New homes becoming electric

All new-build homes could soon be fitted with an electric car chargepoint, the government has outlined in a public consultation on changing building regulations in England. The proposals announced by the government aim to support and encourage the growing uptake of electric vehicles within the UK by ensuring that all new homes with a dedicated car parking space are built with an electric chargepoint, making charging easier, cheaper and more convenient for drivers.

ELECTRIC VEHICLE (EV) CHARGING
If pending UK legislation becomes law, all new home construction will include electric vehicle (EV) charging installations. New office buildings are part of the plan, too: they will need to provide charging infrastructure per every five parking spaces. Starting in 2022, the new law will accelerate the rate of installations, which would move the current 500 charging point installations per month up to 700.

ELECTRIC VEHICLE INFRASTRUCTURE
The legislation would be a world first, and complements wider investment and measures the government has put in place to ensure the UK has one of the best electric vehicle infrastructure networks in the world – as part of the £1.5 billion Road to Zero Strategy. The government has already taken steps to ensure that existing homes are electric vehicle ready by providing up to £500 off the costs of installing a chargepoint at home.

ELECTRICITY TARIFF INFORMATION
Having supported the installation of almost 100,000 domestic chargepoints through grant support schemes, the government has also announced that it is consulting on requirements that all new private chargepoints use ‘smart’ technology. This means an electric vehicle would charge at different times of the day in response to signals, such as electricity tariff information. This would encourage off-peak charging, keeping costs down for consumers.

NEW RESIDENTIAL AND NON-RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS
The drive towards electric vehicles comes as the UK government aims to meet stringent targets for air quality and pollution caused by internal combustion engine emissions. From 2030, the £1.5 billion Road to Zero strategy will see the sale of all new cars without electrification banned. Transport Minister, Rachel Maclean, commented: ‘We will publish our consultation response on requiring all new residential and non-residential buildings to have a chargepoint, and we intend to lay legislation later this year.’

The consultation, which was made available online for public comment, is a package of announcements to support electric vehicle drivers and improve the experience of charging. “We also confirmed our intention to mandate that home and workplace electric vehicle chargers must be capable of smart charging,” Maclean added.