Electrical Installations
Electrical installations must comply with Australian Standards AS – 3001 Electrical Installations – Movable premises (including caravans) and their site installations and will need to be inspected by a licensed electrical contractor by NSW Fair trading.
A Certificate of Compliance for Electrical Work (CCEW) must be provided for all 240V installations.
Batteries
Batteries need to be rechargeable and have a minimum capacity of 40Ah at a 20h discharge rate.
Securing of batteries can have no greater then 25mm of movement under a pulling force of twice the battery weight, clearance to metallic services of 300mm around battery terminals or appropriate shielding or terminal covers.
i) Lead-Acid Batteries
Must be open to the environment when externally mounted or in an externally vented battery compartment when internally mounted, must include a spill tray that can hold at least 20% of the electrolyte held by the battery and the compartment must vent to the outside of the vehicle.
ii) Lithium Ion Batteries
Must be externally mounted/located/isolated to the living area.
IE: behind a wall, encapsulated enclosure, compartment or barrier that prevents ingress of any gasses to the habitable area and have a upper and lower externally ventilation that doesn’t affect the spill tray.
Must be provided with a battery management safety system that monitors voltage, current and temperature of the battery and automatically disconnects for critical conditions. (management inside the battery is ok)
Must be provided with a visible monitoring device inside the living area that displays state of charge, it can use wired or wireless communication direct to the battery management safety system.
Solar (Low Voltage < 60 Volts DC)
Solar must comply with AS/NZS 5033 & AS/NZ3001, if it does not exceed 60 volts DC or 35.4 volts AC (low voltage), there is no requirement that it needs to be certified by a licensed electrical contractor (CCEW). It is recommends using a normal 12 or 24-volt automotive system.
Solar (Generated High Voltage Electricity 240 Volts AC)
Solar must comply with AS/NZS 5033 & AS/NZ3001. If you are installing a solar panel generated electricity you will need to comply with the Australian Standard AS/NZ 5033. The NHVR recommends you engage the services of a licensed electrician to do this.
Recreational and movable structures – low voltage.
All solar panels are known as PV (Photovoltaic) arrays, these need to have individual overload and short circuit protection by adequately voltage rated fuses separately installed on their power side and have an input protection device (manually switching not automatic isolator) between the regulator and the PV array of fuses.
Previously to the current standard (AS/NZ 3001:2022) the 2 wirers from the solar arrays would normally be connected directly to the solar regulator.
This applies to all vehicles with low voltage mounted solar panel installations. (IE: 12volt systems in Motorhomes, 4WD, Goods vehicles, Passenger Vehicles, Heavy vehicles and caravans.)
This dose not apply to temporary and removable solar systems.
Source – AS/NZS 3001.2:2022 – 5.5.2.2 Photovoltaic arrays
