Ingineer said:
IBELEAF said:
I am probably way ahead of time, but still curious if this upgrade will work with future Leafs that might have 6.6 kWh chargers
In the prototype, I have set the Pilot to 33.3% duty cycle, which will allow up to 20a. So if you had an EV with a 6.6kva charger, you would only get 4.8kva. That's about ~73%, so not bad.
I can't safely increase beyond 20a without new hardware in the EVSE. And as it is, I need to run extensive tests at 20a to verify there is no problem.
6.6kva will require 27.5a, which really should have better than 12awg cable as well, so really the whole EVSE would need to be replaced. (Except for the sticker on the front that says "Zero Emission"! =)
So the Pilot is set to 33.3% duty cycle in all cases? So that's telling the vehicle that 20A is available at 120V and 240V?
On the LEAF, you point out the car will limit to 12A even if offered more by the EVSE, so it's a non issue for the current LEAF. Future LEAFs or other EVs might take the full 20A at 120V being offered by the EVSE, tripping 15A circuits.
I'm thinking that using a Quick220 or similar, that you will on occasion, be plugging in to 15A circuits and 16A would trip the breaker.
I also think about situations where the circuit is shared with a coke machine or some other modest loads or maybe other hotel rooms if you decide to Quick220 (with permission of course!) at a bed and breakfast etc.
So ultimately, you have three settings (based on the LEAF EVSE)
Auto (Always offers 20A, cars that accept more than 12A at 120V can be problemeatic)
8A (shared circuit 120V or 240V)
12A (dedicated 15A circuit 120V or 240V)
16A (dedicated 20A circuit 120V or 240V)
20A (dedicated 30A circuit 240V)
Or the Auto mode could be more sophisticated: (12A at 120V, 20A at 240V).
Value of selectable current option: +$200 as an easy figure. I'd pay more though, but given LEAF owner market and the effort, that seems a good price point. $100 would include more people, though the value is to people who need that sophistication. User selectable current is too complicated a feature for people who are blissfully ignorant of Amps and circuit breakers and want to sty that way.
To speed development, for the moment, you could offer the full level 2 mod for the LEAF, and people who need lower current (12A) or need both low (12A) and high current (16A) at 240V could just get two mod units and use the unit that suits the need. So they have to purchase two units, but they have hte flexibility of current level by using one or the other of the two units they've purchased. Long term a fancy, user adjustable current draw with an Auto mode for default would address more situations, but that can come later, maybe after the Phil Inc. public offering!
Purchasing two units is an additional cost outlay, but is partially offset by the additional cost a selectable current model would add, the development time, including finding a reliable moisture proof switch mechanism, units available sooner, redundancy of having two units for convenience adn backup etc.
You can put a catchy label on them: "Phil's 12A go anywhere EVSE", "Phil's 16A enhanced EVSE dongle". Ok, I leave that one to your marketing department! A large easy to read 12A or 16A on the units would make them easy to identify annd simple to use.