I am fairly new to be looking at EVs but I am an engineer so have a pretty good idea how stuff works. But I just watched the Mustang Mach E charging video linked in the other thread and it raises a question. The presenter said that EVs have their chargers built into the vehicle and that the things most people call chargers are actually EVSE's. So my question is if the chargers are built into the vehicle what does a level 2 EVSE actually do? Why can't one just plug a 240V cable directly to the car? Do these devices somehow communicate with the vehicle to vary current to accomplish the desired charge profile? That would then mean that the "charger" in the car lacks that function?
OK, I got a sufficient answer from the UK forum: (3) Please explain what Level 2 EVSE's do | Speak EV - Electric Car Forums
Off the top of my head, for L1/L2 AC EVSE: Signal to the car the max charge current available (which can dynamically change). The car can't know what the source is capable of. Keep the power source disconnected from the charging cable until requested by the car Residual current detection (RCD/GFCI), for safety Allow safe disconnection of the power source when the plug is plugged/unplugged (also to prevent arcing) Implement billing/reporting Allow the integrity of the cable's protected earth to be verified Perhaps implement overcurrent protection. Lightning protection
