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New rules to increase cost of EV charger installs in Australia/NZ

Installing Electric Vehicle (EV) car charging equipment is a relatively simple affair for an electrician – but until now it has been something of a grey area as to how to meet the heavily regulated requirements of the Australian and New Zealand electricity supply systems.

With the release of the latest Australia/New Zealand Wiring Rules (AS/NZS 3000:2018) the situation has finally been clarified. But it’s going to mean some increase in the cost to install car charging for your new EV.

Fig. 1: Standard charging Modes for AC charging

First of all – the wiring and power point installed to do Mode 2 EV charging must now be at least 20A rated, not the 15A that has previously been the norm. Secondly, any circuit for an EVSE must be a dedicated one run directly to the switchboard – no longer can it include any other power point.

Thirdly – the requirements for safety-switch protection have been changed such that special safety-switches for EV circuits must be used. The cheaper ‘general purpose’ ones previously used will not be acceptable.

Read the full story at RenewEconomy’s dedicated electric vehicle site, The Driven…

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