Just FYI I've noticed on EV forums that people have discovered that the residential 120V EVSE (with NEMA 5-15 plug) that comes with the Chevy Volt will also work on 208V or 240V circuits for faster charging. So some people are running 20A 240V branch circuits to a NEMA 5-20 receptacle and calling it good. Some are adding signage. Seems like an accident waiting to happen! Sad.
120V Electric Vehicle Service Equipment EVSE used on 240V branch circuit
- Thread starter W6SJK
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hbiss
EC, Westchester, New York NEC: 2014
- Location
- Hawthorne, New York NEC: 2014
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- EC
I know manufacturers want to manufacturer for the world market but you can't ignore stupid. How about including an assortment of interchangeable plugs that attach to the cord end like I see with some wall warts. There is one for every country and there could be two for the US- 120v and 240v. They just slide in place.
-Hal
-Hal
MAC702
Senior Member
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- Clark County, NV
Miller, Hobart, and likely others, do this with their multi-voltage welding machines.
Someone with the skills to install a 240V circuit should also be able to install the appropriate receptacle and cord cap, though, to actually finish the job.
hbiss
EC, Westchester, New York NEC: 2014
- Location
- Hawthorne, New York NEC: 2014
- Occupation
- EC
Then again I wonder if it actually does charge faster.
-Hal
wwhitney
Senior Member
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- Berkeley, CA
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- Retired
Yes, it does. Most electric vehicles come with an onboard charger that will take 100-240V AC up to the charger's current limit. That limit is 16A on older Nissan LEAFs but is typically around 30A on other cars (or 40A on single charger Teslas S/X, I think). There's often a fixed overhead of a couple hundred watts for cooling fans and pumps, so the speed of charging at 240V and 12A versus 120V and 12A is more than double.
Cheers, Wayne
A Volt will charge at 8A or 12A at 120V, or 12.5A at 240V using the standard EVSE included with the car. The charger in the car is 3300W.
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