Siemens’ game-changing EV charger and solar adapter
 

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I came across this and thought it might help someone here.


Siemens’ new home EV charger adapter ends need for electrical panel upgrades.

https://electrek.co/2022/07/27/sieme...arger-adapter/





ConnectDER

https://connectder.com/



A cheap easy way to add solar and EV charging to a home.

It looks like a win-win to me…


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I was just coming to post about this game changer.
Very cool
https://ecorenovator.org/forum/attac...1&d=1659033448

Agreed, very cool. I think most importantly, it is making the transition process SIMPLER and easier.

Not a new thing really just a new application for it. Those taps have been around for years but rarely used and often electric companies don't like that kind of stuff.

They also don't work on all meter bases. That band clamp style isn't used in allot of the country. Much of the country uses the type where the meter is plugged in then the cover closed and a tamper tag put on the loop. These bases are common because it makes disconnecting power to a house easy and fast in an emergency. Just snip the tag and you can pop the meter in seconds.
Now that said current code for new builds requires a 200 amp disconnect between the meter and the panel which negates the need for the easy to access meters.

I can see some electric companies not allowing those on their meters though. They will claim it makes it easier to steal electricity. Here they won't allow meter base breaker combo panels because they think the customer will steal power with them... I can also see them calling it a double tap on the meter which some allow and some don't. Gotta remember there are no rules or codes for how electric companies do their wiring unlike everyone else. They make it up as they go along and do it how they want to.

Wouldn't it be easier to tap into an existing 240V circuit? Would just need to add an extra breaker (e.g. a DIN rail type in an enclosure) for adding solar or an automated switch to disconnect the existing load for an EV charger.

There's also an EV charger that's designed to integrate with solar.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYx46kRv2Bw

You can't tap into an existing circuit. It has to be a dedicated circuit for charging a car. Now over in europe or Aussie land I dunnow. They do some sketchy stuff there.

If the concern is overloading the circuit, the automated switch would prevent that by only allowing the original load or EV charging to operate, not both at once.

The charger (glorified extension cord) has no idea how much current is being pulled by other devices on the same circuit. Hence why NEC requires a dedicated circuit for car chargers.
The battery charger is just another load on the circuit.

Hence the addition of the switch to automatically turn off the other load if the EV charger is supplying power.

So you now have to come up with a monitoring system with a relay to shot off a load when the charger is running. Why overcomplicate it as well as not doing it according to code and common sense. Just run another 220 circuit from the panel. Most panels are in the garage already and a few feet of wire a breaker and a receptacle are less than $100 and you won't have any issues.

Two use cases I can think of are if there is no spare capacity left to add another breaker or if the panel is quite a distance from the garage but there's an existing circuit that could be tapped.

In the case of adding solar, the concern is that the load could potentially pull more than what the original breaker was sized to allow (since the solar is a second source), so add a second breaker at the load or junction point of the same rating as the original breaker and have the solar connect in between the two breakers.

The solar "charger" has one important function. You program into it the ampacity of the circuit you are feeding it with. So it could be a 20 amp or 30 amp etc circuit so it knows how much it can pull from the circuit.
The simple part of it is you have to run a dedicated circuit to it by code so no funny business with other solutions.

Now if you don't have any free breaker slots you can possibly install some tandem breakers and double up on some of your 120v circuits and make space for a 240V breaker.
They are available for most panel brands. IE GE,Eaton and some Square D.

Adding the second breaker in a box makes the original circuit into a feeder for the new breaker box which would be a subpanel. And then you have dedicated circuits from the subpanel going to the original load as well as the solar inverter.

Not sure how the automated switch idea would go, it's functionally equivalent to the two loads having plugs with only one able to plug in at a time.

Have discussed this with a semi retired lineman, and a lineman who runs a company that has built miles of high voltage cross country transmission lines, here is my understanding.
It will only be available through your local utility.
Since it is being manufactured by Siemens, it will meet all local code requirements.
The utility will only allow it where there is sufficient capacity on both grid, and incoming power lines to the house.
The Utility will be able to set the maximum output of the collar.
It will not interfere with the house power, usually there is 100 amps available at 240 volts over and above any needs of the house. That is 24 KW and much more than most current batteries can accept.

I suspect that it will allow the utility to set charge times to control local grid levels.
I also suspect that the utility may include the ability to tap the vehicle battery for grid reserve, usually set up so that the battery never is below 80% full.

The biggest downside that I can see is that there may be a long wire run to the cars parking place, but it would be relatively simple to bury the charging wires rather than have them on the surface.
North America is ideally suited to the collar because we have very few 240 Volt circuits that are not hard wired to the appliance that needs it.
Most of our wall outlets are maximum 1.5KW any additional loads on our service panels may require a larger main breaker and some rather expensive rewiring.
This collar is being brought online at a critical time and is truly a game changer.

In our area the utilities cannot be trusted to use this type of control fairly. They will try to gain as many dollars from it and try to tilt the solar promise toward that.
Until they are brought in line with the true goal of solar I would stay off grid with my solar.
Here they (the electric companies) love solar but want to control every aspect of it, they are trying to apply a surcharge of about $65/mo if you have grid tied solar. (currently under review)

I was not aware that the original intent was to enable solar connection more easily, until it was pointed out to me. In this area PV cost/per KWH delivered is too high for any real inroads, for PV as we are too far North.
I see it as a major development in EV charging. Charging loads tend to be much higher than residential scale solar input in most areas North of the Mason Dixon line.

I think the "Mason-Dixon" reference regarding solar viability is 'kaput'. I am in Michigan, well north of that silly reference (as far as this subject).
The Siemens meter connection is a good idea, my point is that if the electrical utilities are to control it as described its not going to do anyone any good here.

As a Canadian, I have no idea what baggage may be attached to an imaginary line, Canadian costs for PV are quite high and do not return much except in a few regions.

Understand that nibs, take a look at where the Mason-Dixon line is? I had to look it up...it is imaginary, has nothing to do with solar viability/cost.