Interest in Electric Vehicle home charge points dramatically increase - but can you have one in your home?

Electric Vehicles (EVs) are becoming a common sight on our roads - but if the Government gets its way, we’ll all be driving them by 2035. 

It’s a good idea (in theory) but our experts at MyBuilder.com have started to voice some concerns about what will happen when more and more people make requests for home charge points - especially in homes that do not have driveways or garages to enable this to be an easy process. 

According to our experts at MyBuilder.com, 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. In some instances, permission will not be granted.

Our search data 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.

One of our expert electricians, Jonathan Steed, 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.”

While this is concerning, it is still possible for EV owners with no driveways to get chargers installed. The process involves:

• Identifying the specification of charger needed for your vehicle.You can check with your vehicle provider for this information, or it can be found easily online.
• Find an installer (check that any you find are registered on the Government website as an approved installer). Make sure your installer is aware of any issues with the placement of the charger, and discuss any concerns you may have.
• Contact local council building control to discuss suitability. The process of gaining permission can vary between local authorities, and not all requests are guaranteed to get permission. Visit your local authority website for more information and be prepared to give them all the relevant information. If you live in a conservation area or a listed building, it can be even more difficult.
• If permission is granted, inform the council of the pending installation of the charger.
• Appoint an approved installer and work with them to choose a suitable charging point and correct cabling required to meet regulations.