EVs included in Wiring Rules changes

Guidelines around electric vehicles are included for the first time in about 194 changes to The Wiring Rules (AS/NZS 3000) to be released in March and likely to be adopted early next year.

“Electric vehicles can’t just be plugged into an ordinary socket, for example, they need to be wired with a specific Residual Current Device (RCD) to cope with the electronics involved,” Master Electricians chief executive officer Bernie McLaughlin told Newshub.

A series of roadshows around the country is being run by professional trade organisation Master Electricians to inform electrical workers about the changes, starting in Dunedin on March 5 and finishing in Auckland on April 12.

The onus is on individual electricians, not employers, to get up-to-date with changes to avoid fines, or having to rectify work done after March that doesn’t comply with the new rules, the organisation says.

The changes are designed to keep pace with technology like EVs, solar panels, home automation and LED lighting.

New solar panels, for example, have micro-inverters in them, and there are currently no guidelines for installing them, McLaughlin says. The new panels output is AC (alternating current), the old panels were DC (direct current), he says.

McLaughlin says the changes are for safety reasons.

Master Electricians has at least 1100 member companies with more than 6000 electrical workers.

Visit masterelectricians.org.nz

for more information.