In another blow for the Government’s EV ambitions, concerns are growing over local councils’ ability to enable electric vehicle (EV) charging in millions of UK homes.
This is particularly worrying as demand for EV home charging soars in the wake of public charging points being closed down.
According to data researched by MyBuilder.com, a platform that matches reliable tradespeople to homeowners, search demand for installation of EV home chargers has gone through the roof in the past 12 months.
As demand grows, so too do the amount of requests from people who do not have garages or driveways. This is an issue as without those facilities, permission from local authorities needs to be sought to run the necessary cables across pavements. The level of requests is likely to lead to long wait times for a decision as councils are overwhelmed, and in some instances, permission will not be granted.
Search data provided by MyBuilder.com shows there has been a 156 percent increase year on year in searches for ‘EV home charger installers’ – with a 200 percent jump in the last three months alone. There has also been a dramatic increase in searches about the cost and functionality of home charging points – proving that more people are considering purchasing EVs and charging them at home.
Increases in search demand include:
- 120% increase year on year in searches for ‘cost of installing EV charger at home’
- This grows to a 200% increase in the last three months
- 180% increase year on year in searches for ‘fastest home charger’
- 143% increase year on year in searches for’ best EV home charger’
While on the surface this seems a positive trend – bearing in mind the Government’s aim to roll out EVs across the board by 2035 – the problem is that a whopping third of UK homes do not have driveways or garages that enable straightforward installation – that equals over seven million properties.
Up until now, many EV owners were higher wage earners, who often owned homes with private driveways or garages. As EV ownership becomes more diverse, there has been a dramatic increase in people who want EV home charge points, but lack the facilities to make that a simple process.
Electrician Jonathan Steed, who works with MyBuilder.com, agreed that requests for EV home charge points have become far more frequent in recent months.
“We’ve seen a significant rise in these jobs coming in. Many are still from people with driveways, but increasingly we are seeing requests from homeowners who don’t have such convenient facilities.
“While it’s still absolutely possible to install EV home chargers in properties without driveways – or even allocated parking – it does make the process more difficult, involving applications and permissions from local councils to run cables over pavements.
“I have been in discussion with our local council about this as there are concerns that local councils are just not prepared for the issues that the influx of these requests will cause as EV ownership grows. It’s a problem we have seen coming for a while yet – but it doesn’t seem to have sunk in yet.”
