February 1, 2022 Electric Car Chargers in New Builds

Britain to make electric car chargers compulsory in new builds from 2022.

New build residential blocks, domestic homes, supermarkets, and workplaces are to include electric vehicle charging points by law as of 2022.

What’s the deal?

In November 2021, Boris Johnson announced that all new buildings in England will be required to have electric vehicle charging points from 2022. This is just one of the government’s policies targeted for tackling climate change.

In addition to new builds, The Guardian reports that supermarkets and offices undergoing major renovation will also be required to install electric vehicle charging points on their premises, even if they have less than 10 spaces in their car park.

This is all part of the government’s commitment to bring carbon emissions to net zero by 2050. To contribute to this, there have already been nearly 26,000 public electric vehicle charging stations installed around the country, and 250,000 charging points in residential homes and commercial premises.

Why now?

The UK government has previously committed to phasing out the production of petrol and diesel cars by 2030. By making electric vehicle charging points compulsory in all new residential and commercial properties, Johnson hopes to make this transition easier for the general public.

Since the announcement to scrap petrol and diesel cars in the future, the BBC reported that new car registrations had dropped by 35% over the last year – the lowest level in 20 years. (Since the publishing of this article, updated figures have shown that year-on-year new car registrations have dropped by 15.7% for petrol vehicles, and diesels have plummeted by a huge 48%.)

Meanwhile, hybrid cars have increased in popularity, jumping by 64.7%, and there were upwards of 32,000 new electric cars registered in September 2021 alone. You can find a wider selection of hybrid and electric cars than ever before in showrooms, garages, and car competitions like Dream Car Giveaways throughout the UK.

The increase in popularity of such cars can likely be attributed to three root causes – the scrapping of petrol and diesel engines, supply problems due to Covid-19 and Brexit causing new car shortages, and the increased emphasis on doing our bit to be more environmentally friendly.

What do you need to be able to charge an electric car at home?

Charging electric vehicles at home can be a lot cheaper than using public charging stations, despite potentially hefty set up costs, as this can be subsidised by a grant from the government.

However, not everyone has this option available to them. To be eligible for installing a home charger, you must have off-road parking, like a garage or driveway. This parking should be situated close to a power source. Thus, it may be pretty difficult in a block of flats, which is what the government is wishing to assist with this new policy.

Overall, everyone should have equal access to electric charging points – helping the environment should never be limited by any inequalities. Thus, by making the installation of electric vehicle charging stations compulsory in all new builds from 2022, this should ensure that charging points are freely available to all who need them by the time that petrol and diesel cars cease to be sold in 2030.

Subscribe to Industry Today