From today (June 15) the majority of new homes and commercial buildings, including offices and supermarkets, in the UK will be required to have electric vehicle (EV) chargers fitted.
The new regulations are designed to make it easier for people to charge their electric vehicles whether at home, at work or while out shopping to encourage more drivers to transition to electric cars. The change also includes residential buildings undergoing major renovations with more than 10 parking spaces.
The new legislation is part of the government’s wider plan to help cut carbon emissions by encouraging more drivers towards electric cars with an extra 145,000 charging points fitted each year. The move is in addition to the run-up to the wider ban of the sale petrol and diesel vehicles that’s due to come into effect in 2030.
As a result, Ohme, one of the UK’s leading electric vehicle smart charger providers has seen a dramatic increase in demand from housing developers and building companies.
David Watson, Ohme CEO, said: “We welcome the plans to encourage drivers towards electrified motoring in all its forms by enabling increased access to EV charging points for all homeowners.
“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.”
Ohme’s smart chargers can connect with the national grid in real-time and automatically adjust its charging for drivers to take advantage of low price charging with smart electricity tariffs.
The result is that electric vehicle drivers can potentially run their car for less than £100 a year by smart charging with an Ohme charger compared to charging on standard electricity rates. This is a huge saving and one that will hopefully encourage drivers to swap to electric vehicles, especially with rising prices at the pumps.
Furthermore, Ohme is also alone in offering drivers the option to charge when renewable energy generation on the grid is at its highest. This further lowers their CO2 impact and will help developers and building companies meet corporate sustainability targets.
Richard Smith, National House Building Council’s Head of Standards, Innovation and Research, said: “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.
“Ensuring the right electric vehicle infrastructure, including easy access to chargepoints, is key. Our own NHBC Foundation research has shown that the UK needs more than 4 million electric vehicle chargepoints by 2030, from a figure of around only 180,000 just two years ago.”
According to the National House Building Council (NHBC), there was an increase of 25 percent of new home registrations in 2021 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 percent on 2021, with a 15-fold increase in the choice of electric models according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
This means the new regulations are positive change on every level, and ultimately will save electric vehicle drivers a considerable amount of money. Plus, more importantly, it will reduce CO2 emissions contributing to a cleaner planet.
