The U.K. mandates installation of electric vehicle charging points in new buildings

“Charging at home and overnight is currently preferred by EV owners due to convenience and lower costs. It is anticipated that charging at home and overnight will be the preferred mode of charging in the future; however, home builders do not install the necessary charging infrastructure at the point of construction, which would be cheaper than retrofitting charging infrastructure at a later date,” said DfT in the IA document. “The transition to EVs is likely to result in significant retrofit costs in residential dwellings which could be avoided with regulation.”

Currently, EV users are eligible for up to a £500 rebate off the cost of installing a charge point at home. To date, the government has installed close to 100,000 domestic charge points through the grant support measures. 

There also have been measures to ensure that these charge points come with “smart charging” options, which let EVs charge at different times of the day based on when electricity tariffs are cheaper. For instance, many cities have lower electricity tariffs during the night, which can help save money for EV users if they charge their vehicles after dark. 

Several of the U.K.’s major cities suffer from excessive air pollution from perennially clogged city roads. They battle the issue in different ways. For instance, London has planned to introduce ultra-low emissions zones (ULEZ) by 2021 that will restrict older and polluting cars from entering those zones, making them pay £12.50 per day to use the zones if they must. 

The U.K. is investing £1 billion in increasing the use of ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs), which includes £100 million towards the U.K. charging infrastructure and in funding grants for plug-in cars and vans. Separate initiatives have also been planned to introduce “green” buses, retrofitting old buses with new and cleaner technology, and even promoting cycling and walking by providing dedicated road infrastructure.