The Government has announced plans to change its building regulations to ensure every new residential property with an associated car parking space has a electric vehicle chargepoint.
The legislative change, which is out to consultation until the 7 October 2019, would be a world first the government said.
Transport secretary Chris Grayling said: '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.'
The plan is to transpose EU legislation under the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) to set minimum requirements for electric vehicle charging infrastructure in new and existing non-residential buildings.
The proposal would also apply to buildings undergoing a material change of use to create a dwelling.
Installing chargepoints in residential buildings will add an additional cost of approximately £976 per car parking space for an average home, the government said.
However, as the cost of installing chargepoints up-front is significantly lower than retrofitting once a home has been built - £976 on average compared £2,040 for a retrofitted chargepoint - 'there are considerable cost savings for society if the infrastructure is installed upfront'.
The social benefit is measured at £434.6m over a 31 year period.
In order to mitigate any potential negative impact on housing supply, the Government is calling for views on an appropriate exemption from the chargepoint installation requirement based on the grid connection cost.
The consultation proposes the threshold for the exemption is set at £3600, which is three times the high scenario cost of the average electrical capacity connection required for one chargepoint.
The Government has also announced that it is consulting on requirements that all new private chargepoints use ‘smart’ technology, which means an electric vehicle would charge at different times of the day in response to signals, such as electricity tariff information - in order to keep costs down for consumers and ease the burden on the grid.
The consultation proposes using powers under the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act to require most new chargepoints to have smart functionality and meet minimum standards. It also launches a call for evidence on the longer-term options for smart charging.
Summary
Policy position: Residential Buildings
The government proposes every new residential building with an associated car parking space to have a chargepoint. We propose this requirement applies to buildings undergoing a material change of use to create a dwelling.
The government proposes requiring every residential building undergoing major renovation with more than 10 car parking spaces to have one chargepoint and cable routes for electric vehicle chargepoints in every car parking space.
Policy position: New Non-Residential Buildings
The government proposes every new non-residential building and every nonresidential building undergoing a major renovation with more than ten car parking spaces to have one chargepoint and cable routes for an electric vehicle chargepoint for one in five spaces.
Policy position: Existing Non-Residential Buildings
The government proposes a requirement of at least one chargepoint in existing non-residential buildings with more than 20 car parking spaces, applicable from 2025. - This would be done under separate legislation.
