Technical Guidelines

on Charging Facilities for Electric Vehicles

Purpose

1. This set of technical guidelines sets out the statutory requirements and
general guidelines for installation of charging facilities for electric
vehicles (EV) in Hong Kong.

International Standard

2. This set of technical guidelines makes reference to, where applicable, the
international standard IEC 61851-1:2010 Electric Vehicle Conductive
Charging System- Part 1: General Requirements, with regard to different
modes of charging, which are summarized in Annex A.

Terms and Definitions

3. For the purpose of this set of technical guidelines, the following terms
and definitions shall apply.

Off-board charger
Charger connected to the premises wiring of the a.c. supply network
(mains) and designed to operate entirely off the vehicle. In this case,
direct current electrical power is delivered to the vehicle.

On-board charger
Charger mounted on the vehicle and designed to operate only on the
vehicle.

Charging cable assembly

Piece of equipment used to establish the connection between the EV and
socket-outlet or the fixed charger.

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 Control pilot
The control conductor in the charging cable assembly connecting the
in-cable control box or the fixed part of the charging facilities, and the
EV earth through the control circuitry on the vehicle. It may be used to
perform several functions.

EV supply equipment (EVSE)

Conductors, including the phase, neutral and protective earth conductors,
the EV couplers, attachment plugs, and all other accessories, devices,
power outlets or apparatuses installed specifically for the purpose of
delivering energy from the premises wiring to the EV and allowing
communication between them if required.

In-cable control box

A device incorporated in the charging cable assembly, which performs
control functions and safety functions.

Statutory Requirements

4. Electric vehicle charging facilities shall mean fixed electrical installations

including, but not limited to, switchboards, distribution boards, cabling,
conduits, trunking and socket outlets, which shall comply with the
relevant requirements of the Electricity Ordinance (Cap. 406) and its
subsidiary Regulations.

5. Electrical work on charging facilities including installation,

commissioning, inspection, testing, maintenance, modification and
repairing shall be carried out by registered electrical contractors and
registered electrical workers of the appropriate grade under the Electricity
(Registration) Regulations (Cap. 406).

6. Electrical installations of charging facilities shall follow the relevant

requirements of the latest Code of Practice for the Electricity (Wiring)
Regulations and this set of technical guidelines issued and revised from
time to time by the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department.

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General Guidelines

7. Four different modes of electric vehicle charging are specified in the

international standard IEC 61851-1:2010 and are described in Annex A.
Sections 9 to 13 below describe the general guidelines for various modes
of charging adopted for use in Hong Kong with provisions for future
expansion. In view of continuing development of EVSE standards and
different operational needs, EV charging facilities of different design
complying with other standards may be acceptable provided that it is
certified in compliance with the relevant standards by a registered
electrical worker of an appropriate grade.

8. Mode 1 charging is a standard charging protocol and is commonly

available in Hong Kong. Different EV manufacturers may specify
different charging protocols for their electric vehicles such as Mode 1,
Mode 2, Mode 3 or Mode 4 charging. A summary of different modes of
charging is given below:-

Mode 1: Use of a standard socket outlet without communication and the

presence of a residual current device (RCD) is a must on the
supply side, rated up to 16A.
Mode 2: Use of a standard socket outlet not exceeding 32A with in-cable or
in-plug control pilot cable.
Mode 3: Use of a dedicated socket outlet where control pilot cable
permanently connected to ac source.
Mode 4: Use of an off-board charger i.e. DC quick charger.

Mode 1 Charging

9. Mode 1 charging is also known as standard, normal or slow charging.

The associated EV charging facility shall include, but not limited to,
electricity supply equipment, final circuit, protective device, and a
standard 13A socket outlet complying with BS1363 (i.e.
3-rectangular-pin, 220V ac single-phase) to which the charging cable
assembly of the EV shall be plugged in, to receive electricity from the

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fixed electrical installation (AC mains). This mode of charging is
suitable for longer period of charging such as home or office charging.

Final Circuit
9.1 Each final circuit of EV charging facility shall be installed as a
separate radial circuit of the fixed electrical installation.

9.2 Electric cable for the final circuit shall be protected by means of
metal sheath or armour, or installed in steel/plastic/PVC conduits.

9.3 The copper conductor size of electric cable for each final circuit
shall be of 2.5mm2 copper conductor cable. A larger size
electric cable (e.g. 6 mm2 copper conductor size) may be used to
facilitate future upgrade.

Protective Device
9.4 Each final circuit shall be individually protected by a high
breaking capacity (HBC) fuse or miniature circuit breaker (MCB)
of suitable rating.

9.5 An earth leakage protective device shall be provided for each

final circuit. Either a residual current operated circuit-breaker
with integral over-current protection (RCBO) or residual current
device (RCD) with residual operating current not exceeding
30mA is acceptable.

9.6 A current breaking device (an ON/OFF switch or others) shall be

provided at the upstream of the socket outlet at the charging
facility for switching on after plugging and switching off before
unplugging the charging cable assembly.

Socket Outlet
9.7 For Mode 1 charging, the standard socket outlet for EV charging
facility used in Hong Kong shall be a 13A socket outlet
complying with BS 1363.

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9.8 Socket outlet shall, in general, be installed at a height of about
1.2m above finished floor level but the actual height of the socket
outlet may vary to suit site condition. If there is in-cable control
box on the EV charging cable, a bracket or hanging device for
supporting the weight of it shall be provided to avoid excessive
loading on the EV charging cable and plug. Socket outlet shall
be positioned as near as possible to the parking space and away
from water point.

9.9 Socket outlet and associated electrical equipment shall be

suitably protected from ingress of dust and water to an index of
protection of IPX3 for use at indoor car park. An index of
protection of IPX4 or higher is required for both plugged and
no-plug conditions if the EV charging facility is installed and
used in an outdoor environment. The use of a weatherproof
enclosure to house both socket outlet and associated electrical
equipment is acceptable.

Plug
9.10 For Mode 1 charging, the standard plug of the charging cable
assembly used in Hong Kong shall be a 13A non-rewirable plug
complying with BS 1363.

Extension Unit
9.11 No extension unit other than charging cable assembly designed
for EV charging shall be used.

Operating Instruction
9.12 An operation instruction for the charging facility including
essential information of the rated voltage (V), frequency (Hz),
current (A), and number of phase shall be displayed at a
prominent location at each of the parking space with EV charging
facility.

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 Higher Current Charging
9.13 Some electric vehicle models in Hong Kong are equipped with an
on-board charger operating at a current higher than 13A for
Mode 1 charging. The use of industrial-type 16A/32A plugs
and socket outlets (single phase or three phase) complying with
international standard IEC 60309 for EV charging shall be
acceptable provided that the associated final circuit and
protective device are of suitable rating.

Mode 2 Charging

10. For Mode 2 charging, the provision of fixed electrical installation for
charging facility is similar to that for Mode 1 charging except that the
final circuit, protective device and socket outlet shall be of suitable rating
to cater for the higher level of charging current.

Mode 3 Charging

11. For mode 3 charging, the charging facility shall have a dedicated EV
supply equipment connected to an electricity supply of suitable rating
from the fixed electrical installation with a dedicated charging cable
assembly with a control pilot cable allowing communication between the
fixed electrical installation and the EV. The communication via the
control pilot cable shall perform the functions of verification of the EV is
connected, checking continuous protective earth conductor integrity,
energization and de-energization of the supply, and selection of charging
rate.

Mode 4 Charging (DC Quick Charging)

12. As a substantially higher electrical power is needed for DC quick

charging, specific provisions for quick chargers shall be considered on a
case-by-case basis depending on the advice from EV and quick charger
manufacturers, and power companies.

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13. DC quick chargers typically of 50kW capacity in compliance with the
Japanese CHAdeMO protocol (Mode 4 off-board charging) using JEVS
G 105 (TEPCO) connector are currently available in Hong Kong.

Other Considerations

14. A bracket or hanging device for supporting the weight of in-cable control
box of the EV charging cable shall be provided as far as practicable to
avoid excessive loading on the EV charging cable and plug.

15. Other advanced features for charging facility such as system energization,
charging rate selection, vehicle connection verification, and circuit
protective conductor integrity detection may be considered if Mode 2,
Mode 3 or Mode 4 charging is used.

16. Directional signage inside and outside car park is recommended to direct
EV drivers to designated parking spaces with EV charging facilities.

17. Occupancy sensors are useful devices giving indication to drivers on

availability of EV charging facility in a public car park and may be
considered by the owner of a public car park.

18. Means of preventing unauthorized usage of the charging facilities such as

housing the socket outlet in a padlocked box or using an access card for
energizing charging facility etc. may be provided as necessary.

19. The provision of an indicator light at the charging facility to indicate

charging in progress may be provided.

20. For a car park with multiple charging facilities, provision of wired or
wireless communication for group control of the charging facilities may
be considered.

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Inspection and Maintenance

21. Regular inspection or manning of the charging facilities shall be

considered for preventing vandalism.

22. Periodic inspection of the charging facilities shall be carried out. If

repair or maintenance is required, the electrical works shall be carried out
by registered electrical contractor and registered electrical worker.

Useful Information

23. A summary table of different standards of sockets and plugs, RCBO and
switch ratings, sizes of non-armoured PVC cables for different charging
voltage and current levels for EV charging is shown in Annex B for
reference.

24. EVs are generally equipped with an on-board charger. The charging
time required will vary depending on the capacity of the EV battery,
amount of residual charge in the battery and charging current level which
is normally pre-set in the factory. The higher the charging current the
shorter the charging time will be. The estimated time to charge up a
depleted 16 kWh battery using different charging level is shown in
Annex C for reference.

Enquires

25. For further enquires on EV charging facilities, please call EMSD EV

Hotline at telephone number 3757 6222.

Electrical and Mechanical Services Department

July 2011

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 Annex A

International Standard for Electric Vehicle Conductive Charging System

Four (4) possible charging modes of EV are specified in the IEC

61851-1:2010 on Electric Vehicle Conductive Charging System as follows:

Modes of Charging:

Mode 1 - Use of a standard socket outlet without communication and the presence of a residual current device
(RCD) is a must on the supply side, rated up to 16A.

EV inlet Connector
Socket outlet
Plug

Battery On-board charger

Mode 2 - Use of a standard socket not exceeding 32A outlet with in-cable or in-plug control pilot cable

EV inlet In-cable control box Socket outlet

Plug

Connector
Battery On-board charger

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Mode 3 - Use of a dedicated socket outlet where control pilot cable permanently connected to ac source

Socket outlet

Plug

EV inlet Connector

AC charging
facility

Battery On-board charger

Mode 4 - Use of an off-board charger i.e. DC quick charger

EV inlet
Connector

DC quick
charging facility
Battery

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 Annex B

Summary Table of Different Charging Arrangements

The following summary table indicates various typical arrangements with

different standards of socket outlets and plugs, RCBO and switch ratings,
sizes of non-armoured PVC cables for different charging voltage and current
levels for EV charging (for reference only).

AC Charging Max. Cable Size Max. cable RCBO On/ Off Standard of
Voltage Charging length* Rating Switch Socket & Plug
Current Rating

220V (single 13A 2.5mm2 23m 20A 20A BS 1363

phase) (6mm2) # (57m) 13A

220V (single 16A 2.5mm2 19m 20A 20A IEC 60309

2
phase) (6mm ) # (47m) 16A

380V (three 16A 2.5mm2 39m 20A 20A IEC 60309

phase) (6mm2) # (92m) 16A

220V (single 32A 6mm2 23m 32A 32A IEC 60309

phase) 32A

380V (three 32A 6mm2 46m 32A 32A IEC 60309

phase) 32A

# Larger cable size to allow flexibility of upgrading to a higher charging current up to 32A.
*Maximum final circuit length taking into account of voltage drop.

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 Annex C

The Estimated Time to Charge Up a Depleted 16 kWh Battery Using

Different Charging Levels

Charging Voltage and Charging Power Charging Time Percentage of Battery

Current Required Capacity Charged up
from Empty

220V, 10A* 2.2 kW 9-10 hours 100%

220V, 12A* 2.6 kW 7-8 hours 100%

220V, 13A* 2.9 kW 6-7 hours 100%

220V, 16A* 3.5 kW 4-5 hours 100%

220V, 32A* 7.0 kW 2-3 hours 100%

DC Quick Charging 50 kW ~30 mins 80%

*Remark: The actual charging voltage and current for an electric vehicle depends on the design and setting of
the onboard charger by the EV manufacturer, which may cause the charging time to vary.

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