Part S - EV Charging Points
New Part S - EV Charging Points
Introduction
In November 2020 the government announced an end to the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in the UK by 2030. This is one part of the government's strategy to move the country away from fossil fuels.
This will lead to a huge increase in the number of electric vehicles on the road and therefore will require more charging points in both residential and non-residential buildings.
Part S 2022 - New Approved Documents
The new approved document Part S will come into effect in June 2022. It provides guidance for the installation of EV charging infrastructure during construction.
It introduces six new requirements for different types of construction so this video will provide an overview of some of these regulations.
Affected Building Work
The new approved document Part S applies to:
New residential buildings including individual dwellings
New non-residential buildings
Buildings undergoing the material change of use
Buildings undergoing a major renovation
It also applies to mixed-use buildings that fit the above criteria.
New Residential Buildings
New residential buildings with associated parking must provide electric vehicle charging points. Fundamentally the intention is that each dwelling with associated parking has provision for at least one charging point.
So if the number of parking spaces is less than the total number of dwellings then all of the associated parking spaces must have electric vehicle charging points.
If the number of associated parking spaces exceeds the number of dwellings then electric vehicle charging points must equal the total number of dwellings. However, cable routes for EV charging should still be provided to all of the associated car parking spaces.
Determining what qualifies as an associated parking space should be fairly straightforward but guidance is provided in the document.
Houses with both a garage and a driveway will have multiple associated parking spaces and on-street parking is not associated parking unless it's within the site boundary. For example, a dedicated car parking space within a communal street-side car park. However, this is all subject to the £3,600 cap.
The £3,600 cap
The maximum number of EV charging points is limited to what it is possible to install at an average cost of £3,600 per charging point.
If the £3,600 cap reduces the number of EV charging points required then cable routes should be provided as an alternative. To show that the connection cost is greater than £3,600 at least two formal quotes should be provided to the building control body. Guidance is provided on what these quotes must detail.
Major Renovations
Guidance for major renovations applies for residential buildings that will have more than 10 associated car parking spaces after the renovations and if the renovations involve work being done to a car park or building containing a car park.
If both of these cases apply one EV charging point is required for each dwelling that has access to a car parking space. Cable routes are required for all the additional car parking spaces. This is subject to all EV charging points being accommodated within the incoming electrical supply to the building otherwise electric vehicle points up to the limit of incoming supply should be provided.
This only applies where the cost of installing electric vehicle charging points does not exceed 7% of the cost of the renovation work. If it does exceed 7% then cable routes are required unless the cost of installing these cable routes exceeds 7% and that is all excluding VAT.
Non-Residential Buildings
There are also regulations for new non-residential buildings or existing buildings undergoing major renovations where there will be more than 10 car park spaces. In this case, one of these spaces must have access to one EV charging point and cable routes must be installed in at least one-fifth of the remaining parking spaces. For example, if you have 101 parking spaces there must be one charging point installed plus cable routing for a further 20 charging points.
The same regulations apply to buildings undergoing major renovation if the renovations include work to any car park or building containing a car park. However, this is subject to the cost of the work being less than 7% of the total cost of the renovations.
Mixed-Use Buildings
The general principle is that the residential provisions we have described above apply to the residential portion of the building and the non-residential provisions apply to the non-residential portion.
The definition of a major renovation is where more than 25% of the surface area of the building envelope undergoes renovation. The surface area of the whole building must be included when assessing whether the work constitutes a major renovation even if the building is mixed-used.
Standards for Electric Charging Points
Any new electric charging points must:
Have a minimum nominal output of 7 kilowatts
It must also have its own dedicated circuit
It must be an untethered charging point i.e a port you plug a cable into not a pre-installed tether
It also must be designed and installed in compliance with the relevant British Standards outlined in the Approved Document
Cable routes mean a safe unobstructed route from the power supply to the future location of the electric vehicle charging points.
Minimum Space Requirments
Diagrams 6.4 and 6.5 of the Approved Documents Part S provide guidance on the space requirements for electric vehicle charging points.