With EV sales at their highest level ever, EV charging stations are popping up all over the country. If you’re thinking about getting into the EV charging business or expanding your existing business’s footprint, you need to take advantage of these safety tips for EV charging stations.
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1. Guard Your EV Charging Station from Lawsuits
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You’ve all seen the posters. Flashy slogans and larger-than-life photos of trial lawyers promise people to pursue justice through $7-million-plus settlements for preventable accidents.
While that’s a good thing for victims, seeing those posters gives businesspeople a moment of pause before undertaking their next venture. That need not be the case for you.
You can guard your EV charging station from frivolous lawsuits by shoring up your equipment and premises against fires, security threats, and other dangers. Educate yourself about strict emergency response protocols, and then teach them to your staff for clear-headedness in case an emergency does arise.
2. Be Aware of Possible Fire Risks from EV Charging
While it’s true that EV charging poses fewer fire risks than fill-ups with highly flammable diesel fuel or gasoline, there are still some risks from using the lithium-ion batteries installed in most EVs, as a Stat-X white paper admits. However, building awareness of these dangerous situations and their causes can help you reduce your station’s chances of having a fire.
EV charging-related fires generally happen due to two causes: faults in the stations themselves and in the battery energy storage system (BESS) in the vehicle you’re charging, as the Stat-X paper points out. When you regularly inspect, maintain, and update the chargers, cables, connectors, and software that comprise your stations, you can reduce your risks considerably.
3. Install Protective Equipment to Mitigate Fire Risks
In addition to strict maintenance protocols, you should add fire prevention equipment to double down on fire safety. As the Stat-X paper advises, this equipment should, at a minimum, include the following items:
- Temperature control sensors: If you’ve ever plugged your phone in to charge, only to find it hot to the touch when you unplug it, you know how critical it is to make sure your device, its battery, or its connector isn’t overheating. Fortunately, in the case of an EV charger, you can install sensors that detect abnormal temperature increases and shut down the power to the charger until you fix the problem.
- In-cable control boxes (ICCBs): Installing these devices in the cable that connects each charger with the vehicles it charges can help protect your equipment from having too much or too little current flowing through it.
- Ground monitoring devices: Install ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs) and current leakage detection interrupters. These devices can protect your customers and employees from electrical shock and your premises and equipment from fires.
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Even when you install these safety devices, it is no excuse for neglecting to inspect, maintain, and update equipment. Even the most expensive equipment can develop issues from usage over time. Additionally, make sure that new construction and remodels incorporate fire-resistant materials.
4. Warn Customers About Charging During Severe Thunderstorms
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Even though you might have installed adequate surge protection, direct strikes could damage your equipment or, worse, injure your customers during severe weather. Posting safety precautions can help protect both your equipment and customers from dangerous lightning strikes.
5. Have a Plan for Worst-Case Scenarios
Although rare, battery fires can do significant damage to your premises and your customers’ vehicles. For that reason, be sure to have a plan in place in case one of your customers’ EV batteries catches on fire.
Damaged EV batteries can generate hydrogen from a damaged battery cell. This process – off-gassing – generates heat. The heat increases until the process reaches a smoke point.
If you see smoke coming from one of your customers’ batteries, you need to act immediately because smoke indicates an impending fire. A chain reaction that involves adjoining battery cells can occur, which can lead to an explosion, according to the Stat-X piece.
When the heat inside the cells rises faster than it can dissipate, it ignites the highly flammable hydrogen vapors, causing the explosion. It only takes about 30 seconds for an EV to catch fire. In fewer than three minutes, adjacent vehicles are burning out of control.
Having a fire suppression protocol available and ready to deploy can make the difference between a close call and a disaster. Here are some fire mitigation strategies that can help you protect your stations and your customers:
- Use infrared cameras to detect potential fires before they start: Infrared cameras can identify battery anomalies and hotspots by “capturing and analyzing temperature patterns” to catch volatile situations before they burst into flame. These cameras can operate 24/7, giving charging station owners around-the-clock peace of mind.
- Install automatic aerosol fire suppression units: An aerosol fire suppression product, such as Stat-X, allows you to connect it to existing fire detection systems. These products’ standalone units activate automatically at a given temperature. At that temperature, the units discharge an aerosol fire suppression product that disrupts the chemical reaction that started the fire.
- Supplement other fire suppression systems with sprinkler systems: Flooding an EV battery with water can stop a fire. Backing up existing fire suppression systems with an automatic sprinkler system can add to your fire safety arsenal.
- Create and rehearse an emergency response plan: First, consult with your local fire department to identify vulnerabilities. Then, create an emergency response plan that covers all possible risks. Finally, train your employees on fire response procedures and rehearse them often.
Learn from EV Charging Safety Experts at the EV Charging Summit
At the EV Charging Summit, some of the world’s foremost experts in all facets of the EV charging industry gather to share their knowledge with charging station owners, EV charging infrastructure companies, EV manufacturers, and other industry professionals. Sessions include information on the latest charging technologies, marketing strategies, regulatory developments, business strategies, and more.
This year, those sessions include “Shop Talks” that drill down into specific facets of the industry, including EV charging station safety tips. If you want to learn more about how to protect your equipment and customers from fires and other hazards, you need to attend this critical session. Register for your spot at the Summit today!