Angus Council - Electric Vehicle Charger Installations

Client/Site: Angus Council / Various Sites
Project duration: 2 months
Project value: £25,000.00 (Within budget)
Completion date: March 2022
Main Contractor: E.W Edwardson Electrical Contractors Ltd
Trades/ Sub-Contractors involved: Ground Works (Milnbank Developments Forfar) New Supplies (SSE Energy Supplier) TT System (Earth Tech)

Brief project description: 

E.W Edwardson Electrical Contractors are proud of their involvement in the recent installation of Electric Vehicle chargers at various Angus Council sites. One of these sites was Carnoustie Burgh Yard

The scope of works included.

Angus Council were looking to increase the capacity for charging their ever-increasing fleet of pool car electric vehicles. For this they identified four sites where this would be possible where a different number of chargers would be installed in each site following our in house survey and design.

Carnoustie Burgh yard was one of these sites and would  get 5  twin pedestal type chargers which would give them the capacity to charge 10 vehicles.

With a massive range of EV chargers available we worked closely with Angus council to come up with the best solution for their needs, it was agreed that Rolec offered the best solution for what they were looking for.

These were to be supplied from a completely new supply provided by SSE energy suppliers. The new cable head and switch gear was to be housed in a new cabinet which would require a concrete plinth to be manufactured and installed by Milbank developments. Milnbank would also carry out all the ground works required for the cables to be run under ground in ducts to the EV charger positions and make plinths for each charger to be fitted to.

A new distribution board was installed to supply the new chargers and a TT earth system would be adopted to comply with the  stringent special location regulations for EV charging systems.

The TT system would be installed by Earth Tech our trusted partners in this specialist field. They were briefed in our pre start meetings on what ohms reading would be required for the new TT system.

Wiring to the units would be steel wire armoured cables run in the ducts to the charger positions.

Final inspection and testing would be carried out and with all our works an Electrical Installation Works Certificate would be submitted to Angus Council along with all relevant documentation on how to use the charging equipment.

Project Challenges: 

There were several challenges with this project the first being amount of sub contractors being involved and with the yard continuing to be a working site. Planning and communication between all parties was key to make sure that when one part was finished the next was ready to go to avoid any delays. This was achieved with a program of works being drawn up and regular site visits by our supervisor who could then quickly adjust the program and relay any issues to the other sub-contractors if required.

There was significant ground works required for the new SSE supply and for the supplies to the charger units. The site was to remain open so this was completed out of ours to save any disruption to the site.

For the TT system the ground proved very difficult to get a sufficiently low ohms reading we required. Although for a TT system a reading of below 200 ohms would be satisfactory certain electric vehicles need a reading as low as 100 ohms to charge correctly. This was overcome by having to install various earthing points installed in marconite. Marconite is a granulated electrically conductive aggregate which replaces sand in mixes with cement, thereby providing electrically conductive concrete.

We were faced with cost challenges due to the procurement of materials, the ever changing copper prices and delivery timescales due to the current climate; this was overcome by our internal buyer who worked tirelessly to ensure the correct materials were onsite on time and within budget.

We are pleased to report that all challenges were overcome thanks to close communication between ourselves and the project management team.

Project Conclusion and Client Collaboration: 

With the electric vehicles arriving earlier than our client expected we made sure the project was completed in time for them arriving ensuring a smooth transition to swapping over to the electric vehicles. Demonstrations from our experienced staff made sure that the end user was comfortable and confident in this new way of travelling for them.

Our valuations were approved by the client following completion and all documentation reviewed and handed over on time, this included, Electrical Installation Works Certificate and a manual with all electrical equipment used for the installation.

The client was very pleased with the extra effort put in by ourselves and our subcontractors making sure that the quality of work, materials and budget was not compromised with tight timescale to complete the project