It’s a big one for battery storage! Tesla has officially launched the Powerwall 3 in the UK (19th June, 2024), and we can’t wait to start installing it for you! Here are the key things you need to know, as well as a special introductory price throughout July:
The Great Big Green Week has begun. It’s the UK’s biggest ever celebration of community action to tackle climate change and protect nature, and we are right behind it!
Supporting energy change
Community action to bring about climate change, and more specifically energy change, is something we wholeheartedly support. In fact, we built the very first community-funded solar project in the UK, and have been responsible for nearly 10% of all community renewables in the UK – all of it rooftop mounted solar.
We work closely with our friends at Energy4All. It’s a partnership which has helped to bring about some incredible community energy projects, including installing an iconic solar array on Salisbury Cathedral, a 1.3 MW portfolio of community funded installations for M&S, and our 636kWp installation at Prodrive with the Low Carbon Hub. This became the largest community funded roof in the country.
Energy4All work with communities to develop these innovative renewable energy projects. They raise the funds for them to move forward, and we install the solar. We’ve recently finished one such community project and we’d love to share it with you, to celebrate The Great Big Green Week 2024.
Solar schools – Brentside Primary
Let’s shine a light on Brentside Primary Academy, a two form entry academy situated in Hanwell, in the London Borough of Ealing.
We’ve just installed 41.71kWp of solar PV here, helping the school make the transition to renewable energy. It’s part of their efforts to reduce carbon emissions and make the school more environmentally sustainable. With an annual predicted generation of 37,580 kWh and CO2 savings of 7.78 tonnes per year, they are certainly well on their way to achieving their ambitions.
Brentside Primary was keen to swap to solar as it
“takes the pressure off the wider national grid infrastructure, and with the increased demand for electricity, the use of clean, renewable energy has never been more important. We would like to thank Energy4All and Joju Solar for making the project possible”.
Brentside’s solar installation is part of the portfolio of projects made possible by The Schools’ Energy Co-operative – a co-op installing community-funded solar panel systems on schools free of charge, as well as paying all its profits to its member schools. At Joju Solar, we’re very proud to be part of it.
Swap Together
So, this Great Big Green Week what will you swap? Have you got plans to change the way you generate or consume energy? Are you interested in running your home with solar energy? Does your workplace have a large roof that would be perfect for solar panels? Perhaps you’re a school that would love to follow in the footsteps of Brentside Academy?
If this Great Big Green Week (or any week!) you’d like to explore changing the way you generate and consume your energy, we’d love to help.
Just get in touch with us here and let’s create a green future together.
The news is out… about 6,000 public charge points have been installed during the first three months of this year, with a quarter of them rapid chargers. That’s according to quarterly figures from our friends at Zapmap, published by the Department for Transport.
By April 1st, 2024, there were just under 60,000 public chargers installed in the UK. That’s a 49% increase on this time last year, and since 2022 the number of public chargers of all speeds has doubled.
It’s good news for EV drivers all across the country. It’s also positive for people considering the switch to EV, with The Guardian reporting in their EV mythbusters series, that range anxiety is one of the main reasons stopping people switching. Their take is that in the UK (unlike the US), the problem is being addressed and the number of black spots is reducing rapidly. Joju Charging Account Manager, Rob Dickin, agrees…
“Joju is working extensively with our local authority partners to increase the number of chargers available for the public, bringing together public and private sector funding to make sure there are enough chargers available as people make the switch to EVs. The upcoming LEVI funding from the government means we’ll be working even more closely with local authorities to ensure there are chargers available for those without their own off-street parking, so they can access renewable, green energy for their cars.”
Joju has been continuing to install public EV Charging Infrastructure in the first three months of the year, and there’s a lot more to come as Head of Public Sector Sales, Emma Blades, comments:
“The coming months are looking really positive for the EV revolution! With rapid hub projects being finalised and LEVI charging projects due, chargepoint numbers are set to increase further and faster. These projects give a variety of charging speeds for different uses, whether that’s residents charging overnight, visitors charging at a particular destination for a few hours, or people wanting to get charged and on their way as soon as possible. As the availability and ease of charging increases, the EV switch will be more accessible for all and we’re excited to continue to help power people’s journeys”.
Absolutely right! The Joju Charging team looks forward to bringing EV drivers many more public charge points in 2024 and beyond, in conjunction with councils across the UK and our CPO and funding partners.
Check out Zapmap for the nearest EV charge point on your travels.
Back in February, a House of Lords enquiry found that the UK government must do more to counter the “misinformation” on electric vehicles, published in parts of the UK media. Fast forward a couple of months, and there’s still a consistent swirl of stories continuing to perpetuate certain myths about electric vehicles, including myths about battery life, pollution, range, and much more besides. This misinformation is also rife on social media.
Joju Founder and CEO, Joe Michaels, thinks these inaccurate, often misleading stories are definitely having an impact on potential EV drivers:
“It’s making people slower to make decisions on transitioning from polluting fossil fuel vehicles, to cleaner vehicles . That’s the main problem, and people don’t know quite what to believe. I think it’s really important that people find a credible source of information”.
Joe goes on to say:
“There’s a huge market where it’s in their interest to create scepticism over the transition to electric vehicles and clean vehicles. It’s still a minority trying to explain why electric vehicles are better for the environment. You’re dealing with a David and Goliath situation still, and it’s quite easy for the fossil fuel market to swamp negative information about EV’s on to the market”.
Joe speaks more about the importance of fact checking in a recent interview, and you can listen to that, here:
The importance of having credible sources to refer to is essential, so whether you’re already an EV owner or you’re looking to make the switch to electric and want some myth busting information to get your facts straight, here are the top three places we recommend heading to for straight talking, factual info:
This recently published PDF might be small, but it packs a mighty punch, succinctly addressing some of the most embedded EV myths, using facts and data to set the record straight. EV batteries don’t last? Electric vehicles pollute more than petrol cars? Hydrogen will displace EV’s anyway? All these myths and more are debubnked in the little book. It’s completely free and you can download it here.
A great source of always-impartial information is the Energy Saving Trust (EST). They have a dedicated section on their website debunking myths around electric vehicles, updated in February 2024. Head here for that one.
One of the sources Joe refers to in his interview, is the series of articles in The Guardian, exploring the myths, the realities and the grey areas surrounding electric vehicles. It answers questions like, “Are electric cars too heavy for roads, bridges and car parks”? “Is it right to be worried about getting stranded in an electric car”? “Do electric cars pose a greater fire risk than petrol or diesel cars”? and lots more besides. Each article in the series covers the science associated with the topic and is a must for anyone wanting to find out more about the truth behind the claims. You can find the series here.
Let’s bust the EV myths and move forward with factual information that helps drive the change we want to see for our families, our friends, and our planet.
Read about the landmark of one million EVs on UK roads
Discover more about EV Charging funding options for schools and education settings
Follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, X and Facebook for more about EV Charging, solar and battery storage.
There’s been a lot happening in the EV charging space recently, in terms of initiatives to encourage electric vehicle adoption and the installation of EV charging infrastructure. Here’s our round up of the key highlights and specifics to have on your radar, when it comes to EV charging grants and funding measures.
The Department for Transport has recently increased the amount education institutions (including schools, colleges, academy trusts, and nurseries) can receive to install electric vehicle chargepoints.
The schools grant is part of the Workplace Charging Scheme and it’s open to all state-funded schools and educational institutions. It covers up to 75% of the cost of the purchase and install of EV chargepoints, up to £2,500 per socket. That’s a significant rise from the previous £350.
Schools and educational settings can use the grant to install as many as 40 EV chargepoints across all sites. This is a great way to boost chargepoint facilities for staff and visitors. The Department for Transport has also advised that schools could use the chargepoints to generate revenue, by making them available to the public.
To be eligible to apply, any school or educational setting needs to have dedicated off-street parking facilities. You can make an application online here.
Our Joju Charging team can also talk you through the schools grant application process, if you’d like to get in touch.
Independent schools can apply for funding too, through the Workplace Charging Scheme and the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Grant for Staff and Fleets.
We’ve been sharing news and supporting councils with information for applications for the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund. The government is delivering £381 million to local authorities across the country, for the rollout of EV charging infrastructure to support drivers across the UK. The first capital payments for charging projects have been approved for local authorities including Bedford, East Sussex, North Yorkshire and the London boroughs of Hackney and Hounslow.
Here at Joju Charging, we’re also helping to bring EV charging to more rural areas in Dorset as part of a LEVI funded pilot. If you’re a local authority looking to reach more of your communities with EV charging infrastructure, do subscribe to our mailing list to hear more about a licence agreement we’ve created that could speed things up. The agreement enables tier 1 authorities to roll out EV charging networks across their areas, in association with sub authorities and even with the private sector. This framework has been over a year in the making, and we now have it for more of our local authority clients to benefit from.
Through LEVI capability funding, almost 100 EV officers have been recruited to support chargepoint procurement. They will also help local authorities build teams to deliver EV charging projects. An electric vehicle infrastructure (EVI) training course will be open to all local authorities from mid-March as well, after a successful trial.
The government is also launching a consultation to look at speeding up charge point installation across the county. Proposals would mean street works could be carried out using a permit (rather than a licence), which can be issued much faster.
Local authorities can also still access the On-street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS). We’re always happy to talk through the application process with you.
With the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) revealing that the UK achieved the million EV’s on the road milestone in early February, we welcome all measures to support local authorities and drivers to make the switch to electric. As EVIE’s Contractor of the Year, Joju Charging is always ready to support with the design and installation of reliable, robust EV Charging infrastructure.
Some good news for January! The number of battery electric vehicles on UK roads is expected to hit one million this month, according to the latest analysis.
The RAC Foundation has announced that over 967,000 electric vehicles were licensed at the end of November. That’s up from 674,000 at the end of 2022. The figures are based on data from green consultancy, New AutoMotive.
Electric Vehicles currently make up 3% of all cars on UK roads and comprise 16% of the new car market. Government figures also show a 41% increase in first time registrations.
Growth is set to continue year on year under the Government’s zero-emission vehicles mandate (ZEV), which became law on January 3rd, 2024. It means that at least 22% of all new cars sold by each car manufacturer in the UK this year must be zero-emission. That’s alongside 10% of all new vans.
This threshold will rise annually until it reaches 100% by 2035. Last September, Rishi Sunak delayed the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in the UK from 2030.
Manufacturers failing to meet these annual thresholds will need to pay the Government £15,000 per polluting vehicle sold above the limits.
Of course, more EV’s on the road means more charging infrastructure is needed. There are currently over 50,000 public chargepoints in the UK, with Technology and Decarbonisation Minister Anthony Browne, citing that the charging network has already grown 44% since this time last year.
Joju Charging is working with local authorities up and down the country to bring more EV charge points online for EV drivers to charge their vehicles. Graeme Patton, Head of EV Charging at Joju, commented:
“It’s fantastic to see the growing number of drivers making the switch to electric vehicles and to be reaching the landmark of 1 million EV’s on the road this month. The challenge is to make sure there is enough infrastructure for people to charge when they’re out and about, whether that’s in public car parks, at on street chargepoints, destination, or en route. We’ll be continuing to partner with Councils across the UK to make that happen”.
With the Department of Transport aiming to hit 300,000 chargepoints by 2030, and Government investment of over £2billion to support the transition to electric, Graeme also added:
“Whilst we wholeheartedly welcome the Government’s Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund (LEVI) to help councils with their infrastructure roll outs, the key is to have the right chargepoints, with the right speeds, in the right locations, to meet the needs of residents and visitors. Joju Charging is perfectly placed to support local authorities with this challenge, based on our extensive experience in the sector.”
For more information, read our EV Charging case studies, or head to our Joju Charging pages.
You can also get in touch with us here.
Good news alert! The UK government has revealed plans to give further VAT relief on energy storage batteries from February 1st, 2024. The move extends beyond previous VAT relief, which was limited to batteries installed alongside solar panels. The policy now includes standalone battery installations and retrofitted batteries as well.
In its 2022 Spring Statement, the government announced the expansion of VAT relief on energy-saving materials (ESMs). Following industry calls, the government launched a ‘Call for Evidence’ (CfE) seeking views on potential areas of further reform. As a direct result of the response, the government is expanding VAT relief to include:
The following is now subject to VAT relief:
Battery storage that is fitted without solar will now be exempt from 20% VAT.
A battery retrofitted to an existing solar array will also now be exempt from 20% VAT.
A battery or batteries fitted at the same time as solar panels will still be exempt from 20% VAT.
Dr Chris Jardine, Joju Solar’s Co-founder and Technical Director commented:
“Battery storage is a crucial part of the UK’s clean energy transition, and this is a move that’s positively welcomed by Joju Solar. Homeowners should never have been penalised for doing things in stages, and it’s great that people won’t now have to have all the funds in one go to save 20% on battery installs. We hope the move will encourage greater energy self-sufficiency in homes across the UK, and that we’ll see more and more households invest in energy storage as a result, leading to a growth in the sustainable technologies that are critical for a cleaner, greener future for all.”
If you were thinking of getting battery storage for your home, or adding to your existing system, but were put off by the price, it will soon be 20% cheaper – and that’s something to feel good about.
To find out more about our battery storage solutions, please head here.
Leisure centres are often at the very heart of our communities. They provide a chance for us to focus on fitness and wellbeing and in many cases, leisure centres include a pool. This gives people the opportunity to learn to swim, to get involved in swimming classes, or to make time for a sport that can be both relaxing and invigorating for all ages.
However, if you think about how much energy it takes to operate a leisure centre with a pool, you’re probably right in imagining it doesn’t come cheap.
Last year, the Local Government Chronicle reported that the Local Government Association and UK Active, (a group committed to getting “more people more active more often”), received “significant anecdotal information” from councils and providers that the energy issue is “driving decisions about facility closures or reduced opening hours”.
A survey of its members revealed the average energy bill was £3.2m in 2022. This represents a 113% increase compared to the £1.5m average cost for each Centre in 2019. 2023 costs are predicted to escalate to at least £3.3m, so what does this mean for the future of these facilities?
Back in the Spring, the Chancellor announced the Swimming Pool Support Fund (SPSF), making £60 million available to support facilities with swimming pools. The funding was split into two phases. Phase I offered £20 million of revenue for facilities facing increased cost pressures which left them vulnerable to closure or significant service reduction. Monies from this phase have been allocated in full.
The second phase allocates £40 million in capital investment to improve the energy efficiency of public facilities with pools, in the medium to long term. Allocation of these funds will be confirmed by the end of January 2024. Applications closed in late October.
Sport England also made £20m of Lottery funding available to complement the government’s £40m capital fund, increasing the number of facilities benefiting from these improvements. They are administering the fund too.
At Joju, we’ve been helping leisure centres install solar for several years now, to improve energy efficiency and cut operational energy costs. We’ve supported leisure centres all across the UK, including Godalming Leisure Centre, Xcel Leisure Centre and Bridport Leisure Centre .
If you’ve received, or are about to receive, funding from the Swimming Pool Support Fund and are looking for ways to improve the energy efficiency of your leisure centre building, do let us know. We’re experts at working with public sector organisations and when it comes to the installation of solar on leisure centres, we have the experience to make the whole process hassle free from beginning to end.
As well as design and installation expertise, we understand how important it is for the Centre to remain open, as normal, throughout the project. The way we manage every installation always makes sure this is the case.
If you discover your leisure centre hasn’t been successful in the application for funding, all is not lost. When it comes to improving energy efficiency, cutting costs, and reducing carbon, we’ve been helping community buildings fund solar in a different way for many years. In fact, we helped develop community energy schemes, having installed the very first community-funded installation in Oxford in 2008.
A community energy approach means clean generation is owned by, and benefits, the local community. It’s the way Bridport Leisure Centre’s solar array was funded and at Joju, we’re incredibly experienced and well connected within the community energy sector. There’s no-one better placed to explore the funding of your solar project in this way, meaning you won’t pay a penny. You can read more about our community energy experience and find out more detail about community energy schemes, here.
All in all, when it comes to funding solar energy on leisure centres, the future can certainly be bright! The SPSF will deliver more support for solar to reduce costs through clean, green energy created by the sun.
Community energy could also help to support your plans, if you’re a council or leisure centre who has not had government or Sport England funding awarded to you.
For a chat about how we could help your Leisure Centre work towards a brighter funded future, please do get in touch.
We’re proud to share that last week, we won Contractor of the Year (C&I and Public) at the prestigious EVIEs, for the third time in four years.
The Electric Vehicle Innovation and Excellence Awards recognise the very best in the EV industry, and it’s an honour to take home the title again this year.
According to Zapmap, this past year we’ve installed 14% of all public charge points – a mix of fast and rapid chargers in public car parks, and on-street infrastructure. We’ve saved 4,000 tonnes of CO2 and 48 tonnes of NOx. We’ve supported Hammersmith and Fulham to expand their on-street network. Every resident is within 400 metres of a charge point and EV ownership has increased by 67%. Our work with Dorset Council has helped to put them in the top 20% of areas for charge point availability and as well as infrastructure for residents/visitors, we’re helping councils transition their fleets so community services are powered by renewable sources. This is critical for improving air quality and reducing CO2.
We specialise in infrastructure for atypical vehicles. A standout partnership has been working with Islington Council at their Waste Recycling Centre, and 10 other sites in the borough. The council’s ambition is inspirational, and we’ve now electrified over 70 bays for use by buses, waste trucks, tippers and other vehicles. All works took place with zero operational disruption.
We’ve further developed EV Charging Infrastructure across sensitive operational police, ambulance, fire stations and control centres. We’ve supported more workplaces with EVCI, to encourage EV uptake this year. We’ve also helped public and private sector organisations maximise underutilised spaces by installing solar car ports, to charge vehicles and power buildings.
Our first-of-its-kind ‘EV Insights’ group is now 3 years old, and it facilitates the pooling of best practice.
On social media it’s been said that we stand out by being “in it for the right reasons”. Our mission is to help communities, homeowners and workplaces cut carbon, and that will always be the case.
Joju’s CEO, Joe Michaels, said:
“It’s a genuine honour for Joju Charging to win Contractor of the Year at the EVIEs for the third time. Once again, the credit goes to our hardworking team. Their passion for helping public sector and commercial organisations achieve their net zero carbon ambitions is second to none. We also want to say a huge thank you to our clients, customers, and partners, and congratulate our clients Islington Council and the Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, who received shortlist recognition”.
Joju’s Head of EV, Graeme Patton, also commented:
“It’s amazing to win Contractor of the Year for the third time in four years, and it really is testament to the hard work of our teams, who are always looking for ways to continuously improve and lead the charge every day. To make the shift to electric vehicles people need more EV charging infrastructure, and helping the public sector deliver this is at the very heart of what we do… whether it’s helping local authority fleets transition, or providing more public charge points. It’s great to be recognised for the quality and innovation of our design and delivery across the board, from councils to commercial workplaces”.
If you’re thinking of making the switch to an electric vehicle, or if you’re a public sector or commercial organisation working towards net zero, do get in touch with us – or explore our website to find out more about our approach.
Check out our EV charging approach
Find out more about our projects with public sector organisations
Want EV charging at work? Read more here
Browse our EV case studies
myenergi, who make the zappi smart EV charger and eddi hot water diverter, have made their products compatible and configurable with batteries.
Why is this good news? Well, not all smart EV chargers and solar hot water diverters are compatible with home battery storage, and using incompatible products can lead to odd things happening with your setup. You may find your home battery is discharging surplus energy into your hot water tank when you don’t want it to, for instance!
The main products that can be installed alongside a solar array all perform a similar function. They control the storing of solar energy for use later on.
Home batteries divert surplus solar into a static battery wired to your house for use at night.
Smart EV chargers divert surplus solar into your car battery or can fast charge.
Hot water diverters divert surplus solar into your hot water cylinder with various boost options.
Which bit of kit gets the energy first though, and why? Well, when we install your system, we set up the prioritisation in the following way:
Home batteries provide power to your house when your electricity is at its most expensive so we set the home battery to be charged first from any surplus solar. If you don’t use much power at peak times, that’s OK… the batteries will fill up quickly and then your solar can power the next item on your priority list. It’s also self-regulating so once it’s set up, you can leave it to do its thing!
2. Smart EV chargers (like zappi)
Smart EV chargers can be set to charge your car at full power, or just with surplus solar. For us, the car is second on the priority list because you’ll probably have the option of charging your car on a cheap electricity tariff at night, at full power. Even if you don’t have a cheap night-time electricity rate, it’s still wise to charge at full power after midnight. This way, the car charges from surplus solar in the day (if there is enough surplus solar) and if a top up is needed, it comes from the battery at night. The system is self-regulating and you don’t need to think about it, or make any predictions on a daily basis.
3. Hot water diverters (like eddi)
These are set to come on after your home battery and car battery are full, or if your car is not at home and plugged in. They should be the third priority because there are normally two cheaper ways to heat hot water. Your boiler or heat pump will be cheaper per kWh than electricity during the day. Also, you may have the option of heating hot water at night on a cheaper rate.
If you heat your hot water with a gas boiler, fitting an eddi will reduce the amount of gas you consume. The gas boiler should be on a timer to heat your water early in the morning as well as later at night when the sun goes down. Surplus solar will heat the tank in the day. If it’s not that sunny, the boiler will make up the difference. As with the smart EV charger, it’s self-regulating and will automatically adjust for different amounts of sunshine and electricity usage.
If you heat your water with a heat pump, it works in a similar way to a boiler. The heat pump uses 1 unit of electricity to make 3 – 5 units of heat, so it’s cheaper than using direct-acting electricity during the day. Heat pumps also heat water on a timer, so surplus solar can be diverted to a cylinder in the day and the heat pump can make up any difference in the evening and early morning.
If you’ve got a zappi, you might have noticed the ECO and ECO+ settings. Here’s the difference between them.
Also, if your zappi is set to ECO+, eddi with take surplus power up to 1.4 kW until zappi kicks in to charge your car.
If you’re installing the kit yourself, or if it’s already been installed by another contractor without any prioritisation set, here’s how to do it and remember, all methods for setting priorities are done on the myenergi products rather than the batteries.
Touch on the eddi icon and draw it anti clockwise to below the zappi icon. This will also change priority and make zappi priority 1.
Go to the leader (or master) unit which could be zappi or eddi. Go to other settings, advanced, linked devices, devices and give zappi priority 1 and eddi priority 2.
If you have solar or are thinking about getting solar panels in the future, then zappi is definitely worth it. They might be slightly more expensive than a dumb EV charge point but offer brilliant savings by varying the amount of power that goes to your car, depending on how much surplus solar there is. For typical solar installations, it will be possible to run an EV on pure sunlight for much of the year.
As mentioned, zappi is also compatible and configurable with home battery storage.
eddi is a fantastic bit of kit. Here’s our view on when it works best for you:
eddi isn’t the best option if:
We’re often asked if zappi and eddi are capable of linking to smart tariffs like Octopus Agile, and the answer is yes!
These tariffs track the wholesale price of electricity. Prices per kWh can go very low and even into the negative, which means Octopus pay you for using electricity at certain times. zappi and eddi can be set to charge when the price goes below a certain level you set. This technology has fantastic potential to help stabilise the grid and save you money and will be even more important as we get more renewables installed all over the country.
Last winter the National Grid spent £10 billion balancing the grid. This technology, which is already installed in thousands of homes could be your route to receiving some of that. You’ll be charging your car and heating water when there is a surplus of renewable energy on the grid as a whole. This could be from offshore wind or large, ground mounted solar arrays. However, we don’t recommend relying on this feature alone to justify investing quite yet, unless you’re someone who loves to tinker! It’s not well supported by either Octopus or myenergi at this stage. In addition, Octopus say:
“Our smart products are 12-monthly tariffs, and they can and will be updated from time to time. That’s why we don’t recommend relying on any one tariff to justify an investment in technology such as home battery storage or electric heat and hot water systems over many years.”
We’d love to help you with your solar, battery storage and EV charging infrastructure needs.
Get in touch with our highly experienced team and we can help to reduce your carbon emissions and save you money together.