1.10.24

As an Occupational Therapist, Reuben Morris spends his days driving the streets of Cardiff to visit clients in their homes. He's the first to admit it would be "very difficult" to do his job without a car - but six years ago he made the green choice to switch to an electric vehicle and now, despite the miles he clocks up every day, he never spends a penny on petrol.

"I got a cheap Nissan Leaf off Gumtree and that," Reuben explains, "was my gateway into green technology. Since then, it's become a bit of an addiction. I realised I could charge it from solar panels, and it all went from there. Now we've got battery storage and a heat pump as well and our energy supplier pays us!"

Reuben, charging his electric vehicle.

Transport is the biggest cause of carbon emissions in Cardiff - making up 35% of the 1.78 million tonnes of CO₂e generated in the city every year, so every green choice made by people like Reuben today - whether that's walking or cycling a little more or switching to an electric vehicle - adds up to a brighter future tomorrow.

With a growing network of approximately 200 publicly accessible electric vehicle chargers now available in Cardiff, and more expected to be introduced as part of Cardiff Council's One Planet Cardiff response to the climate emergency as well as by the private sector, the infrastructure to support EV vehicles is improving, but Reuben admits to some early ‘range anxiety.'

"I bought the car from Swansea. I got the train up to get it and drove it back and I remember coming back and being terrified whether I'd make it - but that's dropped away. I've never run out of charge in 6 years, so I never worry about it. It's not a particularly range-busting EV, but if you don't have that type of job, you're not a sales rep or something, you don't often jump in the car and drive 300 miles - everywhere in Cardiff is completely accessible to me."

"I'm pragmatic about it though - I've still got a petrol driven campervan to use for holidays and occasional trips - but I will not get a petrol car again if I've got any choice. The driving experience is much better and I'm lucky enough to have a drive, so I plug in at home, charge it overnight and it is just so much more convenient than using petrol stations."

With an electric vehicle covering the majority of his car journeys, and domestic emissions from things like lighting and heating being the second largest source of emissions in Cardiff, Reuben's attention turned to adding even more green technology to his home.

Now, with solar panels on his roof and a battery to store the energy, plus a ground source heat pump to heat his 1970s built end of terrace family home, his energy - including heating, hot water and electricity - costs him approximately £10 a month for the majority of the year. Then, from May to August, when his home produces more solar energy than he and his family can use, the unused energy is exported to the National Grid, and his energy company pay him.

That all adds up to around £320 profit on energy every year - plus the savings Reuben makes from not paying for petrol.

"I've got east-west solar, which isn't the recommended layout, but I've got panels on both sides of the roof and at the moment, I'm charging my vehicle, doing all of my work miles, all of my shopping miles, all the basic use of the car, plus I've got hot water from the heat pump and right now," he adds with a smile, "I'm getting about £100 a month from my energy supplier.

"Even during the winter, when we need to import some electricity from the grid, the solar still takes the edge off our bills. We haven't had to change our behaviour at all, we live normally with it - the only thing we've found, thanks to our smart meter, is that the electric shower uses as much electricity as charging a car, so we tend to take baths!

"There's a lot of negative information about heat pumps out there, but they use them in Scandinavia and they work - we're just late to the party. It's certainly working for our house. My experience is it's much more comfortable, all of the time.

"I think of all of this as an investment - we're heading towards retirement and the idea that energy costs will be reduced as we get older is a real bonus."

Cardiff's Local Area Energy Plan estimates that in order to reach the Welsh Government's target for a net-zero Wales by 2050 it will be necessary for 160,000 heat pumps to be installed in the city, alongside 510MW of roof-mounted solar PV (the equivalent of 115,000 domestic roofs) and 26,000 electric vehicle chargers, both in private houses and on publicly accessible land.

Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Strategic Planning and Transport, Cllr Dan De'Ath said: "We're taking action on climate change through our One Planet Cardiff strategy but we need people across the city to join us in making greener choices.

"Nobody can do everything, but everyone can do something. Whether that's picking the healthy option of walking or cycling where possible, easting more local and sustainable food, or going further and switching to an electric vehicle or installing solar panels or a heat pump in your home - every small green choice helps."

To find out more about One Planet Cardiff and information on how you can make greener choices for a brighter future, visit www.oneplanetcardiff.co.uk