The UK is well on its way in the transition to electric vehicles. Last year, the sale of new electric cars overtook diesel models in the UK for the first time ever, 16.6% and 13.6% (SMMT, Car Registrations Market Share YTD 2022).
As happens when the adoption of new technology grows, government and institutional regulations begin to adapt and adjust regulations to allow for the growth of technology, while making sure it’s safe for consumers.
At the end of last year phase 2 of the UK Smart Charge Points Regulations came into effect, covering chargers being used at home, the workplace and some mixed use sites. While phase 1 was focused on initiatives designed to help balance the national grid, phase 2 has added elements to ensure increased cybersecurity and anti-tampering protection for the customer.
These regulations for new chargers at home and in the workplace are part of enabling a more flexible and smarter energy system in the UK. This in turn will enable the continued transition to electric vehicles in line with the Government’s commitment to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles from 2030.
There are three key elements to the full suite of regulations;
Off-peak charging; New chargers will incorporate a pre-set default charging hours that are outside the peak hours. Peak hours are considered to be between 8am and 11am, and 4pm and 10pm on weekdays. The purpose of this feature is to encourage users to charge outside of peak energy hours, which has the impact of reducing pressure on the national grid, while also offering users increased flexibility and potential cost savings (depending on their electricity tariff).
Randomised delays; New chargers will also feature a randomised delay function. This is designed to prevent all charging points from initiating charging at the same time. The random delay can be between 1 second and 10 minutes every time the EV starts charging. So, you may experience that your charging session will not start at the exact scheduled time, and you may need to take this into account when setting your scheduled charge times.
Cybersecurity and anti-tampering protection; as of phase 2 it is now also required to provide security of the charge point (internally and externally e.g. physical attack) and the personal data of the owner and any other end-user of the charge point.
Implementing these requirements is an important step toward the sustainable use of electricity for EV charging. As a supporter of sustainable technology adoption, Wallbox has ensured our smart home charger, Pulsar Max, revision C, is fully compliant with both phase 1 and phase 2 of the regulations. In preparing for this change, we looked carefully at each new requirement to consider how to best serve the market in Great Britain (at the time of writing this article these regulations only apply to mainland Great Britain). Pulsar Max is available for purchase through Electrical Distributors and Electric Goods Wholesalers in the UK.
At Wallbox we believe that smart home chargers should put customers in direct control of their energy consumption. Using our myWallbox app you will be able to tailor your schedule to suit your home, lifestyle or energy tariff needs, and also go beyond the parameters set out by the regulations to reduce your impact on the grid and the environment, by setting more detailed schedules for your charge, or even charging with your home solar PV installation through our Eco-Smart software.
Our UK & Ireland Sales Director, Alan McCleave said “At Wallbox, three of our strengths helped us make the transition. We have our own manufacturing facilities, a dedicated R&D team to develop and incorporate product changes quickly, and a local team in the UK who are abreast of changes in the market and in consultation with government and regulatory bodies to help and support our customers.”
The new regulations will help support the UK’s transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources and prepare the UK for the continued growth of people driving cleaner, plug in vehicles.
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