EV home charger adoption soars despite withdrawal of Government grant

Sarah Tooze, Consumer Editor
Wed, 17 Aug 2022

• Enquiries for home charge point installations are up 179 per cent 
• South East England is most popular region for home charger installation in the UK
• Wallbox Pulsar Plus is the most installed home charger since 2020, but the Easee One is the most in-demand unit this year.

Electric vehicle (EV) home charge point installer Smart Home Charge has seen a 179 per cent increase in enquiries so far this year compared to 2019 despite the removal of the Government Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS). 

The Government grant provided a 75 per cent contribution to the cost of one charge point and its installation, up to a maximum of £350 (including VAT) per installation. It was withdrawn at the end of March this year and replaced with the EV chargepoint grant, which provides the same level of funding but only to people living in flats or rented accommodation. 

Smart Home Charge has seen the biggest interest in electric vehicle home charges from drivers in the Midlands, with more than 5,200 enquiries since July 2020. The Midlands has also been the region with the most charge points installed in 2022 with 446 home charge points installed versus 431 for the South East.

The introduction of Birmingham's Clean Air Zone on 1 June 2021, which charges non-compliant vehicles to enter the zone, is likely to have driven uptake as EVs are exempt. 

Overall, residents from the South East of England, which has one of the highest rate of car ownership, according to Department for Transport and Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) data, have had the most charging points installed by Smart Home Charge. Between July 2020 and June 2022, 1,400 home charge points were installed in this region. 

Top five regions for EV home charge point installations

 Source: Smart Home Charge

Danny Morgan, editor at Smart Home Charge, said: “It’s no surprise to see EV home charger enquiries and installations increasing as the electric car ball is well and truly rolling and home charging is the most convenient method of refuelling an EV.

"However, it’s encouraging to see demand is not restricted to just London and the South East, with the Midlands, the North of England, and Scotland seeing healthy home charge point installation numbers.

"East Anglia and Wales are lagging behind in terms of enquiries and installations, which may be due to their more rural road network, so more work is needed to help convince drivers of the viability of electric cars here."

"East Anglia and Wales are lagging behind." Danny Morgan, editor at Smart Home Charge

Most popular EV home chargers

Smart Home Charge's research also looked at popular home charging units between July 2020 and June 2022. The most popular home charge point according to the UK home charging retailer and installer is the Wallbox Pulsar Plus.

However, it’s set to be overtaken by Norwegian newcomer the Easee One, which is leading the installation charts so far in 2022.

Ask HJ

Will the cost of charging an EV remain less than an ICE car?

With the price of petrol and diesel lowering slightly and the price of electricity likely to double if not more, will the cost of fuelling an electric car remain less than petrol or diesel?

It's worth doing some sums when trying to decide between petrol, diesel or electric power. As an example, let's look at the Volkswagen ID.3. A mid-range model has a 58kWh battery and can travel, say, 240 real-world miles from a charge. It's predicted that the cost of electricity could be capped at 70.34p per kWh from January 2023 – so, in a worst-case scenario, our ID.3 will cost about £40 to fully charge at home (equal to around 16p per mile). As a comparison, consider a Volkswagen Golf 1.5 TSI. You'll currently pay around 175.24p per litre of unleaded, so it'll cost around £87 for a full tank of petrol. Assuming you'll see around 50.0mpg, that works out at a cost of around 16p per mile... exactly the same as an ID.3. So how does a diesel Golf compare? Our readers see around 53.0mpg on average from a 2.0-litre diesel Golf, which means at the current fuel prices (185.9p per diesel) you'll pay... 16p per mile. Of course, these are rough calculations and there are numerous other factors to consider but, on the face of it, the cost of 'fuelling' an EV could soon be just as expensive as running a petrol or diesel car.

Answered by Andrew Brady

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Ask HJ

Can you recommend a small electric car?

I am looking for a small electric car with A/C preferably second hand. The make and model is immaterial, no older than 3 years, my annual mileage would be around 2,000, what would you recommend? Also what would be my cost for the necessary installation at home?

Depending on your budget, any of these would be a good choice: https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/guides/best-small-electric-car/ A home charger typically costs around £1000 including installation. You can also lease one for £30/month via a company called Egg.

Answered by Andrew Brady

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