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Is South Africa ready for EV Charging
Specifiers Club ZA Forum
This forum is specific to consulting engineers in South Africa where technical, commercial & legislative queries, comments, potential pitfalls and best practices can be shared.
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The South African market
One might argue that it shouldn’t be a question of whether we ready but when will SA be ready for EV. Buyers of SA cars are still skeptical about the availability of charging stations which is a huge concern. There are currently around 170 live charging stations (Data Provided by Grid Cars), In a country with around 5000 petrol service stations. It is no surprise that people would want to see the adoption of more EV charging stations to start investing in the technology.
There currently are 4 models of EV’s available in South Africa which is another factor, especially if the available models are not appreciated by local buyers. However, we should see a massive improvement with over 20 EV models expected to be available in the local market. This figure is no surprise following that car manufactures are moving away from manufacturing petrol and diesel vehicles.
Schneider Electric offers
Schneider Electric is positioned well in terms of EV charging products that are market compatible. For our entry level products, individual homes can use the EVlink Wallbox available in single and 3 phase power supply, only allows charging mode 3. To learn more about the different charging modes and socket outlets check out the EVlink Catalogue.
The EVlink Smart Wallbox is the advanced version of the EVlink Wallbox with additional features such as RFID authentication and wireless communication for remote supervision, allows both modes 2 and 3 charging. For work and corporate environments, the EVlink Parking range is our go to product, available at charging capacities: 7kW or 22kW, either using Key Lock or RFID Card access along with either Single or Duel Socket Outlets.
It is worth noting that addition of an EV charger in a building implies the increase in electricity demand. Therefore, safety should be in the core of any EV charger installation to reduce the risks of endangering people and properties. To prevent power outages or consumption penalties EVlink load Management System can be used to optimize the power distribution between the charging stations and the rest of the company buildings infrastructure.
To find out more about the specifications and standards of the products featured in the blog you can visit:
Reference Blog
(Irma Venter, EV Revolution to be felt in SA in 2022 but affordability concerns linger, Engineering news, 2021)
Don't forget to watch the installation video for EVlink installation!
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