Drivers deserve to know the health of a used EV battery, say leading industry experts

At first glance, a call for mandatory battery State of Health certificates on used electric vehicles might look like a motor trade story rather than an electrical one, but the connection is more direct than it appears. Confidence in the second-hand EV market is one of the main drivers of overall EV uptake, and uptake is what ultimately determines demand for charge point installation, upgrades to domestic supplies and the wider infrastructure work that sits behind it. If buyers can see verified evidence that a five-year-old battery still holds, say, 90 per cent of its original capacity, more of them will make the switch, and more of them will then need a home charger fitted, a consumer unit assessed, or an existing installation checked for suitability. Growth in the used market also tends to reach households in terraced streets and rented properties, which is precisely where the more technically demanding charging solutions are required. There is a second, more technical reason for electricians to pay attention. The industry is steadily moving towards a culture where battery condition is measured, documented and certified rather than assumed, and that culture will not stop at vehicles. Anyone working with domestic battery storage alongside solar PV is already dealing with the same questions around degradation, warranties and performance over time, and clients increasingly expect installers to be able to explain them. Vehicle to grid and vehicle to home systems make the overlap sharper still, because the car battery becomes part of the building's electrical system and its health becomes a matter of installation design, not just motoring. Familiarity with battery chemistry, charging behaviour and manufacturer data is quietly becoming part of the competent installer's toolkit. For anyone planning their development, the practical takeaway is that EV and energy storage work is maturing rather than plateauing, and that the qualifications underpinning it are worth holding properly rather than picking up piecemeal. The City and Guilds 2921 EV charging equipment installation qualification remains the recognised route for charge point work, and it sits on top of, rather than replacing, a solid grounding in the 2365 diplomas, the current wiring regulations and inspection and testing competence. Certification schemes and grant funding bodies continue to check for that underlying competence, so the electricians best placed to benefit from a busier used EV market will be those who have the core qualifications in order first and the specialist EV and battery storage training layered on afterwards.