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With an electric car or van, you can achieve all three; made even more affordable by a government grant towards a home charging point at your own home. The electric car market is growing quickly, with over 345,000 pureelectric cars on UK roads at the end of October 2021, and more than 675,000 plug-in models including plug-in hybrids (PHEVs). Many car owners may be thinking about switching their petrol or diesel model for a more energy-efficient and environment-friendly electric version. With increasing consumer demand, greater availability of vehicles and government support, sales of electric vehicles are growing strongly in parallel to the development of UK charging point infrastructure. Consumers have until the end of March 2022 to apply for a government grant to help them make the change. The Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS) is a grant that provides a 75% contribution to the cost of one charge point and its installation. A grant cap is set at £350 (including VAT) per installation. The main requirement is that a person owns, leases, or has ordered a qualifying vehicle and has dedicated off-street parking at their property. You can also apply for two chargepoints at the same property if you have two qualifying vehicles. Figures show that 2020 year saw the biggest annual increase in number of registrations, with more than 175,000 electric vehicles registered showing a growth of 66 per cent on 2019. Despite the impact of the pandemic, there was a huge growth year for plug-in vehicles in 2020. Coupled with the huge awareness of climate change, the popularity of electric and / or hybrid vehicles is set to continue. Electric vehicles are a crucial step to decarbonising the transport system and reducing air pollution through zero tailpipe emissions. The government recognises that many people will want to charge their electric vehicles at home and the grant is designed to help them do so. The grant works by a customer choosing an EVHS installer to install their chargepoint. The EVHS installer checks that customer qualifies, and then applies on the customer’s behalf. The installer will bill the customer for the price of the installation, less the grant amount they have applied for. If the application is successful, the installer will be paid the grant amount that they have offset from the customer’s bill. The Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) aims to process claims for experienced installers within 30 working days. Customers cannot apply directly for an EVHS grant. Installers are required to process claims as this ensures that the requirements of the scheme are fulfilled and minimises the risk of incorrectly completed claim forms. Safe Local Trades have members who are Office for Low Emissions Vehicles (OLEV) authorised installers and are able to apply for the government grant on behalf of customers in and around Peterborough.

By Eileen Le Voi

For a reliable and professional service, contact them on www.safelocaltrades.com and search the drop-down trades box for Electric Vehicle Charging.