Testing electric vehicle charging points - what kit do electricians need?
Testing electric vehicle charging points – what kit do electricians need?
To support the mass adoption of electric cars, charging them has to be as convenient as filling up with petrol or diesel. That means millions more electric vehicle charge points need to be installed in the next few years. And that represents a massive opportunity for electricians to increase business.
Incentives for installing EV charge points changed in 2022. Individual homeowners are no longer eligible for a grant to help with installation costs and the focus has moved towards incentives for those who live in flats and rental properties.
The workplace charging scheme does still offer grants of up to ￡14,000 to help businesses and workplaces offset some of the cost of installing EV charging stations. Installations and EV chargers must still be OZEV approved for the grants to apply.
EV installation surveys
With any electric vehicle charge point installation, it’s important that a qualified electrician surveys the site to assess electricity supply and capacity. For larger premises where several charge points are needed, you may need to consider load balancing and different connectivity needs depending on the vehicles and time of day.
The PEL 103 Energy and Logger Kit, now available from CEF, is the ultimate test kit for power energy logging. It allows an electrician or contractor to test supply over time and collect useful data about supply and demand to help plan for future usage.
It’s a very useful piece of kit especially for larger or commercial installations. And you can now buy or hire it from CEF. Ask in your local store for details.
Electric vehicle charge point testing
Testing is important for any electric vehicle charge point installation. With the 2nd amendment to the 18th edition BS 7671 Wiring Regulations, the IET has updated standards related to EV charging installations, so you need to be aware and comply with these.
Most of the requirements are based on safety and protection. Protecting the circuit, the charge point and ultimately the vehicle itself will often involve fitting an SPD (surge protection device) to guard against an overvoltage. Without an SPD fitted, the electric vehicle charger could suffer from severe damage if there’s a power surge, and if a vehicle is connected at the time, that could also be very costly.
You will always need to test a new install to check that it’s working safely and as it should, but testing may also be needed as part of inspections, maintenance or if there’s a fault detected.
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Using a multi-function tester
Not all multi-function testers (MFTs) have the necessary functions needed to test EV charging points, because in order to test a charging point, you need to simulate connecting a vehicle.
The Megger MFT1741+ Multifunction Installation Tester is specifically designed for EV charging point testing. It allows electricians to trigger the charging process by supplying the charging point with the appropriate combination of proximity pilot (PP) and control pilot (CP) signals.
It also includes the ability to simulate CP errors and earth faults to ensure that the output of the charging point is correctly and safely disconnected.
TechTalking podcast
Find out more about multi-function and EV charge point testing on the TechTalking podcast. Tune in on your favourite podcast platform:
Plug into EV with CEF
CEF is committed to providing the knowledge, resources and products you need to take advantage of the growing demand for installing electric vehicle charge points in homes, workspaces and public places all over the UK.
Director at Copper Connexions Ltd
2 年This is well worth a read. We have seen a significant number of EV installs over the past year. Poor quality, cheapest materials and non compliance with the standards outlined in #BS7671 and the ACOP. To top it off several have not even been tested. Customers will pay tens of thousand for a green credential vehicle and then get the cheapest charge point. Not only is this compromising safety for people, property and asserts it is also probably not best solution for charging the vehicle. I will be showing this article to my clients. Thank you #cef