Quality care required for EV charging points

Duty holders have been advised to take a “quality first” attitude towards their EV infrastructure, this regarding the installation and maintenance of EV charging points.

The EV movement is gaining a lot of traction, and it is only going to become more popular as time goes by and more and more rules and stipulations around the environment are introduced.

Sales of electric vehicles (EV) have shot up, as we've said before, sales will only go up due to more and more restrictions on diesel and petrol motor vehicles. In particular, the UK government have very publicly stated their aim to bring forward a ban of these vehicles by 2030. Sales aren’t only up because of stipulation; they are also up as more people are becoming aware of the benefits that going with EV can bring.

The stats suggest that Britain are doing reasonably well too in their pursuit of their zero emissions target, there are now around 340,000 registered EVs in the UK. EVs are the only category of vehicle in the market that have had any significant growth in recent times.

Many would argue that there is not a better time for companies in all different sectors and with the resources available, to invest in and to install EV charging points.

Benefits of installing EV charging points include increased sustainability, income generation, increased footfall and improvement in staff engagement. The government have also introduced cash incentives of up to nearly £15,000 through their "Workplace Charging Scheme”.

Handle with care

As exciting and as useful as EVs are, they need charging from an electrical power source and those electrical sources carry certain requirements to ensure the safety of the people using them. They are, after all, fixed installations and will require very similar treatment to any other fixed installation. They still fall under the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 (EAWR), meaning that duty holders have a legal obligation to ensure that EV charging points are safe to use and can be proved to be so.

Maintenance of systems is key to meeting these legal requirements. Alongside the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, there are other regulations to follow for safety guidance. These are the following: BS7671 Requirements for Electrical installations, Guidance Notes including GN3 (IET) and BS7671 Section 722 – Electric Vehicle charging installations.

If you are a duty holder you should take into consideration that EV charging points will most often be installed and placed outside as well as used on a very frequent basis. This means that charging points will be much more likely to be prone to mechanical waer and tear as well as water damage from the outside elements. With this in mind, specific testing such as Fixed Wire Testing and inspection is crucial towards establishing long term safety and integrity of EV stations.

If you require any support or advice with the installation or maintenance of your EV charging points, call - 01604 696113 today.

Learn more about our EV installs here and EV Testing here.

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