Power House: Metering is fundamental to smart EV charge points

Will Darby, Managing Director of Carlo Gavazzi, discusses why metering will be fundamental to that infrastructure, to ensure accurate monitoring of energy consumption and correct cost allocation.

The Government outlined its initial proposals to clean up road transport and facilitate the use of zero-emission road vehicles in its ‘Road to Zero’
strategy document, published July 2018. The Government plans for every new home, as well as both new and existing non-residential buildings, to have electric vehicle charge points.

Further details of these proposals were contained in two consultations published in 2019: ‘Electric Vehicle Charging in Residential and Non-Residential Buildings’ and a consultation on
‘Smart Charging’. The consultation includes a proposal to create a new section of the Building Regulations in England to ensure that all new homes with a dedicated car parking space are built with an electric charge point and a metering system to monitor and record the electricity consumed (or exported) –
making charging easier, cheaper, and more convenient for drivers. 

The Government's longer-term objective is to use smart meters to send load control signals to smart charge points, to control loads on the grid, perhaps by limiting charging to grid off-peak periods to help control grid peak loading.

The UK government has not
published its final policy positions for either of the above consultations, although a summary of stakeholders’ responses to the EV Smart Charging consultation was published in May 2020. If adopted, the policies will ensure the UK has one of the best electric vehicle infrastructure networks in the world...

Read the full article in the June issue of DPA