A HOME EV-charging solution has been installed for a nearby Stirling resident in a first-of-its-kind trial in Scotland.

Stirling resident Stephen Gordon will be testing Scotland's first-ever through-pavement home EV charging channel in a trial that seeks to revolutionise how residents without a driveway can charge their electric vehicles right from their homes.

The solution by company Kerbo Charge, which attracted Dragon's Den funding from Deborah Meaden, is to install through-pavement channels outside households, allowing residents to safely charge their electric vehicles on the street from their own supply.

When residents want to charge, they insert their charging cable and the specially designed self-closing lid closes behind just like a zip.

It seeks to address the fact that given the cost of charging in a public place, there is currently no economic incentive to move from petrol or diesel cars to electric unless people can charge at home.

A resident that can charge at home pays on average £680 per year to charge their car, versus a significantly higher £1,820 for a resident that relies on public chargers.

Meanwhile, it costs £1,470 per year to drive a petrol car.

The company said that given that around 40 per cent of UK households have street parking, the cost of public charging creates a major barrier to EV adoption.

With no driveway, Stirling resident Stephen was reluctant to make the switch from a petrol to an electric car due to inconvenient and expensive public charging points.

With their own objectives for a fossil fuel-free future in mind, Stirling Council was keen to find solutions to help encourage residents to make the switch.

Stephen said: “Stirling Council is very forward thinking with roadside charging and with the Kerbo Charge channel install, other councils will have to follow suit to keep up.

“I’m really happy with the result, it looks perfect and you definitely don’t notice it on the pavement.”

The Stirling trial is part of a series of planned local authority rollouts for customers with on-street parking.

The solution removes the risk of trips and falls from charging cables trailing across footways and the slim and shallow channel seamlessly integrates with the pavement surface, minimising disruption to existing infrastructure, Kerbo Charge explained.

As the channel is made from PVC, it also boasts a significantly lower carbon footprint than metal alternatives.

The company's co-founder, Michael Goulden, added: “Thousands of residents across Scotland are ready to move to electric, but only when they can charge at home.

“We hope councils across Scotland will follow Stirling’s lead and make these available for their residents.

“We want to highlight that they are 100 per cent privately funded with no cost to the taxpayer.”