• • • ELECTRICAL VEHICLES • • •
Home EV Charging: A growing opportunity for
electrical engineers By Simon Humphries, Retail Business Director, Humax EV Charging
W
ith the UK’s public charging infrastructure failing to satisfy the needs of EV owners, many are turning to home charging solutions, creating a new revenue stream for electrical engineers. Simon Humphries, retail business director at Humax EV Charging (
www.humaxcharging.com) looks at the scale of the opportunity and the evolving technologies behind it.
Electric vehicles (EVs) continue to gain ground in the UK, with more than 1.3 million on the road at the end of last year, just over 4 per cent of the market. This growth is even more pronounced in new car sales, with fully electric models representing 19.6 per cent of new registrations in 2024, according to Zapmap. With more EVs comes greater pressure on the UK’s charging infrastructure, set to increase as we move towards the 2035 deadline for 100 per cent of new car sales being zero-emissions.
Drivers turn to home charging
over public infrastructure With research by Thinks Insight & Strategy revealing that 45 per cent of EV drivers are unsatisfied with the availability of public charging infrastructure, it’s no surprise that many prefer
home charging. Guidance on
GOV.UK reveals that 90 per cent of EV owners charge at home, presenting a lucrative business opportunity for electrical engineers.
The market is huge, with over 70 per cent of UK homes suitable for EV charging installations, according to the Department for Transport. A combination of savings by reducing reliance on public chargers, and government grants of up to £350 per property, makes domestic EV charging an attractive prospect for landlords and homeowners. And, as home charger installations must comply with both BS 7671 and Part P of the Building Regulations, professional installation and testing are essential.
OZEV approval unlocks a
growing EV charging market Electrical engineers looking to take advantage of this opportunity can apply to the Office of Zero Emissions Vehicles to become an authorised installer, making them eligible to carry out grant-funded domestic (and commercial) charge point installations.
The application can be submitted via the
GOV.UK website and requires renewal every two years. For qualified electricians without previous
experience in EV charging installations, specialist training courses are available, some eligible for full or part-funding such as the City & Guilds 2921-34 Level 3 Award - Domestic and Small Commercial EV Charging Installations.
The bigger picture: integration with smart and
renewable technologies Currently, the highest demand is for home EV chargers up to a maximum output of around 7.4kW, as these can be safely connected to single-phase networks. There are only a few options in the market for more powerful domestic chargers outputting up to 22kW. As these require a three-phase connection, requests for installation are rare, however, it is possible this may change in the future as heavy EV users look to achieve charging times under two hours. Looking beyond charger installations themselves, the broader opportunity for electrical engineers is in integrating domestic charging with other renewable, sustainable and smart technologies. According to Zapmap, EV owners in the UK are seven times more likely to have solar panels installed on their property, 20 per cent more likely to use a smart metre and more than one in ten already use battery energy storage systems at home.
Future EV developments
promise new revenue streams With EV ownership acting as a gateway to other clean technologies, customer lifetime value in the segment looks healthy, and engineers winning new business to install domestic chargers have multiple opportunities for upselling or cross-selling complementary technologies.
Bidirectional charging is just one example. There are two potential growth markets for bidirectional charging; vehicle-to-grid (V2G) and vehicle-to-home (V2H). V2G allows EV users to earn money by selling energy back to the grid when demand (and rates) are high, while V2H allows the EV to be used as a domestic battery, supplying energy to the home during blackouts, or when home generation such as solar PV is inactive. Those engineers who stay abreast of these types of emerging trends will be best positioned to anticipate customer needs and offer solutions that not only meet current demands but also address future requirements. Building strong relationships with early adopters, and staying ahead of the curve as new trends in EV use and smart technologies take hold will be the key to long-term success.
42 ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING • FEBRUARY 2025
electricalengineeringmagazine.co.uk
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