From 15th June 2022 all new homes and buildings such as supermarkets or workplaces built in England, will be required to have electric vehicle (EV) charging points installed. Not only will this make it far easier for residents of new build homes to run an EV – they will also have the option to rent their charger out to help their neighbourhood go greener and earn additional income.
“I live in a new build property and was keen to run an EV” said Alex Johnstone, an IT specialist from Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear. “I've got a Jaguar i-Pace, which I love. In my case the property didn't come with a charger, so I had to install my own. A lot of my neighbours live in flats and terraces and can't have a charger, so I rent mine out via a Community Charging scheme called Co Charger. The app handles the 'matchmaking', bookings, and payments. I can choose the rental price and am gradually earning back the expenses involved with installing my charger. I've already helped 6 motorists to charge their EVs. I think it's good news that the government is making EV chargers mandatory in new builds as it will make it easier for residents to shift to an EV without paying charger installation costs upfront. They'll also have the option to rent it out to their community regardless of whether they run an EV or even have a car at all.”
Joel Teague, CEO of Co Charger who is on the Electric Vehicles forum of the Renewable Energy Association and an expert on the EV market added that the new legislation will be ideal for residents of new build properties who want to run an EV. Co Charger, is a purpose-built EV charger sharing platform that connects them via their app which handles the 'matchmaking', bookings and payments.
“But the fact is some may prefer to stick with their petrol or diesel vehicle, choose not to have a car at all or maybe don't even possess a driving licence” added Mr Teague. “In any of these latter cases the charger, which is an expensive piece of equipment could be left gathering dust for years or even decades. Yet there are 14 million people in the UK who live in flats and terraces many of whom are desperate to get out of their fossil fuel vehicles but don't have access to a charger of their own or accessible and reliable public ones. We need to take the emphasis off just purchasing more public chargers, which are expensive to install and maintain and make the most of home driveway chargers via neighbourhood charger sharing. It's hoped that the new rules about EV chargers in new build homes will lead to the installation of an additional 145,000 charge points every year. If just 10% of these were rented out to neighbours that would mean an additional 14,500 charge points annually – without any additional holes being dug in the road or public money spent.”
Electric vehicle charger owners can become ‘Hosts’ by renting out their chargers to a few neighbours. 'Chargees' are motorists who need bookable, reliable, and affordable charging close to home.
Electricity prices are rising significantly, but by setting an appropriate price for the charger rental above the costs of provision the Host can make additional income. Prospective Hosts generally decide what to charge by assessing their own overall costs and also checking out what other local Hosts are asking. The Host is always in control and can arrange to accept bookings only at times that are convenient for them, such as when they can park elsewhere or are at work. There's no need for concern about having strangers on their driveway as 'Chargees' will be neighbours who mostly make regular bookings.
Community Charging has support from the government, which highlighted it in their 'Taking Charge: the electric vehicle infrastructure strategy' report, in which it stated that 'Peer to peer charging (also known as Community Charging) will see many people making their private charge points available to rent.' Councils such as Kent and Dorset are flagging up Community Charging on their websites, and it is supported by key industry figures such as AA President Edmund King.
For additional information:
'Taking Charge: the electric vehicle infrastructure strategy' report
