Electric Car Chargers to Become Mandatory in New UK Homes
A dedicated EV enthusiast leads a life of constant waiting ... luckily, with 2019 set to be the year of the EVs, there's plenty to get excited about, especially now that homebuilders could soon see their new UK homes come fully equipped with their very own electric car chargers!
The UK government is set to introduce new legislation whereby all electric car charge points in new UK homes will become mandatory. The proposal is another step forward towards the UK government's ambition to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. The proposal is an effort to increase the uptake of battery electric vehicles (BEVs), which accounted for just 0.7% of all new car purchases in the UK in 2018.
Read more: What is the Government’s ‘Road to Zero’ strategy?
The proposal aims to support and encourage the growing uptake of electric vehicles within the UK by ensuring that all new homes with an on-site parking space are built with an electric chargepoint. As a result, this will help make electric car charging easier and more affordable for drivers and help to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide in the air.
This news announced by the Department of Transport (Dft) means that buyers of new build-homes will no longer need to make use of the Government’s home charger scheme (often referred as the OLEV grant), which allows motorists to claim a £500 discount off the cost of an electric charger. To date, this scheme has encouraged approximately 100,000 wallboxes to be fitted.
If you’re currently a homeowner and would like to get a discount, you must apply via the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme.
Check out the below video from Renault to learn more about wall-box installation;
No statement has been made about how the UK government's plans to accommodate homebuilders without off-street parking; however, last week the government invested around £40 million into research projects that included wireless charge points, charge points that emerge from the pavement and potentially fitting chargers to lamposts.
Drivers with a dedicated car parking space will have access to their own device, enabling them to charge in a similar way to a mobile phone. The time an electric car takes to charge depends solely on the size of the battery and the speed of the charging point. A typical electric car (60kWh battery) takes just under 8 hours to charge from empty-to-full with a standard 7kW charger. According to electric car charging provider, Pod Point, the change could save motorists up to £1,000 in fuel costs with home charging points compared to using public charging points.
"With record levels of ultra-low emission vehicles on our roads, it is clear there is an appetite for cleaner, greener transport ...
... Home charging provides the most convenient and low-cost option for consumers – you can simply plug your car in to charge overnight as you would a mobile phone."
- Transport Secretary Chris Grayling
The Dft is also further looking into whether all new private charge points should incorporate ‘smart’ technology. The new proposal is one of many government measures that attempts to improve the electric vehicle charging infrastructure, as well as a £400 million Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund as part of the government's long-term Road to Zero strategy to support the transition to zero emission road transport and reduce emissions from internal combustion vehicles during this transition.
What is smart technology?
‘Smart’ technology, also known as a 'communication unit' because of how it's connected to WiFi, makes best use of peak and off-peak electricity rates, allowing motorists to reduce costs and save money. According to a three-year study by Energy Systems Catapult, the majority of the UK population would use smart-charging systems for electric vehicles to avoid peak grid demand and reduce energy bills.
It remains to be seen whether Smart technology will be implemented but if it is, then the government hopes that it will mean more EVs are charged overnight, reducing pressure on the National grid.
Benefits of ‘Smart’ charge points?
Apart from the main advantage above, Smart charging technology from Pod Point, for example, offers a range of benefits. These include;
- Energy usage reports - Smart technology allows users to control their energy usage via their mobile app, which can also be downloaded as .CSV reports. You can record how much energy you’ve used, monitor how green your charging is and record work expenses.
- Convenient - All cars and charge points will occasionally malfunction at some stage, this is inevitable. However, with Smart charging you are always connected, meaning the problem can always be diagnosed and fixed remotely without an expert having to visit your home, reducing the time that chargers are down.
- Constant updates - Pod Point make continuous tweaks and changes to their software, therefore you will always receive the latest updates to your chargepoint long after its been installed.
For more information on electric vehicle smart charging click here
