In Europe, does anyone use Level II charging units?

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gatedad11

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Jan 18, 2013
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Since Europe is normally already wired for 240V (as opposed to 120V)in people's homes, is there any need for a dedicated EVSE? In other words, do people simply plug in to their 240V outlet with the included charging cable?(Such as we do here in the US, only we have to use the 110V set up)? Is there any need for dedicated Level II set ups? I am really curious in regards to the true benefits of having a Level II charging EVSE installed as opposed to just getting a 240V line run into my garage and doing the EVSE upgrade. My suspicion is that these Level II units are not used in many other parts of the world, but I could be wrong. Aside from some of the fun, techno- geeky things that a Level II station might provide(such as off hours charging and monitoring, eg) why would anyone need a Level II unit? Even at the reduced prices we are seeing, they still run $500 or more to start.

Lou
 
I don't.

With my EVSE charge at 14,4A. A wallbox not be a significant improvement.

But our plugs are different in each country. In Spain, schuko are rated at 16A, but no continuous. Is common for EVSE's (Leaf & Co) limit to 10-12A for safety reasons. A wallbox allow 16A, it's a improvement. Some at 32A (Leaf 2ª gen: 7,4 kW), it's impossible with a domestic (schuko) plug (there is a industrial, and inhabitual, CEE32)

And some cars, like the Renault Zoe, are very "special" and do not allow charging from an domestic outlet; need wallbox. Do not include the usual charger cable.
 
As you said, 240V and 16A is standard for our homes. So the basic evse that comes with the car, is basically the same as level 2 evse in US, without all more or less useful upgrades. Wall boxes are high priced and provide some benefits, as you mentioned, like adjustable current, timers, ...
 
I believe the same basic Panasonic 'brick' that we use here in North America is also used worldwide - It's easy enough to program them for whatever voltage/current you would like, which is what the guys at EVSE Upgrade are doing. They (and we) are pretty much limited to 120/240 volts @ 13 amps because our North American version of the EVSE comes with 16 gauge wire in the cable running from the brick to the car. If that cord was replaced with one with 14 gauge conductors (like I assume the European versions have) the EVSE could be programmed to deliver 16 amps, which is more than the car can use. BTW, the newest version of the Upgraded OEM EVSE now comes with adjustable current

http://evseupgrade.com/?main_page=index&cPath=3&zenid=qp0jv2ncbd94mgm735d1v7unt2

If you can inexpensively get a 240 volt line run in your garage, you could just have a pair of identical NEMA L6-20 sockets installed side by side (one connected to 240 volts and one to 120) and your Upgraded OEM EVSE would be all you'd ever need. You could switch from L1 to L2 charging just by plugging in your EVSE to the appropriate socket. This is exactly the way I set it up in my garage, though my Upgraded unit stays plugged in to the 120 socket, while my home made Open EVSE stays plugged into the 240 socket. I used the NEMA L6-20 sockets for both EVSE's, since the Upgraded already unit came with that plug on it and using that socket enables me to plug it in to either 120 or 240 without using any adapters

Don
 
I'm in the UK, and I use an EVSE that I have had fitted on my drive.
Two reasons I had it fitted - firstly, it allows charging at the full 3.3KW of the onboard charger, as the supplied "brick" only charges at 2.4KW (limited to 10 amps at 240V); and secondly, I was able to have it for free, as part of a government scheme to track EV charging. The unit has a mobile phone in it and periodically sends data somewhere.
Thirdly ( ;-) ), it is easier to just unclip the J1772 connector and plug it into the car than fiddle about with my previous arrangement, which involved a watreproof box with a conventional UK 13A socket inside and the supplied "brick" cable.
 
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