Just Installed an EV Charger

[Bailes1992]

Thought some of you might find this interesting as I'm across the water and our electrics are very different to yours over there.

I have an EV coming tomorrow as a company car. Those who follow my Duster thread know I've made the decision to get rid of it and replace it with a company car to save some money.

The car that should be arriving tomorrow is a Cupra Born. This is basically a 'sporty' VW ID3 which I also don't think you get in the US. I'll post some pictures later in the week once I've gotten to grips with it. It is only a temporary car while I wait for a Renault Megane ETech to be built, I've been told it's going to take around 10 weeks. Quite looking forward to the Megane, they're very pretty cars.

Not sure how I feel about getting an EV yet. I think I'm going to miss the daily interactions with internal combustion engines, but at least I can say I've given it a good shot and saved some money in the process.

I needed a charger for the said arrival, I did some research and asked about some people who own EV's. I ended up ordering a Luceco SyncEV Wall Charger 2. I've actually installed two of these for people already which obviously heavily swayed my decision.

The charger is a 7.4kw single phase unit. It'll be capable of charging the Cupra Born from Empty in 9 hours. Generally at home we pay 26p/kWh for electric, although with the EV tarrifs it drops down to 7p/kWh between 11:30pm and 5:30am so fully intend to make good use of that. However, there's a 160kw fast charger less than a mile from my house for emergencies that will be able to charge it from 20-80% in around 30 minutes but at a cost of 80p/kWh.

For those who are interested in such things. The 230v (we don't have 110v here) circuit is fed via a 32A RCBO (these are an MCB and GFCI combined in one unit), via a pair of brown 2.5mm² cables (Live), a pair of blue 2.5mm² cables (Neutral) and a single green and yellow 2.5mm² cable (Earth). A 2.5mm² cable sits between a 12AWG and a 14AWG cable.

Wi-Fi is a little weak out the garage so ran a duct-rated CAT5e via an existing duct that I installed back 5 years ago and patched into our small rack in the house.

Cable doesn't stretch quite as far as I was hoping. My Wife's Volvo is usually parked first on the drive and I'm not convinced the charger will reach the EV when it's parked behind the Volvo. Replacement cables are available in 5 metre intervals up to 20 metres so will do some measuring when the car arrives and work out how long I'm going to need a replacement cable. Although I'm half tempted to just order a 20m and be done with it.

 

[Marcozi]

Nice, you've got 220vac. We have to make some changes to get 220vac in the states. What amperage is that circuit?

 

[zyxelenator]

Nice clean install. I think 6 hours per day of charging would be more than enough, unless you commute will drain you battery down daily. With my drive patten today, I rarely go below 50% charge, and I limit my charge at 80% to promote longer battery health.

 

[y_p_w]

Nice, you've got 220vac. We have to make some changes to get 220vac in the states. What amperage is that circuit?

I believe most homes in the United States have 240V AC, but perhaps not available in the right locations for EV charging. And it's typically just for one device like a dryer or electric stovetop.

 

[OLEJOE]

Nice, you've got 220vac. We have to make some changes to get 220vac in the states. What amperage is that circuit?

Figures out to about 34 amps @ 220 volts.

 

[Mechanician]

Very nice work!

 

[RhondaHonda]

That should be plenty to charge within the off peak hours unless your daily commute is over 150 miles. Does work pay for the electricity?

 

[Bailes1992]

Nice, you've got 220vac. We have to make some changes to get 220vac in the states. What amperage is that circuit?

We have 230v single phase or 400v three phase over here at 50Hz. In fact I think that's the standard for most of the world. It used to be 240/415v at 50Hz but it was changed to match EU countries. It's a 32A circuit, so 230v x 32A = 7,360w.

That should be plenty to charge within the off peak hours unless your daily commute is over 150 miles. Does work pay for the electricity?

That's the hope. 11kw domestic chargers are available but I would have to install a larger supply to the garage. I commute two days a week, one commute is 100 miles round and the second day is 180 miles round trip. I'm doing the 180 miles tomorrow, will let everyone know how that goes.

 

[Marcozi]

I believe most homes in the United States have 240V AC, but perhaps not available in the right locations for EV charging. And it's typically just for one device like a dryer or electric stovetop.

My building (a condo) is wired for 208vac. Go figure.

 

[Astro14]

I believe most homes in the United States have 240V AC, but perhaps not available in the right locations for EV charging. And it's typically just for one device like a dryer or electric stovetop.

All homes in the US have 220 V AC coming into the house.

There are two hots, and a ground. Pick either one of the hots and. the ground, and you have 110 V. Pick both Hot and you have 220.

Electric dryers, electric ranges, and air conditioning or heat pump units typically are wired 220 V in the US.

The wall outlets are all 110.

So, for an EV charger, it’s usually a pretty simple matter to put a 220 V circuit into the panel, it’s just a question of wiring it properly.

When we moved into our house in Virginia Beach, I had an electrician come out and add a separate 110 V circuit, and two 220 V dedicated circuits, one each for the dust collector, and the tablesaw, with the addition of my 220 V PowerMatic jointer, it’s now dust collector, and tablesaw or jointer.

I’m having that same electrician come out next week to give me an estimate on hard wiring an EV charger for our house.

We’ll have to move a couple of things around on the panel, but the EV charger requires a 60 amp breaker, whereas the tablesaw and jointer require much small smaller 30 amp breakers. In fact, the draw on either machine is closer to 10 A steady state, so 15 A should give enough headroom for the motor to start up. Still, the standard is a 30 amp circuit.

One thing I’ve discovered about nearly all of the level two electric vehicle chargers, is that you have to tell them the breaker rating, and they limit the steady state current to 80% of rated capacity. So, if you want 48 amp charging, you need to have a 60 amp breaker.

40 amp, or 50 amp, is much more common for things like a dryer installation, or electric range, but it will slow down the rate which you can charge an EV.

As to why we’re putting in a level two charger at the house, well our son owns a Chevy bolt. And he drives down to visit from DC periodically, be nice to let him charge here. Also, we just ordered a plug-in, hybrid, and again I would rather have convenient level two charging rather monkey around with extension cords into the garage.

 

[Mechanician]

My building (a condo) is wired for 208vac. Go figure.

That is unusual the US.
Usually there are two 120v lines coming in - that are phased 180 degrees from each other.
When one is in it's positive wave peak, the other is in it's negative wave peak.
When the two leads are used together, 240v is the result.

 

[oil pan 4]

Nice, you've got 220vac. We have to make some changes to get 220vac in the states. What amperage is that circuit?

We already have 240v single phase in virtually all US residential electrical installs.
Plus 240v is better than 220v because more is better. Its math, it can't be wrong.

 

[oil pan 4]

My building (a condo) is wired for 208vac. Go figure.

EVs will accept 2 legs of 208v 3 phase. Not all chargers agree with 208 but most do. Typical 3 phase 208 runs anywhere from 220 to 238v line to line.

 

[Astro14]

We already have 240v single phase in virtually all US residential electrical installs.
Plus 240v is better than 220v because more is better. Its math, it can't be wrong.

That’s a naming convention, though, right?

Whether you call it 220, or call it 240, if I stuck my voltmeter in one of the 220 outlets today, it’s probably somewhere between 220 and 235v.

Wait.

According to my Fluke, at this moment, the voltage is 116.4 on one of my 110v GFCI in the kitchen.

So, not exactly 110, but not exactly 120 either

 

[UncleDave]

From what Ive seen 220/240 is the standard for every plug in the UK.

This is why everything has BS 1363 large connectors that are fused, and have insulated sleeves and shuttered connectors and a ground to keep it somewhat safe.

The Brits claim its the safest in the world, but they wouldnt need all that rigmarole on the plug if they just used 120.

 

[oil pan 4]

That’s a naming convention, though, right?

Whether you call it 220, or call it 240, if I stuck my voltmeter in one of the 220 outlets today, it’s probably somewhere between 220 and 235v.

Wait.

According to my Fluke, at this moment, the voltage is 116.4 on one of my 110v GFCI in the kitchen.

So, not exactly 110, but not exactly 120 either

Normal voltage for most single phase residential installs in the US are around 115 to 125v on your line to neutrals and 240 to 250 on line to line.
I see up to 255v line to line when my solar is pumping out 30 amps to the power grid and pretty much everything is turned off in my house.

 

[barryh]

Historically the UK was 240V and continental Europe was 220V. In order to harmonise they renamed both as 230 Volts but it was just a naming exercise and in fact nothing happened in practice as the legal tolerances on supply voltage allowed the UK to continue at 240 Volts.

I'm curious is the US 220volts really across two phases or is it a centre tapped transformer supply which would be safer.

 

[UncleDave]

Historically the UK was 240V and continental Europe was 220V. In order to harmonise they renamed both as 230 Volts but it was just a naming exercise and in fact nothing happened in practice as the legal tolerances on supply voltage allowed the UK to continue at 240 Volts.

I'm curious is the US 220volts really across two phases or is it a centre tapped transformer supply which would be safer.

Normal household is center (or centre) tapped.
It's split phase vs dual phase.

 

[BHopkins]

Yeah, 220, 221. Whatever it takes.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Tbh I'm impressed that the sun was shining.