Nearly 45% homes in India need electrical upgrades for safe EV charging: Report

New Delhi: Around 45 per cent of homes in the country need electrical upgrades for safe EV charging, a report said on Tuesday.

The report titled ‘The Net-Zero Transition Starts at Home: Enabling EV-Ready Residences in India’ is based on a data set of more than 80,000 residential EV charger installations spanning tier-1, tier-2 and tier-3 cities, covering independent homes, apartment complexes, informal settlements and shared rental housing.

“Nearly 45 per cent of Indian homes need electrical upgrades to safely charge their EVs,” said the report launched by Kazam in partnership with the Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy (AEEE) in the national capital.

The report said each home must meet a common minimum threshold for safe, reliable and usable EV charging.

India’s electric mobility transition has gained significant momentum over the past decade, yet access to residential charging remains deeply uneven, as per the report.

Noting that EV-related electricity consumption is projected to rise from 0.2 per cent of national demand in 2024 to approximately 6 per cent by 2035, only 55 per cent of prospective EV buyers currently have access to home charging.

As barriers related to electrical infrastructure, housing conditions, stakeholder processes and affordability persist, users resort to informal and unsafe arrangements, plugging into general sockets, temporary extensions and shared connections not designed for sustained EV loads.

Such practices, the report noted, create fire and electrical safety risks, reduce charging reliability and may contribute to equipment damage and accelerated battery degradation. The report also suggested avoiding such situations.

It has recommended an adequate sanctioned electrical load with a dedicated charging circuit.

According to the report, there should be compliant wiring and earthing and safe charger placement with fire safety compliance.

The Kazam-AEEE report also suggested using dedicated circuit protection with appropriately rated MCBs and earth-leakage protection besides a dedicated certified EV sub-meter for sustained charging loads.

Kazam is an EV charging and energy-management platform building India’s comprehensive digital EV energy layer.

Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy (AEEE) enables India to do more with less energy by turning efficiency into a driver of growth, social dignity and better everyday outcomes.