Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure
Contracting Site Solutions (CSS) is a leading commercial contracting solutions provider servicing businesses since 1983. Who are experienced in installing EV charging infrastructure. If you are thinking of installing EV chargers, here are a few helpful tips to prepare you for installation.
When installing a charging station for your electric car, consideration must be given to various safety criteria. Our check-list includes all the key points you need to remember when installing your charging station. The information provided on this website is a guide, all installations should be conducted according to the manufacturer’s recommendation and the various state & territory regulations across Australia. All EV equipment should be installed by a licensed and qualified electrician.
Choosing the Right EV Charging Equipment
A licensed and certified electrician will need to install your new EV charger. Before we for a site assessment and installation, determine where you intend to park your EV while it’s charging. Ideally, you want the charging station to be no more than 3m from the connection port on your car. In terms of charging a vehicle in the future, we are seeing newer generation EV’s coming out with faster on board capacity utilising the more powerful three-phase connections. If the building has access to three-phase power then we would highly recommend that this is made available or CSS can facilitate the provision of the power. If not then choose a single phase connection with a capacity of 32Amp to give you a power available of 7.4kW.
EV chargers come with configurable outputs so it will work on both single and three-phase connections.
What Needs to be Considered Before Installing Charging Equipment
CSS can provide an on-site quote and can begin installing your EV charger at your Home or Office. Regardless of who you choose to install your EV Charger in Australia, make sure they are a licensed electrician and provide you with a quote before beginning any work. Please remember cable length will determine how flexible your parking options will be. Conversely the cable becomes heavier. Generally 3kg for 5m cable & 6kg for 10 m cable.
E-Mobility Charging Stations Must Be Connected Utilising Its Own Cable.
No additional appliances should be connected to the cable leading from the fuse box to the charging station. Further appliances would include e.g. lights, washing machine & general appliances
Electric Vehicle the utilization factor will be systematically estimated to 1, as it takes a long time to completely load the batteries (several hours) and a dedicated circuit feeding the charging station or wall box will be required by standards or charging stations. The connected load of the charging station must, therefore, be 100% respected.
Use The Right Cable For EV Charging Load Required.
If cables are too thin, they become hot, and there is a danger of the cables burning. If the charging current is of 16 A or above we recommend a cable diameter of 2.5 mm2 or more. In order that the vehicle can be charged with a charging power of 11-22 kW, and in three phases, a 5-conductor supply cable must be used.
The inner diameter of the cable depends on factors such as cable length, potential drop, environmental temperature and type of installation. It is, therefore, best to get a qualified electrician to determine what diameter cable you require. We recommend preparing cables where possible for a three-phase connection, in order to be future-proof. The electric cars of the future will have higher charging powers and larger battery capacities.
The Residual Current Device (RCD) for Safety in EV’s
The residual current device (RCD) is there to avoid electric shocks. An RCD balances the electric current in the live and neutral wires to/from the appliance, in the electric car. If these currents are no longer balanced, for example, if a residual current flows through the bodywork of the car or the driver to the floor, the RCD is triggered and breaks the circuit. To ensure that this is the case, where an RCD is not already integrated into the charging station, each charging station must be fitted with its own individual RCD. For protection, there is a diversity factor of 1.0, which means that each circuit must be individually protected.
Which Types of Residual Current Devices Are There?
A residual current device of Type A at least is required for each charging station. The Type A RCD is a standard RCD protection switch which is carried by qualified electricians and which only registers particular fault currents. Some electric cars may generate smooth DC fault currents during charging. If you cannot exclude this possibility, then an appropriate DC residual current protection must be installed. There are various options for this.
- RCD Type B: A Type B RCD is “sensitive to all currents”, recognizes all types of AC and DC residual currents and is very well-suited for charging station installation. This is the recommended RCD device
The Circuit Breaker Must it Correspond to the Charging Power of the Electric Car.
The circuit breaker ensures that the circuit is broken if too much electricity flows through the cable. This also ensures that damages caused to the cables as a result of heating up can be avoided. As with the RCD, an extra circuit breaker is required for the charging station circuit.
Manufacturers of our EV charging stations recommend circuit breakers with the tripping characteristic C.
The circuit breaker must be in alignment with the nominal current, in the case of the required charging power. It presents a potential safety hazard, meaning that the installation should only be carried out by a qualified electrician. They are responsible for ensuring that all existing standards and installation regulations have been observed.
The nominal current is the current absorbed by electrical devices. The nominal current of the circuit breaker you have chosen must never fall below the reading on the charging station’s label.
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