Installation Of An Ev Charger

We installed Hensel Enystar as our main Electrical Distribution Panels when we moved in and the reason for this was we could expand the panel at any stage with very little work and still maintain IP65, which came in handy for this install.

The Lovato DMG600 was installed on the mains incomer, and from a set of branch terminals on the incoming cables, we have run a feed to the new panel that will just house the parts for the EV charger.

While plenty of people offer a RCBO for protection and this can be sufficient we have chosen to go with a 4 Pole 80 Amp 15kVA MCB and a 4 Pole DFS 4 EV RCD (the HD version which is resistant against moisture build up).

In Doepke’s own words “Smooth DC residual currents greater than 6 mA can occur when electric vehicles are charged. This goes beyond the design scope of conventional Type A or Type F residual current circuit-breakers. In a worst-case scenario, these circuit-breakers may fail as a result of the pre-magnetisation of their summation current transformer, and this failure may go unnoticed. Doepke’s residual current circuit-breakers (EV design) have an active additional function which reliably detects smooth DC residual currents above 6 mA. This means that they protect themselves and upstream residual current circuit-breakers against failure, as well as offering users guaranteed protection against hazardous residual currents.”

The EV Charger is a twin 22 kW unit. Most of the EV’s at the moment, will only charge at 7 kW on AC but I wouldn’t say we are far away from 22 kW charging on AC being possible as standard.

The company Hyundai Kona full Electric allows charging up to 48 kW on DC but it is a pain sitting in a garage.

So, what have we done?

WORKS

To start with, we wanted to show off some metering product by Lovato which we will discuss in a later post.

“Doepke’s residual current circuit-breakers (EV design) are available in Type A and Type F versions. The DFS 4 A EV detects sinusoidal AC and pulsating DC residual currents, regardless of the mains voltage. The DFS 4 F EV also detects residual currents with mixed frequencies. Electronic wiring and power electronics are required in electric vehicles for charging purposes. In the event of a fault, these can give rise to smooth DC residual currents and residual currents with mixed frequencies. The DFS 4 F EV is also short-time delayed and has increased surge current strength. This significantly reduces the risk of faulty tripping.”

When you consider the cost of an EV, having an RCD that has a trade list of under €400, it makes sense to use the best possible protection.