From December 30, 2022, new laws will be introduced to help electric car drivers charge their vehicles at home. The latest Schedule 1: Security compliance regulations are being applied at the end of the year, following on from the Electric Vehicles (Smart Charge Points) Regulations that came into force in June 2022.
These latest additional requirements cover cybersecurity and tamper-protection of the charging devices.
It will seek to ensure that any charge point should provide appropriate protection to the electricity system, the relevant charge point and the personal data of the owner.
Any installers wishing to fit non-compliant EV chargers from 31 December 2022, will have to seek prior approval from the Office for Product Safety and Standards.
People also need to ensure that the charge point has a unique passport and is not set by owner, in a bid to protect people’s personal information.
For any drivers concerned about their own home charger, one of the UK’s largest home EV charge providers, Ohme, have reassured drivers.
David Watson, CEO of Ohme, said that chargers were already very secure and now meet these latest requirements ahead of the deadline.
He added: “Whether you’re an electric vehicle driver looking to buy a new smart charger, an electrical retailer offering them for sale or an installer, from the end of this year all new EV chargers are legally-bound to meet these regulations.
“For total peace of mind, drivers, retailers and installers should ensure that they’re buying a product that meets the latest regulations and ask to see the Statement of Compliance for the charger to confirm that.”
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It must have smart functionality, including the ability to send and receive information and the ability to respond to signals to increase the rate or time at which electricity flows through the charge point.
It should also have a measuring system, to calculate the electricity imported or exported and the time the charging lasts, with visibility to the owner of this information.
The regulations introduced in June were designed to ensure all home and workplace chargers had smart charging capability.
Smart chargers allow drivers to select when they can charge their car to ensure it has sufficient energy levels for when they need it.
This is particularly useful if they have an EV-friendly home tariff, with some offering drivers the chance to save hundreds or even thousands of pounds per year.
New chargepoints will be pre-configured to avoid charging during peak hours, between 8am and 11am and between 4pm and 10pm on weekdays.
In 2020, the National Grid clarified that there is enough energy to deal with the increasing number of electric vehicles on UK roads.
Graeme Cooper, Transport Decarbonisation Director at the National Grid, clarified that “the grid can cope easily” even with the increased strain.
He pointed to the growth in renewable energy, allowing smart metering to make it more efficient, highlighting the impact offshore wind farms were having.
