New ISO 17409 – Safety for EV Power Connections

ISO has just released the new ISO 17409, “Electrically propelled road vehicles – Connection to an external electric power supply – Safety requirements.”  The 1st Edition specifies electric safety requirements for conductive connections for electric vehicles (EVs.)  So when you charge your EV, you can do so with confidence.

What kinds of EV’s does the ISO 17409 cover?  It applies to electrically propelled road vehicles with voltage class B electric circuits.  These are mostly cars, but can also include motorcycles and mopeds if need be.  The charging activity will take place using a plug or vehicle inlet.

What safety areas does the ISO 17409 include?  You’ll find clauses for the following issues:

  • Protecting users against electric shock
  • Protection for “thermal incident” (fire)
  • Specific requirements for the vehicle itself, include the inlet, the plug and the cable
  • Requirements for an a.c. power supply
  • Requirements for a d.c. power supply
  • Operational requirements
  • Owner’s manual requirements and marking
  • Tests

An 8-item bibliography completes the standard.

This 30-page document complements other EV standards.  Of particular note is the IEC 61851 series on EV conductive charging systems and the IEC 62196 series on plugs, socket-outlets, vehicle connectors and vehicle inlets for EV charging.

As the recent UL brochure “Transportation in Transition” notes, “Because Electric Vehicles are still developing, manufacturers must monitor the landscape carefully and stay abreast of both the technical features required for new products and the changing regulatory and compliance environment.”

If you need help keeping up with the changing standards landscape for EV’s, we have a couple of tools for you.  First, EV standards are classified under the ICS Code 43.120.  We have a page that includes all standards that fall under that category.  Take a look at the Document Center List of Standards on Electric Road Vehicles.   We also blog on standards that have been updated during the last quarter for various ICS classifications as well.  You’ll find all of them at blog.document-center.com.  Our New Road Vehicle Engineering Standards for the 2nd Quarter 2015 is a good example of one that’s in this topic area.

Of course, you can search for and order the standards you need when you’re at our web store, www.document-center.com.  And here’s a direct link to the order page for ISO 17409.  But you may also have additional questions about EV standards or standards in general.  Just contact our staff by phone (650-591-7600) or email (info@document-center.com).

And don’t forget to check out the many additional services and products we offer to help you make the best use of your standards collection.  With over 30 years of experience helping standards users like you, we’re your Standards Experts!