Electric vehicle enabled buildings: evidence review of installation costs

In 2019, domestic transport (excluding international aviation and shipping) was the largest source of net greenhouse gas emissions in Scotland, with 25.1% of Scotland’s greenhouse gas emissions. Scottish Ministers aim to phase out sales of new petrol and diesel cars and light vans from 2030.

This research considers the difference in cost between installing electric vehicle (EV) charge points during initial construction or major renovation of a building as opposed to retrofitting at a later date.

The findings provide further evidence to Transport Scotland as they plan to propose legislative measures for a national requirement on the installation of EV charge points for new buildings.

Main findings

• There is very limited data available on the differences in costs of the installation of EV charge points in new buildings or those undergoing major renovation, as opposed to those being retrofitted.
• The consultation revealed that new developments do offer cost difference by offering some efficiencies in installing EV charge points when compared to buildings being retrofitted.
• Installing EV chargers in new developments, as opposed to in those being renovated or retrofitted, is also more cost efficient in terms of the District Network Operator (DNO) upgrades. They are generally not required in respect to EV charge points as it is likely that increased capacity requirements have been considered as part of the new development.
• Geography is clearly a key factor influencing installation costs for EV charge points, with this largely being influenced by supply-chain issues such as availability of quality suppliers and technicians, labour and travel costs. This result in the costs being generally higher in the remote and island areas for all building types including new, undergoing major renovation, and retrofitted.