Introduced in February 2020. Amendment 1 is an amendment to Part 7 of BS7671:2018, Section 722 Electric Vehicle Charging Installations. It does not apply to electric vehicle charging points that employ inductive charging, or to mobility scooters and similar chargers for vehicles of 10 amps or less.
“All electric vehicle charging installations that are commenced on, or after the first of August 2020 will need to comply with this amendment.“
There is a description within Amendment 1 inside Definitions of the four different methods of connecting the electric vehicle to the fixed AC supply known as Charging Modes.
To summarize these are…
Mode 1: Connection of the electric vehicle to the fixed AC supply via a socket-outlet not exceeding 16A using a cable with no control equipment. Please note that although the cable and vehicle are protected by a 13A BS1362 fuse, RCD protection cannot be guaranteed, especially when the vehicle is being charged away from its home location.
Because of this, Mode 1 is now considered outdated and is not recommended.
Mode 2: Connection of the electric vehicle to the fixed electrical AC supply using a BS 1363 domestic socket-outlet incorporating a BS 1362 fuse, or a BS EN 60309-2 industrial plug and socket-outlet (aka ‘commando’ type).
The cable connecting the vehicle to the electrical supply incorporates an In-Cable Control and Protection Device ‘IC-CPD’ along its length which provides RCD protection downstream of the unit.
Regular vehicle charging at home should only be carried out using a dedicated EV circuit which will often be limited to 1.4 kW to 2.3 kW which is 6 to 10 amps. Occasional charging from a non-dedicated circuit is acceptable.
Mode 3: Uses dedicated Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment ‘EVSE’, which is also referred to as a charging unit. It has a permanent dedicated AC supply usually 3.7kW/16 Amp or 7.2kW/32 Amp. All of the charging controls are also housed in this unit.
The charger unit can either have a socket-outlet built in to plug-in the EV cable, or it can have a fixed tethered cable, with a suitable vehicle connector at the other end.
Larger 3-phase Mode 3 charging points are usually found in commercial and public settings, and can have a larger rating of 11kW, 22kW or 43kW.
It is worth noting that the vehicle’s charging control equipment controls the vehicle charging current. So, even with a larger charging supply capacity eg 7.2kW/32 Amps, the vehicle may be restricted to charging at 10 Amps when using an AC supply in Mode 3.
Mode 4: Uses a larger normally floor or wall mounted Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment which have a permanent connection to the AC supply and DC supplied directly to the vehicle. This means that the vehicles on-board charger unit is not required, and a larger charging current can be used to charge the vehicle.
This could be capable of charging a vehicle to 80% in as little as 15 minutes. These high current Mode 4 chargers are common at motorway service areas and are becoming more common on petrol station forecourts.
Note: In charging Modes 3 and 4, an electrical or mechanical system shall be provided to prevent the plugging or unplugging of the plug unless the socket-outlet or the vehicle connector has been switched off from the supply.
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