Brinley Buckley-Roberts, Head of Marketing at C.K Tools, discusses how the EV revolution is placing a spotlight on the electrical trade. The rise of the electric vehicle (EV) is well and truly upon us, as electric and hybrid car sales hit a global record in 2024.
The UK Government has demonstrated its commitment to establishing a robust, accessible, commercial, domestic and geographically abundant charging infrastructure – dedicating hundreds of millions of pounds of funding to support the delivery of thousands of charge points across England to facilitate the mass consumer adoption of EV.
But as the EV revolution continues to gain momentum, how will the electrical sector handle one of the biggest spotlights it has ever experienced? Designers, specifiers and installers will all have roles to play as they are tasked with the challenge of EV charger installation with the pre-wiring, upgrades, maintenance and not to mention repairs of the growing number of chargers up and down the country.
And so, change is well underway in the electrical trade. Universities and colleges nationwide are offering courses in electric vehicle engineering and maintenance. A skills-led green labour market will soon be upon us. There will be no shortage of demand for installers, with a great opportunity to either switch career focus or supplement the existing workload.
But how do electrical wholesalers ensure installers have the equipment they need to do their job? What tools and accessories? How does it differ from a standard electrician’s or electrical contractor’s kit?
The Institution of Engineering and Technology has launched its own code of practice to provide a clear directive on the considerations and mandatories for every type of EV charger equipment installation, in line with the very latest amendment to BS7671. While a tight code of practice (as you would expect), there is no specific requirement for new tools or accessories that aren’t readily available to the everyday electrician, more a requirement of specific tools and accessories to use.
Clarity, comfort and control
As we do with most of our product research and development here at C.K Tools, we spent time with our panel of electricians and installers to develop tools and kits specific for this job, to ensure clarity, comfort, control and efficiency on every job. As a result, we have assembled two high quality EV specific kits for both existing and newly qualified installers – an EV Hand Tool Kit and EV Power Tools Accessories (PTA) Kit. Combined they provide an easy one-stop-shop for any installer.
The C.K EV Hand Tool Kit (T5984) is a collection of premium hand tools that provide everything needed to get the job done efficiently and professionally. It includes a state-of-the-art C.K Magma Technician’s Wheeled Case packed full of 52 premium hand tools designed to complete the stages of: inspection and quotation; routing the cable from MCB to charger; mounting the charge point; fitting the cable to the charger point; terminating to MCB; fitting an earthing rod; and re-assembling the charge point.
The C.K PTA Kit (T5985) – which can be purchased separately – provides a great range of power tool accessories including quality drill bits, driver bits and hole saws to help complete the installation for EV chargers with the minimum of fuss.
The C.K EV specific kits offer everything needed to complete the steps involved to complete an installation efficiently and professionally.
As the proliferation of EV continues and growing demand for charging points is set to scale up dramatically over the next decade, the impact on the skill, capabilities, qualifications and accompanying tool kits of the EV charge equipment installer may also change.
As a business that has been at the forefront of hand tool manufacturing for more than 100 years and is passionate about driving product innovation to equip electricians with the tools they need to do their job effectively, we will continue to support our retail partners and the electrical trade as they navigate one of the biggest demands and opportunities in history on its workforce.
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