Start/stop evse charge sessions remotely?

[ElectricToolbox]

Can EVSE charge sessions be started and stopped remotely by turning the evse power point on/off/on again remotely using an app controlled power plug? I’m hoping to charge my leaf from excess solar while away from home, or avoid trips to garage .

I have tried setting up my evse charger to charge. Watched it charging and putting kw.hr into the car.

Turn off at power point and turn on again- charger will show power and the blue lights on the leaf dash will light up, but no charge into the car.

I’m using a non Nissan evse. Idk if this behaviour is a feature of the charging protocol. Every YouTube demo I have seen shows plugging the charge cable type 2 plug into the car to start.

(I’m using a 2019 ZE1 e+ self imported leaf - type 1 socket on the leaf. Charging with a cheap eBay sourced evse with type 2 plug & a type 2 to type 1 adapter)

Yes, the leaf dash selectable start-stop charge times could work. I’m hoping to integrate remote control to use excess solar & accomodate sunny/cloudy days.

 

[nlspace]

What model year is your laef?

One approach might be some sort of CAN bridge with wi-fi or blueteeth antenna for a remote signal to restart charging.

Something would be needed to command the OBC to re-negotiate the J1772 protocol with the EVSE.

Have you seen the OVMS capabilities?
https://mynissanleaf.com/threads/replacing-nissanconnectev-with-ovms-in-a-gen1-leaf.32715/

 

[Stanton]

Short answer: starting/stopping EVSE charging is not going to work (once you stop you typically have to re-insert to start)...and honestly not worth the effort beyond using the car's built-in timers.

 

[cornbinder89]

Short answer: starting/stopping EVSE charging is not going to work (once you stop you typically have to re-insert to start)...and honestly not worth the effort beyond using the car's built-in timers.

This may be true if you start/stop at the EVSE, I know for a fact, that is doesn't apply to the charge timer. I have left my 2015 plugged in for two charge time cycles, and the charger re-starts and charges.
Not sure if that was what you were saying in the last sentence or not.

 

[Stanton]

Not sure if that was what you were saying in the last sentence or not.

Short answer: no (and that wasn't what the guy was asking).

 

[cornbinder89]

The point I was making, and may be you were, was that multiple charge cycles without un plugging are possible with the onboard charge timers. I understand he wants to vary the charge cycles by when the solar is producing. I think to do so will require manipulating the onboard charge timers, so some way of remote setting (like carwings was supposed to) based on power produced would be required, not a simple turn on contactor for the EVSE.

 

[ElectricToolbox]

What model year is your laef?

One approach might be some sort of CAN bridge with wi-fi or blueteeth antenna for a remote signal to restart charging.

Something would be needed to command the OBC to re-negotiate the J1772 protocol with the EVSE.

Have you seen the OVMS capabilities?
https://mynissanleaf.com/threads/replacing-nissanconnectev-with-ovms-in-a-gen1-leaf.32715/

Just updated my post - 2019 ZE1

 

[ElectricToolbox]

What model year is your laef?

One approach might be some sort of CAN bridge with wi-fi or blueteeth antenna for a remote signal to restart charging.

Something would be needed to command the OBC to re-negotiate the J1772 protocol with the EVSE.

Have you seen the OVMS capabilities?
https://mynissanleaf.com/threads/replacing-nissanconnectev-with-ovms-in-a-gen1-leaf.32715/

Thanks for the ovms link. Had heard of prior to buying this leaf and now realising potential.

 

[ElectricToolbox]

Short answer: starting/stopping EVSE charging is not going to work (once you stop you typically have to re-insert to start)...and honestly not worth the effort beyond using the car's built-in timers.

I'm hoping to maximise charging my EV from solar.
There are more expensive chargers that can do this, with some cheap EVSE's coming onto the market with apps enabling remote control of charge rates, delayed start, timed charge periods and start/stop over internet, I'm hoping the cost of maximising use of excess solar will become easier.

add in the potential to integrate the solar inverter and EVSE via software and this could push EV charging costs to zero for more people.

at moment, the cost to setup or manually achieve is expensive.

 

[LanguidSphinx]

Depends on the EVSE.

I now have one that will do what you want, and have had one that won't. It's not the Leaf that is preventing you doing this.

 

[coulomb]

It's much better not to chop the AC; disconnect the control pilot with a small relay instead. Chopping the AC is hard on the relay contacts and protective parts inside the on-board charger, because you are interrupting a large inductor (the Power Factor Correction boost converter inductor) with no path for the kick-back to go through. When stopping or pausing the charge electronically, there is a path.

I do this all the time on my 2012 Leaf. It will even leave the contactors on for about a minute, then it drops them. You do need to get inside your EVSE to do this unfortunately. That was no problem for me, as I have a used ChargePoint commercial EVSE converted to use the WiFi part of an OpenEVSE.

One possible problem, at least with older models like my 2012, is that computers stay active waiting for the charge to resume, and this may drain the auxiliary (12 V) battery. I've never seen it close the contactors and use the DC-DC to charge the auxiliary battery while waiting for the AC charge to resume. But it keeps the auxiliary battery at some 13.x V while AC charging, so this hasn't been a problem for me. I have an AGM auxiliary battery (Optima yellow top), which may help.

 

[ElectricToolbox]

It's much better not to chop the AC; disconnect the control pilot with a small relay instead. Chopping the AC is hard on the relay contacts and protective parts inside the on-board charger, because you are interrupting a large inductor (the Power Factor Correction boost converter inductor) with no path for the kick-back to go through. When stopping or pausing the charge electronically, there is a path.

I do this all the time on my 2012 Leaf. It will even leave the contactors on for about a minute, then it drops them. You do need to get inside your EVSE to do this unfortunately. That was no problem for me, as I have a used ChargePoint commercial EVSE converted to use the WiFi part of an OpenEVSE.

One possible problem, at least with older models like my 2012, is that computers stay active waiting for the charge to resume, and this may drain the auxiliary (12 V) battery. I've never seen it close the contactors and use the DC-DC to charge the auxiliary battery while waiting for the AC charge to resume. But it keeps the auxiliary battery at some 13.x V while AC charging, so this hasn't been a problem for me. I have an AGM auxiliary battery (Optima yellow top), which may help.

Thanks. This makes sense and ties in with what I’m seeing in the various EVSE features.

Now I’m trying to find an evse that does these things without going into significantly higher price bracket.

a few choices below. I don’t know what to make of electrical safety & failsafe fault modes. I suspect the cheaper models will be lacking but not as much as ‘China bad’ critics would suggest.

AFEEV 7kW AU$170
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mLvsITw

Feyree 7kW AU$252
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mtkcAdm

Feyree 7kW AU$417
(This one mentions AC30mA & DC6mA leakage protection - no idea if this is present in the cheaper identical looking version linked above)
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mL9x5wU

Other than these I’m looking at the openevse models

https://store.openevse.com/collecti...cts/advanced-series-32a-iec-type-2-kit-bundle

 

[LanguidSphinx]

I’m hoping to integrate remote control to use excess solar & accomodate sunny/cloudy days.

You can get EVSE with solar/load monitoring and limiting - Evnex is one for example. Costs more than the ones you list, but you can rely on the safety ratings and it's a ready to go solution. Also you/your electrician would have local installation support/setup help.

 

[ElectricToolbox]

You can get EVSE with solar/load monitoring and limiting - Evnex is one for example. Costs more than the ones you list, but you can rely on the safety ratings and it's a ready to go solution. Also you/your electrician would have local installation support/setup help.

I’m leaning towards the openevse, but yes, the proper solution would use current clamps to monitor available power.

Trouble is I have a house battery, which will soak up excess solar when available.

Short of a co-ordinated software solution tracking and controlling solar, EVSE & house battery I’m not seeing the perfect solution.

 

[cornbinder89]

Trouble is I have a house battery, which will soak up excess solar when available.

If you have a "house battery" that will soak up all the "excess" then I don't see why you are going though all the trouble.
If you can capture the excess, you can charge the car from that captured excess, whenever. I thought you were trying to charge to use power you could potentially get from solar but had no way to hold.
It is truely only excess if you can't capture and hold it.

 

[Daklein]

Can EVSE charge sessions be started and stopped remotely by turning the evse power point on/off/on again remotely using an app controlled power plug? I’m hoping to charge my leaf from excess solar while away from home, or avoid trips to garage .

Sure it works. (well on my 2014 car & various EVSEs). I've used the 120v nissan EVSE with a smart plug, just on/off, controlled by my solar setup, works fine.

Now I usually use an Emporia EVSE that is also controlled from my solar to modulate the charging rate, and on/off when appropriate. In either case, I have the controls limit how often it turns on/off, so it's not cycling back and forth. I think it's unique to the Emporia EVSE, or maybe my car, but the EVSE shows an error each time it's turned off remotely (from the cloud via the app or RPi pretending to be the app). After 5 minutes, the car opens the contactors and stops waiting to be charged, then the EVSE error clears. During the 5 minutes, telling the EVSE to start again doesn't work. After 5 minutes, or if the charger handle is removed from the car and replugged, then it works normally.

This forum has lots of discussion and ideas how to charging with excess solar, DIY or otherwise.
https://diysolarforum.com/threads/excess-solar-for-ev-charging-how-to-automate.62291/post-1019559

 

[MikeinPA]

Edit: look at the Emporia solution in Daklein's comment first!

Here is a simple solution. We don't know what type of battery you are using, but let's say it is a 48 volt LFP system. Use a Xantrex C35 in diversion mode to sense the battery voltage at a setpoint you have chosen and then respond by closing its relay. The relay could operate an EVSE DIRECTLY via its own internal control circuit if it has one. ( My Siemens Versicharge has a low voltage control interface built in--IDK about new EVSEs.) Old Versichargers are still available as remanufactured units.

Or the diversion load would active a smart home component, that would then go through an If This Then That App (IFTTT) to start the charger. This looks doable but very techi.

Looks like OCPP is going to be able to do all this eventually. https://openchargealliance.org/protocols/open-charge-point-protocol/

Of course, if your battery system is Enphase, you already have a complete solution for controlling vehicle charging with solar.

 

[ElectricToolbox]

If you have a "house battery" that will soak up all the "excess" then I don't see why you are going though all the trouble.
If you can capture the excess, you can charge the car from that captured excess, whenever. I thought you were trying to charge to use power you could potentially get from solar but had no way to hold.
It is truely only excess if you can't capture and hold it.

Charging the house battery to later charge the ev is wasting house battery charge/discharge cycles.

Also: my solar system can output more kw than my house battery kw rating can capture. Even over winter.

11.5 kw solar panels.
10 kw solar inverter.
5kw rated inverter on battery
The battery inverter can accept an additional 5kw of solar input.
Will be adding extra panels once I have my new system sorted.

 

[ElectricToolbox]

Sure it works. (well on my 2014 car & various EVSEs). I've used the 120v nissan EVSE with a smart plug, just on/off, controlled by my solar setup, works fine.

Now I usually use an Emporia EVSE that is also controlled from my solar to modulate the charging rate, and on/off when appropriate. In either case, I have the controls limit how often it turns on/off, so it's not cycling back and forth. I think it's unique to the Emporia EVSE, or maybe my car, but the EVSE shows an error each time it's turned off remotely (from the cloud via the app or RPi pretending to be the app). After 5 minutes, the car opens the contactors and stops waiting to be charged, then the EVSE error clears. During the 5 minutes, telling the EVSE to start again doesn't work. After 5 minutes, or if the charger handle is removed from the car and replugged, then it works normally.

This forum has lots of discussion and ideas how to charging with excess solar, DIY or otherwise.
https://diysolarforum.com/threads/excess-solar-for-ev-charging-how-to-automate.62291/post-1019559

Thx. This is very useful. Reading and comprehending.

 

[Daklein]

Charging the house battery to later charge the ev is wasting house battery charge/discharge cycles.

I agree, don't discharge one battery to charge another. Try to charge the EV battery directly from solar. A house battery is also great to have, to also charge it directly from solar