For developers planning Golden or Platinum Al Sa’fat buildings in Dubai, EV charging solutions UAE for regulatory requirements need to be considered before the electrical design is finalised. Regulation 301.03 requires charging equipment for 30% of the preferred parking spaces specified under Regulation 301.02.
Meeting this requirement involves more than selecting chargers. Developers need to calculate the required charging provision, assess available electrical capacity, plan load management and confirm the applicable DEWA approval requirements.
This guide explains what Al Sa’fat requires, how to plan a practical charging system and where specialist support can help control EV charger installation Dubai costs.
What Al Sa’fat Requires at Golden and Platinum
Al Sa’fat is Dubai Municipality’s green building system, currently in its 2nd edition (January 2023). Silver Sa’fa is the mandatory baseline for new buildings. Golden and Platinum are higher ratings that projects can aim for, each adding requirements on top.
Preferred Parking and EV Chargers (301.02 and 301.03)
Regulation 301.02 applies to new buildings other than villas with more than 20 parking spaces. These buildings must provide preferred parking for a combination of hybrid, electric and carpool vehicles.
The required proportion is calculated using the parking provision required under the Dubai Building Code:
- Silver Sa’fa: 5% of required parking bays
- Golden Sa’fa: 7% of required parking bays
- Platinum Sa’fa: 10% of required parking bays
Spaces designated for People of Determination are excluded from these percentages.
Under Regulation 301.03, Golden and Platinum Sa’fa buildings must provide charging equipment for 30% of the preferred parking spaces. Silver Sa’fa does not carry this additional charging-equipment requirement under Regulation 301.03.
These requirements establish the starting point for planning the number and location of charging-equipped parking spaces.
How Many Chargers? A Worked Example
Take a mixed-use building that needs 1,000 parking bays.
- Golden: 7% gives 70 preferred bays. Chargers on 30% of them means 21 charging bays.
- Platinum: 10% gives 100 preferred bays. Chargers on 30% of them means 30 charging bays.
Put simply, that’s 2.1% of required bays at Golden and 3% at Platinum. If your numbers come out as a fraction, agree with your consultant on how to round. This bay count is the starting point for any commercial EV charger installation in Dubai on a Sa’fa project.
Requirement | Silver Sa’fa | Golden Sa’fa | Platinum Sa’fa |
Preferred parking (301.02) | 5% of required bays | 7% of required bays | 10% of required bays |
EV charging equipment (301.03) | Not required | 30% of preferred bays | 30% of preferred bays |
Smart building controls (505.02) | Not required | Not required | Required |
Why Your Charging Plan Shapes the Rest of the Electrical Design
EV chargers add a large new load to the building, so the charging plan needs to be ready before your MEP consultant finalises the load calculations.
Charger Load Adds Up Quickly
DEWA’s technical regulations allow AC charging equipment with a rated apparent power of up to 22 kVA per charge point. Consider the 1,000-bay building example, assuming every charge point is rated at 22 kVA:
- Golden Sa’fa: 21 charge points × 22 kVA = 462 kVA
- Platinum Sa’fa: 30 charge points × 22 kVA = 660 kVA
These figures represent the combined rated apparent power of the charging equipment, assuming every charge point operates at its maximum rating simultaneously. They are not predictions of the building’s actual electrical demand. The MEP consultant must assess the required supply capacity based on the selected equipment, power factor, building demand and proposed load-management strategy.
Planned on that worst-case basis, the car park can push the building towards a bigger transformer, heavier cabling or a larger load request to DEWA. That’s where the cost goes up, and why EV charger installation in Dubai on a Sa’fa project should start with load figures, not a hardware catalogue.
Evolve works out these figures with you at the start, so your design team plans around real EV charging solutions in the UAE instead of guesses.
Load Management: How to Control Charging Demand and Upgrade Costs
Chargers rarely all run at full power together. Cars arrive at different times with different battery levels, and many finish charging long before their drivers come back. Load management uses this to keep total charging power under a set limit.
Demand is also growing. DEWA reported 47,944 electric vehicles in Dubai by the end of 2025 and 2,223 charging points by the first quarter of 2026. Good EV charging solutions in the UAE plan for more charging bays later, not just today’s minimum.
How EV Charger Load Management Works
EV charger load management in Dubai shares a fixed amount of power between the cars plugged in. A typical dynamic setup works like this:
- A meter or sensor at the main board reads the building’s total demand in real time.
- Charge management software works out how much spare capacity is left.
- That capacity is shared across the connected cars.
- When building demand rises, charging slows automatically, so the supply limit isn’t crossed.
This is the core of smart EV charging for buildings in the UAE. Static load management is simpler: a fixed cap on charger power that costs less but leaves spare capacity unused at quiet times. Our guide to smart EV charger features in the UAE explains both in more detail. Whichever you choose, agree it with your MEP consultant at design stage so the charger count, power cap and load calculations line up.
Why Networked, OCPP-Ready Chargers Matter
Load management needs chargers that talk to central software. Networked EV charging stations in the UAE that support OCPP (Open Charge Point Protocol) can receive power limits without locking you into one manufacturer’s app. For public chargers offering paid service, DEWA’s technical regulations set OCPP 1.6J as the minimum, where applicable.
Platinum buildings also need intelligent controls that reduce energy and water use (505.02), and chargers that can be monitored and controlled fit that approach. Read Evolve’s guide on what OCPP is and why it matters before you shortlist hardware.
Private or Public? The DEWA Question to Answer First
This decision changes who can operate your chargers and which EV charging solutions in the UAE suit your building, so settle it first.
Under DEWA’s EV Charging Infrastructure Regulation (Version 1.3, November 2025):
- Private chargers supply electricity only to the household or organisation whose DEWA account they’re connected to. Anyone installing private chargers must follow DEWA’s procedures to get approval.
- Public chargers are everything else. That includes an organisation’s chargers used by staff or other stakeholders for their own cars. Public chargers must be operated by DEWA, a DEWA subsidiary or a charge point operator (CPO) holding a DEWA licence.
The regulation doesn’t specifically address shared chargers in residential towers. Shared charging arrangements in residential buildings need careful assessment. Whether charging equipment is treated as private or public depends on the proposed arrangement and applicable DEWA definitions and requirements. A building-owned charging installation intended for residents, tenants or visitors should not automatically be assumed to qualify as private charging.
If chargers on the building’s own account will serve residents, tenants or visitors, confirm how they’ll be classed before you buy hardware. It’s an early step in any commercial EV charger installation in Dubai, and our guide to EV charging infrastructure for property owners covers it further.
How Evolve Helps You Deliver 301.03
Evolve is a Dubai-based EV charging company working with homeowners, businesses and government entities. Our focus is EV charging, so your Al Sa’fat charging requirement gets a specialist’s attention from the first site visit.
Before the Design Is Fixed
We start with a site assessment and load analysis. From there, we help you settle:
- How many charging bays you need for your target Sa’fa level, and how many to prepare for later
- AC or DC chargers, and at what power rating
- The load management approach that keeps charging within your building’s supply
- Whether your chargers are likely to count as private or public under DEWA’s rules
That gives your MEP consultant firm charger figures to design around, which is where good EV charging solutions in the UAE start. Long-stay parking usually suits AC charging, and our guide to DC fast charging vs AC charging helps you compare.
Installation, Approvals and Commissioning
DEWA’s connection process starts with a DEWA-enrolled consultant or contractor, followed by a Building No-Objection Certificate for electricity and a connection application. Installation follows the IET Code of Practice for EV charging and BS 7671. Evolve handles EV charger installation in Dubai through approvals and commissioning. See our EV charging services for each stage.
After Handover
DEWA’s technical regulations list 55°C as the maximum ambient operating temperature for chargers, a reminder of how hard Dubai’s summers are on hardware.
Every Evolve installation includes an annual maintenance contract (AMC), with remote monitoring, repairs and upgrades. Good EV charger maintenance in Dubai also means checking cables and connectors, keeping firmware current and reviewing load management settings when the building’s load changes. Our online platform lets you track usage, manage access and, where it applies, collect revenue through a DEWA-licensed CPO where the chargers are public. Facility managers can use our EV charger maintenance guide as a checklist.
That mix of planning, installation and long-term support is what makes our electric vehicle charging solutions in Dubai work for Sa’fa buildings. See our business charging solutions.
If you’re working towards Golden or Platinum Sa’fa and need EV charging solutions in the UAE that fit your building’s supply, book a site survey with Evolve. We’ll review your parking numbers and electrical capacity, then plan an EV charger installation in Dubai that meets Al Sa’fat and leaves room to grow.
FAQs
No. Regulation 301.03 applies at Golden and Platinum, and villas are excluded. Silver buildings with more than 20 parking spaces still need 5% preferred parking, but no charging equipment under 301.03.
It can help. Load management keeps total charging power under a set limit, so the chargers don’t all draw full power at once. That can reduce the extra capacity your building needs. Your MEP consultant decides the final supply capacity, so agree the load-management approach with them at the design stage. Evolve can help you plan this from the first site visit.
Yes. Private chargers need DEWA approval, and public chargers must be operated by DEWA, a DEWA subsidiary or a DEWA-licensed CPO. For any EV charger installation in Dubai, the connection process starts with a DEWA-enrolled consultant or contractor.