Guidance

Commercial chargepoints: minimum technical specification

Minimum technical specification for manufacturers of chargepoint units for commercial properties covered by OZEV chargepoint grant schemes.

From:
Office for Zero Emission Vehicles
Published
4 July 2022
Last updated
2 August 2023 — See all updates

This guidance defines the specification for electric and plug-in hybrid electric road vehicle conductive charging equipment.

This minimum technical specification is for commercial use and can be used for the following schemes:

If you are a manufacturer or supplier who wishes to apply for authorisation for your chargepoint units under this scheme, you must ensure they comply with the technical specifications laid out in this guidance.

If you want to apply for authorisation for both residential and commercial use, you must ensure your chargepoint units comply with technical specifications for both schemes.

For residential use, see Residential chargepoints: minimum technical specification.

Where standards or regulations are mentioned, you must comply with the most current edition at the time of the installation. In cases of apparent inconsistency, the [IET Wiring Regulations (BS 7671:2018+A1:2020) take precedence for electrical installation requirements.

Installation

This specification is for the charging equipment only and not the final installation.

But you must carry out the final installation in accordance with:

If you’re installing on a public highway, you must use a contractor registered through the Highway Electrical Registration Scheme (HERS).

Charging equipment must be installed in accordance with BS EN 61851-1:2019.

The electrical supply of the final installation must allow the charging equipment to operate at full rated capacity. Where local supply constraints prevent this, the charging equipment shall be classified according to actual output capacity.

The equipment will permit chargepoints to be installed in compliance with BS 8300-1:2018. The design must consider the needs of electric vehicle (EV) drivers who may be disabled or have mobility issues

Charging equipment

Common requirements

Charging equipment must be CE marked in accordance with European Commission (EC) Directive 768/2008/EC or have UKCA marking in accordance with Using the UKCA marking.

You must clearly display details of any precautions necessary to ensure safe operation with active implantable medical devices on your charging equipment.

Charging equipment must be compliant with:

BS EN 62196 Mode 1 or Mode 2 charging equipment is not compliant with this specification.

Charging equipment must use either:

  • charging station electric vehicle (EV) socket outlets (BS EN 61851-1:2019 case A or B connection)
  • charging stations with tethered cables (BS EN 61851-1:2019 case C connection)

Where you have multiple outlets, the charging equipment is classified according to the output power delivered at each outlet with all outlets operating simultaneously.

Where multiple connectors are associated with a single outlet, only one connector shall be active – and all other connectors inactive – when the outlet is in use.

AC charging equipment

AC charging equipment must:

  • measure output power at a nominal supply voltage of 230Vac single-phase or 400Vac three-phase
  • be compliant with BS EN 61851-1:2019 (note that all requirements from International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 61851-22 have been moved to this standard as work on IEC 61851-22 has ceased)
  • use BS EN 62196 Mode 3 charging
  • use (where applicable) BS EN 62196 Type 2 socket outlets

DC charging equipment

DC charging equipment must:

Charging equipment with embedded generation capability (V2X)

Charging equipment with embedded generation capability:

Charging outlets

Standard AC (3.5kW to 7kW)

Standard AC charging equipment outlets must:

  • be rated 230Vac ± 10% single-phase
  • have an output that is greater than 3.5kW but not above 7kW

Fast AC (7kW to 23kW)

Fast AC charging equipment outlets must:

  • be rated 230Vac ± 10% single-phase or 400Vac ± 10% three-phase,
  • have an output that is greater than 7kW but not above 23kW

Semi-rapid AC (23kW to 43kW)

Semi-rapid AC charging equipment outlets must:

  • be rated 400Vac ± 10% three-phase
  • have an output that is greater than 23kW but not above 43kW
  • be fitted with a BS EN 62196 Type 2 socket outlet or tethered lead with a BS EN 62196 Type 2 connector

Rapid AC (43kW to 44kW)

Rapid AC charging equipment outlets must:

  • be rated 400Vac ± 10% three-phase
  • have an output that is greater than 43kW but not above 44kW
  • be fitted with a BS EN 62196 Type 2 socket outlet or tethered lead with a BS EN 62196 Type 2 connector

Fast DC (3.5kW to 22kW)

Fast DC charging equipment outlets must have an output that is greater than 3.5kW but not above 22kW.

Semi-rapid DC (22kW to 50kW)

Semi-rapid DC charging equipment outlets must have an output that is greater than 22kW but not above 50kW.

Rapid DC (50kW to 62.5kW)

Rapid DC charging equipment outlets must have an output that is greater than 50kW but not above 62.5kW.

Slow AC (less than 3.5kW)

Slow AC outlet configurations are not permitted.

Location

Equipment installed must meet the applicable minimum ingress protection (IP) ratings set out in BS EN 61851-1:2019 and BS 7671:2018 according to the usage location.

If you’re installing equipment within a workplace, the final installation must comply with the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989.

User interface

Charging equipment status must be indicated using lights, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) or display.

If you’re installing equipment within a workplace, you must clearly display detailed instructions around payment/access (as appropriate) and equipment operation.

Smart requirements

The chargepoint must comply with The Electric Vehicles (Smart Charge Points) Regulations 2021.

Alternatively, you will need to submit an enforcement undertaking offer for it to the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS).

Cybersecurity

Complies with the cybersecurity requirements in The Electric Vehicles (Smart Charge Points) Regulations 2021.

Data requirements

Each chargepoint outlet must measure energy supplied and output this both to:

  • the display (where fitted)
  • a data acquisition system compatible with OZEV chargepoint usage data requirements

If you’re using an electricity meter that is not approved under the Measuring Instruments Directive (MID), you must provide details of metering and accuracy.

Data you need to provide to OZEV

As a grant recipient, you must make appropriate arrangements with your chargepoint operator(s) to collect and submit data on each charging event under each of the following data headings:

  • chargepoint ID
  • plug-in date and time
  • unplug date and time
  • charge start date and time
  • charge end date and time
  • total energy drawn (kWh)

The definition of each data field can be found in Data field definitions.

All data points should be recorded at greater than 95% accuracy.

OZEV will accept data supplied from units that record energy consumption at intervals of up to a maximum of 30 minutes.

Data field definitions

Data field Description
Identifier for chargepoint Unique identifier for chargepoint. This should match the chargepoint ID used on all forms and claim forms, and be consistent throughout the life of the chargepoint.
Plug-in date and time (dd/mm/yyyy) (00:00h) The date and time that the vehicle was plugged in, in 24-hour clock format and using the UK (not US) date format, expressed to the nearest minute possible. OZEV will accept data supplied from units that record connection/disconnection at intervals of up to a maximum of 30 minutes.
Unplug date and time (dd/mm/yyyy) (00:00h) The date and time that the vehicle was unplugged, in 24-hour clock format and using the UK (not US) date format, expressed to the nearest minute possible. OZEV will accept data supplied from units that record connection/disconnection at intervals of up to a maximum of 30 minutes.
Charge start (dd/mm/yyyy) (00:00h) The date and time that the vehicle began to draw charge, in 24-hour clock format and using the UK (not US) date format, expressed to the nearest minute possible. OZEV will accept data supplied from units that record energy transfer at intervals of up to a maximum of 30 minutes.
Charge end (dd/mm/yyyy) (00:00h) The date and time that the vehicle stopped drawing charge, in 24-hour clock format and using the UK (not US) date format, expressed to the nearest minute possible. OZEV will accept data supplied from units that record energy transfer at intervals of up to a maximum of 30 minutes.
Total energy drawn (0.00kWh) The electrical energy transferred during the charging event, in kWh, rounded to 2 decimal places, and with energy transferred from the charging point to the vehicle being positive and energy transferred from the vehicle to the charging point being negative. If this is not directly measurable and you wish to infer this from other parameters, please contact OZEV to discuss exactly how you propose to estimate the energy transferred.

How to provide data to OZEV

Format

You must supply data to OZEV in an Excel (.xslx) file in the following format:

Charging event Chargepoint ID Plug-in date Plug-in time Unplug date Unplug time Charge start date Charge start time Charge end date Charge end time Total kWh
20 WMP11418 03/03/2016 15:54 03/03/2016 20:05 03/03/2016 15:54 03/03/2016 16:46 2.83
21 … … … … … …        
22 … … … … … …        

The grant requires that you provide this data set to OZEV quarterly by emailing chargepoint.grants@ozev.gov.uk.

For OZEV to amalgamate the data efficiently:

  • the subject header for emailed submissions must be in the following format: ‘YYMMDD – WCS CP usage data – Chargepoint operator name’
  • the Excel file containing the data should be named using the following format: ‘YYMMDD – WCS CP usage data – Chargepoint operator name’

How often you need to provide this data

You must provide data as follows:

  • 1 April – data submitted for January to March
  • 1 July – data submitted for April to June
  • 1 October – data submitted for July to September
  • 1 January – data submitted for October to December

You need to provide data to OZEV for 3 years, starting on the date the chargepoint became operational.

What will happen if you do not supply data

OZEV must receive data in full on the relevant due dates. If the data is incomplete, OZEV is unable to identify trends, develop insights and evaluate policy.

Therefore, as a chargepoint operator, you must arrange for the data to be submitted in the required format automatically, without requiring a person to access and draw down the data; this will ensure the data is reliably received without prompting.

Should your data be incomplete or fail to be submitted as per the schedule above, OZEV reserves the right to a repayment of grant funding from the grant recipient.

Servicing and maintenance

You must supply charging equipment with an on-site 3-year warranty on parts and installation.

All chargepoints must have a minimum operational life of 3 years.

Published 4 July 2022
Last updated 2 August 2023 + show all updates

  1. Equipment specifications have been updated.

  2. First published.

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