Many electric cars are charged from an ordinary socket-outlet. The Danish Business Authority (formerly the Danish Safety Technology Authority) advises against it for daily use. Here are the rules for mode 2 charging, the dedicated charging socket-outlet, the wallbox, registration with the grid company and the tenant's new right to a charging point from 1 January 2026.
Introduction
An electric car draws power for many hours at a time. That is a different load from a vacuum cleaner or a kettle, which run for a few minutes. That is why there are special rules for how the car may be charged. As an electrician, you must be able to explain to the customer the difference between plugging the charging cable into an ordinary socket-outlet and having a wallbox installed.
Mode 2 in an ordinary socket-outlet
Mode 2 means that the car is charged from an ordinary socket-outlet through a charging cable with a control box. In everyday language it is called «granny charging». The Danish Business Authority (formerly the Danish Safety Technology Authority) writes that the installation should not be loaded with more than 6 A for long periods. It recommends avoiding daily charging via mode 2 in the dwelling's socket-outlets. Instead, install a wall-mounted wallbox, or use a mode 2 cable with an industrial plug for a socket-outlet designed for it.
When the socket-outlet is used for hours
If a socket-outlet is to be loaded with more than 6 A for more than 2 hours, it must be designed for it, and a separate circuit should be made. The reason is in the Installation Executive Order: circuits for 1-phase appliances with a rated current of more than 6 A that can be expected to be loaded for more than 2 hours do not count in the dwelling's number of circuits (BEK 1082 § 56(4)(2)). So the charging circuit comes on top of the circuits the dwelling must otherwise have.
A dedicated charging socket-outlet
- 01The socket-outlet must have its own RCD, at least type A and at most 30 mA.
- 02The socket-outlet must comply with DS 60884-2-D1 or EN 60309-1/-2 (industrial socket-outlet).
- 03It should be on its own circuit when used for charging for many hours.
Wallbox: which RCD?
A wallbox (mode 3) is the solution that the guidance on sik.dk points to for daily charging. As a starting point, a type B RCD can be used. If the wallbox has a built-in device that limits DC residual currents to 6 mA, the type the manufacturer specifies is used — typically type A or the newer type F. In dwellings, type AC must never be used as fault protection (BEK 1082 § 53).
Many charging stations: diversity factor 1
If you install several charging stations, e.g. in a shared car park, you must use a diversity factor of 1. That means all stations can charge at full power at the same time. Only if there is load management (load sharing) may you count on less. Load management distributes the available current between the cars.
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