Leading electrical safety expert, Bureau Veritas, has cautiously welcomed new world-leading regulations for all new homes and buildings in England to have electric vehicle charging points installed as standard \u2013 stating that the move will help to drive uptake in electric vehicle (EV) adoption in England, although isn\u2019t the whole solution to the challenge we face in the race to Zero Emissions Vehicles (ZEVs).<\/p>\n
The new regulations, which come into force from 2022, include supermarkets, workplaces and buildings undergoing major renovations, which \u2013 together with new homes \u2013 could result in up to 145,000 additional charge points each year over the next decade. England is the first country to mandate such building regulations and follows Transport Day at COP26, which focussed on the global transition to zero emission transport.<\/p>\n
Announced last month, the Government hopes that the new regulations will make charging EVs as easy as refuelling a petrol or diesel car today.<\/p>\n
However, according to Michael Kenyon \u2013 head of electrical technical development MIET at Bureau Veritas \u2013 much more needs to be done in terms of retrospectively equipping existing buildings with electric vehicle charging points if we\u2019re to truly ensure ease of charging.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cThe introduction of the new regulations is a really positive move in ensuring new properties, shops and workplaces are adequately equipped for an EV future. However, it doesn\u2019t address the need to ensure existing buildings have the same requirement, meaning many commercial properties \u2013 such as supermarkets not planning \u2018major refurbishments\u2019 in the coming years \u2013 may well find themselves in greater competition with their newer counterparts, forcing consumers to make a choice based on available charging stations.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would therefore urge those commercial buildings to seriously consider creating an infrastructure that supports the growing volume of EVs on our roads, but also to ensure they remain relevant compared to the competition coming down the line. This requires a best practice approach to installation, functionality and regular maintenance of charge points \u2013 which is where an independent third party such as Bureau Veritas can be vital.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to the new regulations, a further announcement by Government detailed a multi-million-pound investment by National Highways for Energy Storage Systems; giant batteries for service stations where the Grid supply is not enough for rapid charging infrastructure. These rapid chargers are part of the Government\u2019s goal of introducing around 6,000 high powered chargers on the motorway network by 2035.<\/p>\n
Michael said: \u201cNational Highways\u2019 plans to invest in Energy Storage Systems is an excellent way to tackle \u2018range anxiety\u2019 amongst EV users, but also to combat energy usage and to alleviate the pressure on the Grid in the supply of power. Having the choice on whether to charge slowly overnight at home or using rapid chargers at service stations provides the consumer with a full suite of charging options as we move towards the EV revolution.\u201d<\/p>\n
Energy Storage Systems \u2018store\u2019 energy in quiet periods, which then provide rapid high-power charging at busy times. Using battery storage also paves the way for service stations to become \u2018prosumers\u2019 (both producers and consumers of energy) through the installation of solar technology, which could generate, store and utilise solar energy for EV charging, creating a more sustainable future.<\/p>\n
Michael added: \u201cWhilst the introduction of Energy Storage Systems at service stations provides peace of mind for long-distance drivers, the option of increased rapid charging is also ideal for those living without access to personal charging points \u2013 for example residents of high-rise buildings, or those living in highly-populated urban areas. Having a range of charging options in multiple locations will go a long way in removing barriers to EV adoption in the coming decade and as we head towards a zero emission future.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Leading electrical safety expert, Bureau Veritas, has cautiously welcomed new world-leading regulations for all new homes and buildings in England to have electric vehicle charging points installed as standard \u2013 stating that the move will help to drive uptake in electric vehicle (EV) adoption in England, although isn\u2019t the whole solution to the challenge we […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17398,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry-news","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/ewnews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/EV.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewnews.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewnews.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewnews.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewnews.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewnews.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17394"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ewnews.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17394\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17399,"href":"https:\/\/ewnews.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17394\/revisions\/17399"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewnews.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17398"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewnews.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewnews.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewnews.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}