The arrival of a new piece of legislation sees the majority of new homes now required to have electric car chargers fitted. Indeed, the change in building regulation requirements means that most new residential developments, workplaces and supermarkets must install electric vehicle (EV) charging points as part of the initial build.
The change, which came into force on 15th June, also includes those residential buildings undergoing major renovations with more than ten parking spaces.
The new regulations stand to see up to 145,000 extra charge points installed across England each year in the run up to 2030, when the sale of new petrol and diesel cars will end in the UK. With the majority of charging happening at home, people will be able to buy new properties already prepared for an EV lifestyle.
The regulations also aim to ensure charge points will be readily available at new shops and workplaces across the UK, making it as easy as refuelling a petrol or diesel car today.
“We support the government’s proposals for more sustainable homes. The journey to net zero carbon will have significant implications for housebuilders, planners and architects,” said Richard Smith, National House Building Council’s Head of Standards, Innovation and Research.
“Ensuring the right electric vehicle infrastructure, including easy access to charge points, is key. Our own NHBC Foundation research has shown that the UK needs more than 4 million electric vehicle charge points by 2030, from a figure of around only 180,000 just two years ago.”
Anticipation of the new legislation has already begun to induce changes in the market. Earlier in the year, national housing provider Stonewater unveiled plans to support the rollout of EV charging points and infrastructure across its new-build and existing housing developments.
“Over the past six months, even before this new legislation arrived, our enquiry levels from developers have more than doubled and we can see that building companies have embraced these new regulations. Developers are already seeking out smarter chargers such as ours as an active selling point for buyers,” said Ohme CEO David Watson.
“We welcome the plans to encourage drivers towards electrified motoring in all its forms by enabling increased access to EV charging points for all home owners.”
Ohme’s smart chargers can connect with the national grid in real time and automatically adjust its charging for drivers to take advantage of all the times of low price charging with smart electricity tariffs. The result is that EV drivers can potentially run their car for less than £100 a year by smart charging their EV with an Ohme charger compared to charging on standard electricity rates.
It’s not only Ohme that has seen an increase, however. According to the NHBC, there was an uptick of 25% of new home registrations in 2021 (a total of 153,339 new home registrations in 2021 NHBC) compared to 2020, with growth in 11 out of 12 UK regions. So far in 2022, sales of fully-electric vehicles are already up 71.2 per cent on 2021 with a 15-fold increase in the choice of electric models, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
