The Electrical Vehicle Charger is New. What Happened to the Wall Behind It?
The article says installing an electric vehicle charger in a Sydney apartment or commercial building can affect fire safety if the cable route passes through fire-resisting walls, floors or shafts. While the charger and electrical work may appear complete, any openings made for the cables may also need suitable protection to preserve the building’s passive fire barriers.
It explains that the National Construction Code requires services passing through fire-resisting elements to use recognised protection methods, such as tested sealants, wraps, collars, pillows or boards, depending on the materials and construction. The article stresses that the right system depends on the specific penetration and that a neat electrical installation alone does not establish that the fire barrier has been properly restored.
- Charger cables may cross fire-resisting walls or floors.
- Those openings may need tested passive-fire protection.
- Electrical compliance alone does not ensure the fire barrier is intact.
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Electric vehicle chargers are being installed across Sydney apartments and commercial buildings. However, running the electrical cables for these chargers often requires making holes through walls, floors and building shafts. This creates a potential problem: many of these structural elements are designed to resist fire and prevent it spreading, and cutting through them compromises that protection.
Fire-resisting walls, floors and shafts are designed to contain fire and stop it spreading to other parts of a building. Openings made for cables must be properly sealed, otherwise this fire barrier is weakened. A finished and functional electrical installation alone does not mean the building's fire protection has been properly restored.
Australia's National Construction Code requires that electrical cables passing through fire-resisting elements are protected using recognised methods. These might include tested sealants, wraps, collars, pillows or boards, and the appropriate system depends on the specific location and how the wall or floor is constructed. Choosing the right protection is essential to restore the fire barrier once the opening is made.