Level 1 Charging Circuit Breaker Capacity

Discussion in 'Clarity' started by klaud, Feb 13, 2019.

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  1. klaud

    klaud New Member

    For those who uses level 1 charging at home, what's your circuit breaker's capacity for that circuit? The official website mentioned a dedicated 15A circuit, does it mean a 15A circuit breaker? or need some buffer room, more like 20A?
     
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  3. ab13

    ab13 Active Member

    The included charger runs at 12 amp, so you only need 15 amp breaker.
     
  4. klaud

    klaud New Member

    I see. Thanks for the info!
     
  5. DucRider

    DucRider Well-Known Member

    As long as nothing else is plugged into the same circuit
     
    Kyle’s Clarity likes this.
  6. KentuckyKen

    KentuckyKen Well-Known Member

    And it’s been pointed out to me on this forum that the newest NEC says that EV charging circuits technically have to be dedicated circuits, that is one with only one receptacle so that nothing else can be plugged into them.
     
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  8. 4sallypat

    4sallypat Active Member

    I got the Duosida dual voltage charger and love the L1 charging at 20-25% faster charge as it pulls more current than the Honda OEM charger.

    Running the Duosida which pulls about 13 Amps from the 120VAC outlet, it's on a 15A breaker and has not popped.
     
  9. DucRider

    DucRider Well-Known Member

    The danger is not in the popping of a circuit breaker, but the fact that an EVSE is a continuous load which is much, much more susceptible to heat (and therefore fire) issues. Any type of poor connection - including a receptacle that gets "loose" with wear - will generate heat. A circuit breaker will not protect you in this situation. Watch very closely for any discoloration at the outlet, and hope that they did not use the push in type connectors on any of the receptacle on that circuit, that all the other connection were done properly and have not loosened over time, etc.
    You are pushing the circuit beyond it's designed capability, and it is very likely it will work just fine - up until it doesn't. Some EVSE's (like those that come with the Chevy Bolt and Volt) have a temperature sensor on the plug to help with this very issue.
    Everyone has different acceptable risk levels, but for me 20% faster charging wouldn't qualify. Maybe because a few decades ago I worked with a software company developing a package for insurance claims and spent some time in the field inventorying houses/businesses that suffered fire damage. It was amazing the amount of damage from smoke and water from even a very small fire (very little in a typical fire is actual burn damage - canned goods in the pantry can be so rusted they look like they've been buried for decades - a result of heat/smoke/water). More than a few of the fires were electrical in nature - some from overloaded/stressed circuits.

    The Honda EVSE is designed to draw no more than the maximum that is considered safe from even a dedicated 15A circuit with nothing else plugged in. The NEC (and other codes) are not put in place to inconvenience people, they are often the result of "real world" testing that reveals issues that only crop up over time.

    The Duosida is sold as the "Go-Cable" by Quick Charge Power and their website contains the following:
    ***NOTE: any 15 amp circuit, like a NEMA 6-15 or 5-15, is NOT recommended for use with Go-Cable, as the 16 amp load can overload the 15 amp electrical circuit.

    However, an exception can be made for General Motors / Chevrolet Volt, Spark EV or Bolt EV when operating on 120 volts, which will automatically reduce power to 8 or 12 amps. There may be other cars that also restrict amps while using 120 volts, however, most other cars DO NOTautomatically do this. It is not known whether the Fiat 500e will reduce power on 120 volts using a NEMA 5-15 receptacle.


    https://shop.quickchargepower.com/Go-Cable-Tri-Voltage-120-208-240-low-cost-portable-charging-GC20.htm
     
    Richard_arch74 likes this.
  10. 4sallypat

    4sallypat Active Member

    Circuit breakers don't pop until 200% load for instantaneous current draw..
     

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