Wall-mounted electric vehicle charging unit beside a terraced house front door

Smart charge point rules for Exeter home EV chargers

8 min read
Rules and permits
The Electric Vehicles (Smart Charge Points) Regulations 2021 set requirements for home chargers, including smart functions, off-peak defaults and a randomised delay. This guide explains what each rule means before you buy or install.

A home EV charger bought in Great Britain today has to meet a set of rules that did not apply to earlier units. The Electric Vehicles (Smart Charge Points) Regulations 2021 require relevant charge points to have smart functionality, to default to charging outside peak hours, to apply a randomised delay in some circumstances and to meet security and assurance requirements. This guide explains what each part of the rules means for a household in Exeter, where the rules apply and what to check before buying or having a charger installed.

Where the rules apply

The regulations apply to relevant charge points: chargers for cars and vans sold for private use at home or at a workplace on or after 30 June 2022, with the cyber-security requirements applying to units sold from 30 December 2022. Public charge points, rapid chargers of 50 kilowatts or more, non-smart cables and second-hand units sold between private individuals fall outside the definition, as the government guidance for sellers sets out, and the rules apply in England, Wales and Scotland but not Northern Ireland. The legal duty falls on whoever sells, offers or advertises the charge point, which can include an installer who supplies the unit, rather than on the householder who uses it. The definition matters for a household because a cheap unit bought online may not meet the requirements, even if it looks similar to a compliant model.

Check the product details before buying. The seller should state whether the charger is designed to meet the regulations, and the packaging or manual should explain its smart features. Where a seller cannot answer the question, ask the installer before the charger is ordered, so that the unit fitted at the property is one the installer is prepared to certify.

Smart functionality

The core requirement is smart functionality. Under regulation 5, a relevant charge point must be able to send and receive information over a communications network. It must also be able to respond to signals by changing the rate of electricity flowing through the unit or changing the time at which electricity flows. It must also be capable of using that functionality to provide demand side response services, and it needs at least one user interface that lets the owner operate it in line with the regulations.

For the household, the practical result is a charger that can be scheduled, monitored or managed through an app or a control panel. The functionality is only useful if the owner knows how to use it, so ask the installer to demonstrate the controls at handover. A charger that can be controlled but is never set up correctly will not deliver the benefit the rules intend.

Default charging hours

The regulations also require a pre-set default that keeps charging outside peak hours. Under regulation 10, a relevant charge point must include pre-set default charging hours that fall outside peak hours, which the regulation defines as 8am to 11am and 4pm to 10pm on weekdays. When the charger is first used, the owner must be given the chance to accept those hours, remove them or set different ones. The owner must also be able to change or remove the default at any later time.

The default is a sensible starting point for many households, but it should be reviewed rather than accepted without thought. A household that needs the car early in the morning, or that drives at unusual times, should adjust the default so the car is ready when it is needed. The rules give the owner the control to make that change.

The randomised delay

A randomised delay is another feature of the regulations. Under regulation 11, a relevant charge point must be able to operate with a delay of up to 1800 seconds, and the delay must be random in duration. The maximum can be changed remotely through the communications network. In normal use, though, the charger must by default apply a random delay of up to 600 seconds each time charging would start or the charging rate would change, and the owner must be able to cancel that delay.

The delay spreads the demand on the network when many chargers are switched on at the same moment, which helps the network operator manage peaks. It does not stop the charger from working. A household that needs the car fully charged at a set time should check how the delay interacts with its schedule, so that the car is ready in time.

When the delay does not operate

The regulations set out cases in which the randomised delay will not operate. These include situations where the owner or another user has overridden it, and where an equivalent delay has already been applied to the same charging period. Understanding these cases helps a household know when the charger will start charging at the time it is scheduled.

Security and assurance

Security is a major part of the regulations. The schedules set out requirements for passwords, software, secure communication, data inputs and protection against attack, and they require a security log and information for the owner. These requirements exist because a connected charger is a device on the home network, and an insecure device could be used to interfere with the household's other systems or with the network.

For the owner, the practical steps are simple. Change the default password on setup, keep the firmware up to date when the manufacturer releases updates and do not share the login with people who do not need it. Ask the installer how the charger is registered and how updates will be delivered.

The regulations also require a statement of compliance to accompany each charger sold and a technical file that the buyer can ask for. The electrical installation is a separate matter with its own certificate, which the guide on home EV charger installation in Exeter describes. Older wiring in the same house can affect how a new charger is connected, so the guide on old wiring types is worth reading before the survey. The statement of compliance is the document that shows the charger meets the requirements, and the regulations describe what it must contain. A household should ask for the statement and keep it with the installation records, because it may be requested later.

Sale and register

The regulations include rules on the sale of charge points and a register of sales. The register is a record of the charge points that have been sold, and it supports the enforcement of the rules. Sellers must keep a register of the relevant charge points they have sold within the past ten years. Enforcement sits with the Secretary of State, and the government guidance explains that the Office for Product Safety and Standards handles it in practice. Under Schedule 2 to the regulations, a seller can be served with a compliance notice, which may require non-compliant chargers to be recalled or withdrawn from sale, and can be required to pay a civil penalty of up to £10,000 for each non-compliant charge point. The penalties fall on sellers, not on the owners of chargers. For a household, the practical point is to buy from a seller who can confirm the charger's status in writing.

What to check before buying or installing

Before buying a charger for a home in Exeter, confirm that it is a relevant charge point under the regulations, that it has smart functionality and that the seller can provide a statement of compliance. Ask the installer whether the model is one they can install and certify, and check that the default hours and the delay are set in line with your routine.

At handover, ask the installer to show the controls, the default hours, the cancellation option for the delay and the security settings. Keep the statement of compliance and the installation certificate together. The EV charger installation service page describes the normal installation steps, and the consumer unit upgrade service covers the board work that often accompanies a new charger.

Questions to ask the seller and installer

A short set of questions settles most of the compliance points. Ask the seller to confirm in writing that the charger is a relevant charge point and that it has smart functionality. Ask whether the default charging hours can be changed and how. Ask how the randomised delay can be cancelled and whether the owner can control it from the app or the panel. Ask where the security settings are found and who should be contacted if the firmware needs updating.

Ask the installer the same questions from the installation side. The installer should be able to explain how the charger will be commissioned, how the settings will be checked and how the statement of compliance will be provided. Written answers from both the seller and the installer give the household a record to rely on if a question arises later.

Where the rules leave gaps

The rules set minimum requirements for the charger. They do not decide whether the supply can take the new load, whether the cable route is safe or whether the installation is certified. Those questions belong to the survey and the installation, and a charger that meets the rules can still be installed badly. A request for a quote that describes the supply, the route and the chosen charger gives the installer what they need to plan the whole job.

The charger and the installation should be checked together, not one in isolation. The regulations govern the unit itself, but the safety and convenience of charging depend on the whole route from the parking space to the consumer unit, including in a house in Pinhoe.