With the world moving towards a future with more electric vehicles (EVs), it’s little surprise that the ABCB has introduced mandatory charging infrastructure provisions for new buildings in the National Construction Code (NCC) 2022 release.

The NCC now prescribes minimum provisions for both EV Charging, and facilities for solar PV and battery systems.

The new provisions in NCC2022 have been designed to allow easy retrofit of on-site renewables and EV charging equipment for Class 2 to 9 buildings. The NCC seems to be focusing heavily on future provisions for installation within new buildings rather than prescribing the installation now.

NCC 2022 will come into effect on 1 May 2023 subject to transition periods for energy efficiency, condensation mitigation, and livable housing provisions, which come into effect on 1 October 2023.

A summary of the new requirements for EV charging and solar PV is as follows:

Electric Vehicle Charging

New in NCC 2022 is section J9D4 – Facilities for electric vehicle charging equipment.

A summary of this new section is as follows:

• A carpark associated with a Class 2, 3, 5, 6, 7b, 8 or 9 building shall be provided with electrical distribution boards dedicated to electric vehicle charging in accordance with Table J9D4 for each storey of the carpark.
• Electrical distribution boards devoted specifically to the supply of electric vehicles in a carpark need to be fitted with a charging control system that can regulate and schedule the charging of electric vehicles on total building demand.
• When associated with a Class 2 building (Apartment Building), an electrical distribution board must have capacity for each circuit to support an electric vehicle charger able to deliver a minimum of 12 kWh from 11:00 pm to 7:00 am daily.
• When connected to a Class 5 (Office) to 9 building, an electrical distribution board shall have capacity in each circuit to support at least one electric vehicle charger that can supply a minimum of 12 kWh between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm daily.
• When installed within a Class 3 building-hotel, an electrical distribution board shall have capacity for every circuit to support an electric vehicle charger that can at least deliver 48 kWh from 11:00 pm to 7:00 am each day of the year.
• Electrical Distribution boards dedicated to Electric Vehicle charging shall be selected to support the future connection of a 7kW (32A) type 2 electric vehicle charger in:
  • 100% of the car parking spaces associated with a Class 2 (Apartment) building
  • 10% of car parking spaces associated with a Class 5 (Office) or class 6 (Shops, retail, cafes etc.) building
  • 20% of car parking spaces associated with a Class 3, 7b, 8 or 9 building
• In addition to the requirements above, there is also a requirement for provision for the future of sub-circuit metering and provision to record electricity usage of EV charging equipment and labeling.

Other considerations for providing EV charging for new and existing buildings:

• Demand management and controlling EV charging loads.
• Who pays for the electricity usage? Can users be billed?
• Which vehicle charger type and plug type do we provide?
• Types of Chargers – Single Phase or Three Phase? AC or DC? Type 1 or 2? Fast chargers?
• How much will an EV charging solution cost?
• How much space is required within carparks for EV charging distribution boards and chargers?

Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Systems

In NCC 2022, there is a new section J9D5 – Facilities for solar PV and battery systems.

Current supply from the main electrical switchboard should now have at least two empty three-phase circuit breaker slots and four DIN rail spaces labeled to indicate whether each space is used or not for a solar PV system; a battery system; and will be sized to accommodate installing solar photovoltaic panels producing their maximum electrical output.

There is now a minimum 20% building roof area provision which must be left clear for the future installation of solar photovoltaic panels.

There are certain exemptions for small roofs and heavily shaded roofs.

With these updates of NCC 2022, there would be massive readiness from the newly developed buildings on high demand and requirement in the near future about electric vehicle usage and renewable sources. Thus, with mandatory provision of facilities for solar PV systems, there is all hope towards achieving a greener adaptable environment. These provisions support the installation of electric vehicles and renewable energies but also look to prepare for future needs through such easy retrofitting without upgrading at a later time to expensive measures. Along this line, the new trends in the built environment which are based on sustainability mark the need for being futuristic in planning to keep energy demands and technology ahead at all times.