Demand Growing For Electric Vehicle-Friendly Homes In NZ

As a nation, New Zealand is punching well above its weight in terms of the number of electric vehicles on its roads.

According to the Ministry of Transport, there were 13,186 electric vehicles in the country as at the end of March 2019.

The uptake of electric vehicles is only expected to increase, thus increasing the demand for electric vehicle-friendly homes.

Incorporating an electric vehicle charging station in your new home is definitely something to consider.

“Even if you don’t own an electric vehicle, the people that you sell your house to in eight or nine years probably will … it’s much easier to do it at the time of building rather than having to add the expense and work to run additional circuits later on,” Schneider Electric residential builders channel manager Lyndsay McCarthy says.

Prewiring involves installing a dedicated circuit direct from the switchboard to the rear or side wall of the garage, and it does not need to be used immediately.  

“If the homeowner is not going to install an electric vehicle unit straight away, the circuit can simply be run and have a blank plate fitted over the cable exit point and it will be electrically safe for a future EVC install," Lyndsay says.

Among the many benefits of having an electric vehicle-friendly home is the ability to easily recharge with renewable energy, thus greatly reducing your impact on the environment.  

With renewable electricity at the equivalent of 30 cents a litre*, switching to an electric vehicle is a great way to reduce emissions.

New Zealand has significant renewable electricity resources, and is a great fit for electric vehicles. Given its short average daily driving distances, and the fact that 85% of people have ready access to a power source to charge their car.

If you decide to install an EV charging unit at the time of your build, PDL by Schneider Electric’s EVLink Wallbox, is a great value option. Offering an excellent asset to future buyers.

The EVLink is PDL by Schneider Electric’s solution to quickly and safely charging electric vehicles, is weatherproof, robust, and charges faster than a domestic socket outlet.

Talk to your builder about pre-wiring for EV charging or installing an EVLink vehicle charging unit as part of your new David Reid Homes build.

*NZ Herald