Charging during thunderstorms

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tonymil

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 16, 2012
Messages
274
Location
Latham, NY
We've been getting some wicked thunderstorms here in the Northeast. There was a powerful one Monday night/Tuesday morning and we're supposed to get another tonight. Fortunately my MiEV didn't need charging that night. Any thoughts on whether it is safe to charge during such a storm? I assume that an L2 charger would be safer than plugging into a regular 110 outlet, but is it safe enough?
 
Since the EVSEs are merely pass-through's of whatever comes down the line, it's the iMiEV charger I would worry about, irrespective of whether it's charging at Level 1 or Level 2. Until we have enough information and history, I personally would always unplug my iMiEV and even open the circuit breaker to the EVSE if there was the possibility of a lightning storm.
 
The EVSE should contain a GFCI, if not your circuit should include one. I have the Square D EVSE and it includes a GFCI.

As far as power outages, the relay in the EVSE will shut down immediately and disconnect the circuit from the car. The relay is the loud thunk you hear when the charging starts. There is no need to actually flip the breakers as the car and the house circuit are separate until charging commences. The relay ensures this separation.

When the power comes back on, the EVSE will power up and request a confirmation from the onboard charger before releasing the relay and commencing with charging.

This is basically the whole purpose of the EVSE and why connecting a the car directly to an outlet is not recommended. I'm sure there is a way to trick the pilot signal so the car accepts the charge from a direct plug in connection, but this would defeat all of these safety measures. That is why I think the EVSE should actually be called the Safety Switch but then that would probably cause all kind of lawsuits. So, EVSE it is.

I had my car plugged in last night during a viscious thunderstorm and had no problems. The J1772 connector was wet so I checked my EVSE and pressed the stop button even though the relay had already disconnected the circuit after the charge was complete. I would definitely advise stopping the EVSE before removing the plug. Then you know you are definitely dsconnected.
 
After reading your replies I did a little digging. I found the following in a data sheet on my Eaton EVSE:

Ground fault interruption Type CCID20: 20 mA (UL 2231-1/UL 2231-2 personnel protection)

Surge withstand: Up to 6 kV at 3000A

This is Greek to me so if there's an interpreter out there I'd appreciate a translation. :)

Tony
 
It's basically telling you that you're protected from a lightning strike ;)

There is nothing else that would come close to giving you a 3,000 amp, 6Kv spike

Their 'protection' may be that the charging cord running to the car would evaporate like the wick of a candle if it was subjected to such a surge tho - You wouldn't even be able to locate the ashes of the cord after it was hit with 6Kv @ 3,000 amps :D

If the car is in the garage charging, I wouldn't worry about it - If it's parked out in the open, grounded via the charging cord I think it might be a target for a lightning strike and that would worry me a bit

Don
 
Thanks Don. The storm must have made a left turn, no thunder, no lightning, no tornadoes. Just a tiny bit disappointing!
 
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