EV Charging
the generators to respond. In the extreme case that could lead to power cuts. This becomes even trickier as our grid decarbonises – more renewable electricity generated means we can’t easily switch on more generators, and instead we need to be more intelligent with how we use power.
How do the new charge point regulations help?
Along with some provisions around cyber security and the protection of customer data, the smart charge point regulations introduce three new requirements:
● Default off -peak charging ● A random delay at the start of the charge ● Steps to promote customers to sign up to Demand Response Services
Default off -peak charging New charge points will be set up so that the EV charges at the best time for the electricity network. The peak demand – or rush-hour periods on the grid – happen in the morning and late afternoon, so by default EVs will only charge overnight or during the middle of the day. That’s good for the grid and better for the environment (as generation tends to produce more CO2 during the peak periods as we rely more on gas fi red power stations at these times).
If you’re used to your EV charging as soon as you plug it in, or you’re desperate for a charge, then you can override these settings, but the intention is to encourage more EV charging at the off peak times.
The random delay When the new regulations come into force, every
new charger sold will have to include a ‘random delay’ of up to 10 minutes every time an EV starts to charge.
So, even when you’ve scheduled your charger to start powering-up your EV, your car won’t start to charge straight away. That’s going to be pretty unnerving for a lot of drivers who want the reassurance that their battery will be full when they next use their car. It’s also going have an eff ect on anyone using a low price tariff ; let’s say that the tariff runs from 00:30 to 04:30am. Instead of starting to charge at 00:30, the EV might not start charging until 00:40, which means the customer has lost out on a few minutes of low rate electricity. Similarly, the charge may not stop until 04:40 – so that’s 10 minutes of charging at the higher electricity tariff . This is not a huge cost on a single daily charge, and hopefully most EV drivers will consider this a small price to pay to keep the lights on, but it’s important that we explain these new changes to avoid confusion… I’m sure there will be plenty of calls late this year to the myenergi Technical Support Team from new EV drivers when they can’t understand why their car is not charging when they expect it to.
We’ll be making sure that there’s a message in the myenergi app when the random delay is active, to help provide some extra peace of mind.
Demand Response Services
Demand Response Services using domestic loads are quite rare. myenergi were part of the “FRED” trial, which was one of the fi rst to demonstrate how EV’s could be used on large scale to balance the grid.
The Government have recognised that with millions of EV’s all plugged into the grid that
we have huge battery that can be used to help balance the generation – but that won’t work if there’s a 10 minute delay every time National Grid need to call on that reserve.
That is why any EV charger that’s signed up to provide Demand Response Services will be excluded from the 10 minute delay. Again, there’s a lot to do to explain these new services to EV drivers so they are happy to sign up and pass (some) control of their charging to a third party. However this is an important step towards the smart, green electricity grid. We’re working hard fi guring out how to deliver these important services to all myenergi customers.
This is the future!
From 2030, the Government has banned the sale of new petrol and diesel cars – with the majority of new cars expected to be electric. Equally, the sale of self-charging hybrid vehicles will be banned from 2035 in the continued drive from low carbon to zero carbon transportation.
From 2025 gas boilers will no longer be installed in new homes – with electric heating being the obvious alternative. That’s a big increase in electricity demand.
We can expect more Regulations to ensure these electric loads play an active part in balancing the grid and can maximise the benefi t of renewable generation on the grid. This will also increasingly mean that we, as energy consumers, will need to get used to letting someone else decide when to charge our car or heat up our homes. Low-rate overnight electricity tariff s are the fi rst step; automatic enrolment in Demand Response Services are the next. Perhaps one day we won’t pay for electricity but will instead sign up for miles or comfort.
What myenergi is doing
myenergi has been heavily engaged throughout the consultation process of these new smart charge point regulations – and we welcome their introduction.
This is a huge, positive forward-step by the UK government in preparing our homes for a smart, connected and democratised energy system – essential tools in driving-down emissions – and a core reason why myenergi exists. However, we appreciate that any new regulations have the potential to be very daunting for customers – but myenergi’s committed to make sure they’re no cause for concern.
That’s why we’ll be deep-diving into the
specifi cs for each of these important new regulations to explain exactly what they mean, and how this’ll impact our products. We’re also working on some exciting new features and services which we can’t wait to talk to everyone about.
ewnews.co.uk
April 2022 electrical wholesaler | 27
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