At Chargetech, we are committed to promoting a green and sustainable future by providing cutting-edge EV charging technology at the most competitive prices. Our dedication to quality is evidenced by the fact that all of our work is certified and backed by globally recognized brands, giving our customers peace of mind and assurance.
Our team of specialists has extensive experience in the field of EV charging and is available to provide expert advice to help you make informed decisions about your EV charging needs. We pride ourselves on providing top-notch customer service and are always ready to answer any questions you may have regarding our products or services.
Solar excess power occurs when your solar array generates more electricity than your house requires. EV chargers with solar excess charging function can detect and harness solar excess power to charge an electric car, rather than feeding it back into the grid. Most solar excess EV chargers would require CT’s and a smart meter to detect solar excess power.
Open Charge Point Protocol is a communication standard to enable communication between EV chargers and network software. This allows remote control, monitoring and cloud communication with EV Chargers. Residential EV Chargers don’t require OCPP, monitoring is achieved through the internet and remote control is not required. OCPP is required for multi dwelling apartments or for work places requiring load management and for or any public EV Chargers.
Load management is the process of preventing electrical overload. Load management ramps the EV charger output up and down depending on the available power capacity. This is essential for preventing an oversupply and power outage. Load management is required for workplaces and apartment buildings, as multiple EV chargers working at the same time can withdraw a lot of power and lead to an oversupply and power outage. Our expert team at Chargetech can determine whether load management is required or not during a site visit.
Single-phase houses are usually limited to 63A, and adding an EV charger that can require up to 32A can lead to an oversupply and power outage. An EV charger with load management can ramp the EV charger output up or down depending on the house load draw and prevent an oversupply and power outage.
Installing multiple EV chargers at workplaces will often require load management. Three or more EV chargers working at the same time can withdraw around 100A, which can lead to an oversupply and power outage. Our expert team at Chargetech can determine whether load management is required or not during a site visit.
In almost every case, load management will be required for apartment buildings as several EV chargers working at the same time will lead to an oversupply and power outage. It is strongly recommended that EV chargers installed in apartment buildings have load management.
If you have a single-phase power supply to your house, you need a single-phase EV charger. If you have a 3-phase power supply to your house, you must install a 3-phase EV charger. It is against electrical regulation laws to install a single-phase charger to 3-phase power supply as this can cause a load imbalance.
Fast EV Chargers (Level 2) refer to 7kW-22kW wall mount chargers, while super-fast chargers (Level 3) refer to 24kW-400kW floor mount public chargers. AC chargers or wall mount chargers provide AC power to the onboard car converter. The onboard car converter converts AC power to DC power and charges the car batteries. A wall mount EV Charger is not technically a “battery charger” as it only provides regulated AC power, which then gets converted to DC by the car’s onboard “battery charger”. A super-fast charger or DC charger bypasses the car’s onboard charger and provides high DC power straight onto the batteries by converting AC power from the grid to DC power.
To charge any battery, DC power (Direct Current) is required. Power out of a socket or provided by the grid is AC Power (Alternating Current). There has to be a power conversation from AC to DC to charge the batteries. The onboard car charger is an AC to DC converter, providing DC power to charge batteries. Electric cars can be charged from a wall socket, as the power conversation from AC to DC is done by the car’s onboard charger. However, wall sockets can only draw a maximum of 10Amps, and charging a car can take 24-48 hours. A wall mount EV Charger has a dedicated circuit wired to the switchboard and can draw up to 32Amps, and a car can be charged in 6-8 hours.
Yes, it is strongly recommended to always carry a charging cable to use public chargers at any time. These can be purchased through Chargetech.
Most cars in Australia use Type2 charging plugs. Type2 charging cables come in either single phase or 3 phase. Check with your car manufacturer which type of plug your car has. A car with a 7kW onboard charger usually has a single phase plug, and a car with an 11kW onboard usually has a 3 phase plug. If you require a 3 phase EV Charger, it is recommended to buy a 3 phase charging cable.
If an EV Charger has stopped charging, there could be many reasons. Check if the charging cable is connected properly, if the EV Charger circuit breaker has not tripped, and if your charger has any fault notifications. Follow the EV Charger manual’s troubleshooting steps. If you have purchased your EV Charger from Chargetech, call your sales representative for technical support.
Charging times depend on various factors. DC Chargers are capable of charging an electric car between 30 minutes and 2 hours. The DC Charger rating, as well as the car batteries’ maximum charging rate, are the limiting factors. You could check with your car manufacturer the maximum charging rate of your car batteries. Charging times with AC Charging depend on your car battery size, onboard car charger rating, and wall mount charger rating. The limiting factor is the smallest charger rating. For example, if your wall mount charger is rated at 22kW but your car onboard charger is rated at 7kW, the charging rate is 7kW. If your car onboard charger is rated at 11kW but your wall mount charger is rated at 7kW, the charging rate would be 7kW.
Your 11kW EV Charger is a 3 phase EV Charger, providing 16Amps per phase. However, if your car’s inbuilt charger is a single phase 7kW EV Charger, it will only receive 16Amps. To ensure that your car can receive the full 11kW charging capacity, make sure that your car’s inbuilt EV Charger is also rated at 11kW.
Assuming your EV charger is fully functional, it could simply be the case that your EV charger is exceeding the maximum supply of 63A to your house. The charging current of most EV chargers can be reduced via the app or backend software. Alternatively, you may consider installing a load management system.
Chargetech’s directors are experienced engineers who have been active in the EV Charger market and energy storage market for over 10 years. They understand the challenges that this emerging market faces and have expertise in providing solutions for a variety of needs, including residential, workplace, council, and mining requirements. Chargetech listens carefully to your specific requirements, proposes a solution or options, and collaborates with you to determine the best EV charging solution for your individual needs. Chargetech ensures that the installation is cost-effective, safe, and compliant with Australian wiring regulations. They also provide handover training and testing of the charger until you are familiar with the EV charging process.
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