicle/powered-wheelchairs/search-results/kymco-k-movie/718650/?awardType=PIP

2x50ah from flat to full would be 24kWh to charge. But that has a range of 20 miles. So the odds of needing a full charge every night is very slim.



Personally even with a EV & doing 1000 miles a month I'm only spending £80 a month.
Last month a total (House & Car) of 400kWh used which even at southern rated would only be £120 cost @ full unit rate, not any off peak tariff.

I guess if the chair was used a lot every day, then it is possible to use that much. With other heavy use electrical items.  

100Ah with 24v batteries is only 2.4kWh

Opps..
I used 240V..
Doh 
Thanks.

LinLui

The BBC are reporting what he has said. That's all. 

There have been multiple official inquiries and reports showing that people with disabilities are amongst the poorest sections of society, struggle with bills, and in particular with energy costs due to increased demands of equipment. Many people with disabilities didn't even qualify for assistance or full assistance under the support schemes, and accessing the oversubscribed Householf Support Fund isn't always possible. 

The article says that his costs have increased by £300 a month - I am not sure that it is helpful or productive to say that he is lying about this unless you know for a fact that is the case. Was there a point to suggesting that the article is untrue? And could you also "verify" your evidence for this? After all, apart from what appears to be some "disability bashing" dressed up as a question, this doesn't appear to be a "disability money matter".

molerat

I see no disability bashing here.  The statement about costing £5 per night to charge the chair is blatantly untrue and posters have shown why, you could do at least 80 miles in an EV for that amount.  It is just another of those poor journalistic quality "news" articles with the usual red top style sad face photo and a few dodgy "facts" to try and garner sympathy and fails miserably.

born_again

LinLui said:

The BBC are reporting what he has said. That's all. 

There have been multiple official inquiries and reports showing that people with disabilities are amongst the poorest sections of society, struggle with bills, and in particular with energy costs due to increased demands of equipment. Many people with disabilities didn't even qualify for assistance or full assistance under the support schemes, and accessing the oversubscribed Householf Support Fund isn't always possible. 

The article says that his costs have increased by £300 a month - I am not sure that it is helpful or productive to say that he is lying about this unless you know for a fact that is the case. Was there a point to suggesting that the article is untrue? And could you also "verify" your evidence for this? After all, apart from what appears to be some "disability bashing" dressed up as a question, this doesn't appear to be a "disability money matter".

If BBC are taking what they are saying is the truth. Then the BBC have become as bad as Social Media & no actual fact checking of the details.

While we all know many are suffering with high bills. Pieces like this are not helping. 
OfGem work the ave on a 2-3 bed house as 2,700kWh a year, which is £1,568 now.
This person & BBC are claiming that their bill has increased by over double that amount. Given a extra £300 a month is £3,600 a year.
Never mind what they were paying before.

Not saying this person is not telling the truth. But there is far more that has not been said that may make the story ring true.
Is the £300 extra a month just the monthly DD amount, as the person is in debt from previous bills? Or is this £300 a actual amount of the extra kWh they are using each month?
Make a massive difference to the story. But this is media now, never let the truth & real facts get in the way of a story.

If someone posted this in Energy section here.
The 1st questions asked would be "What are your meter readings" & actual monthly costs. NOT what your DD a month is.
To get to the truth, you need hard facts, & this story is sadly lacking in the facts area.

MattMattMattUK

molerat said:

I see no disability bashing here.  The statement about costing £5 per night to charge the chair is blatantly untrue and posters have shown why, you could do at least 80 miles in an EV for that amount.  It is just another of those poor journalistic quality "news" articles with the usual red top style sad face photo and a few dodgy "facts" to try and garner sympathy.

Exactly, £5 twice a week is 44kWh a week or 170-180 miles a week in an EV (which weighs two tonnes), there is no way an electric wheelchair could be using that much. 

The CPAP machine will use an average of 53w, so for eight ours a day, seven days a week that is 3kWh, or 66--69p.

The £120 per week on food for two people also seems high.

The problem with these stories is that the figures do not add up so the person involved and the news agency reporting it are discredited. Some people will have an irrational tantrum and get outraged, others will dismiss the issue because the numbers do not add up. 

There likely is an issue with some disabled people not being adequately supported, but articles such as this one that do not stand up to scrutiny are not going to help them build public support. The nine paragraphs of party political rubbish at the end help no one. 

LightFlare

Its a BBC "sob story" involving a disabled pensioner -- you honestly dont expect truth and or verifiable facts --- do you ??

very surprised there are any 'isms accused as well