[rolltidef32]

Conducted a search, but didn't see anything on the forum.

Do any of you use any form of surge protection or power conditioning when charging; particularly at home?

Trying to get the nest ready for the arrival of my i3s in a few weeks!

[bailyhill]

Originally Posted by rolltidef32

Conducted a search, but didn't see anything on the forum.

Do any of you use any form of surge protection or power conditioning when charging; particularly at home?

Trying to get the nest ready for the arrival of my i3s in a few weeks!

I live in NE USA and use none. Is the power near your charger prone to brown outs and surges? If so, probably not a bad idea. However, its a good current draw. It says to not use extension cords, so the surge protector might not be the best.

Bailyhill

[afadeev]

Originally Posted by rolltidef32

Conducted a search, but didn't see anything on the forum.

Do any of you use any form of surge protection or power conditioning when charging; particularly at home?

Trying to get the nest ready for the arrival of my i3s in a few weeks!

Can you clarify your question a bit:

• Are you asking about L1, or L2 charging?
• Are you concerned about protecting the vehicle from potential power surges, or the house wiring from power consumption induced by charging the i3?

The short answer is - I can't think of a situation when additional surge protection would be warranted beyond that which is embedded into your L2 charger.

If you are worried about protecting your L1 cable - don't. You will give up on using it pretty quickly and will end up buying an L2 charger (or using one of the public ones). 99% of us end up going that rout for the reasons you will soon discover.

a

[rolltidef32]

Originally Posted by afadeev

Can you clarify your question a bit:

• Are you asking about L1, or L2 charging?
• Are you concerned about protecting the vehicle from potential power surges, or the house wiring from power consumption induced by charging the i3?

The short answer is - I can't think of a situation when additional surge protection would be warranted beyond that which is embedded into your L2 charger.

If you are worried about protecting your L1 cable - don't. You will give up on using it pretty quickly and will end up buying an L2 charger (or using one of the public ones). 99% of us end up going that rout for the reasons you will soon discover.

a

I am referring to surge protection for a level 2 charger. Currently looking at the TurboCord Dual charger due to it's small size and portability (meaning when we move, rather than for travel).

I'm seriously giving thought to only using pubic charging stations, as I live about a mile from a DC fast charger, and there is one only a few blocks from my office. Atlanta has a ton of EVs and charging stations are everywhere inside the Perimeter which is where I live.

Surge protection from public chargers that may be faulty, or if plugged in at home and late night storms roll through worry me a bit. Does the car have built in surge protection?

The TurboCord can be purchased for around $370 and the state gives a $250 credit or rebate for home chargers, so I'm thinking about this option for convenience.

Based on my normal weekly driving habits, I'd need to charge the BEV twice per week give or take.

When you say I'll "soon discover", are you referring to how slow the level 1 is or something more sinister with using the cord?

[reductase]

Surge protection on level 2 sounds like a major added expense to the setup. I'm unaware of any additional surge protection requirements between the main panel and your charging unit and don't know anyone installing that kind of rig when adding a dedicated circuit for EV charging (even commercial units).

Considering the early adopters are using these kinds of batteries for grid energy storage I'd be guessing there's a lot of buffer capacity for small surge.

[afadeev]

Originally Posted by rolltidef32

I am referring to surge protection for a level 2 charger. Currently looking at the TurboCord Dual charger due to it's small size and portability (meaning when we move, rather than for travel).

Double check that your perspective L2 charger does, or does not, have build-in surge protection.
My Siemens has it.
I assume most do, else we would be hearing complaints about them frying up all over the place.

Originally Posted by rolltidef32

I'm seriously giving thought to only using pubic charging stations, as I live about a mile from a DC fast charger, and there is one only a few blocks from my office. Atlanta has a ton of EVs and charging stations are everywhere inside the Perimeter which is where I live.

I have free BMW charging car, and have only used it twice (2 times) over the past 12 months. It is just WAY more convenient to park at home, plug the car in, and have full battery ready in the morning.
The extra electricity cost is minuscule, and the time it takes to charge long enough that it would be a PITA for me to drive anywhere else and wait for the car to charge for 1-4 hours.

To me, home L2 charge is a no-brainer.
I would not own an EV without one.

Originally Posted by rolltidef32

Surge protection from public chargers that may be faulty, or if plugged in at home and late night storms roll through worry me a bit. Does the car have built in surge protection?

After 5 years on the market, I am yet to hear about any EV or L2 charger getting fried from surges.
Search the threads of google it, if that helps.

Originally Posted by rolltidef32

Based on my normal weekly driving habits, I'd need to charge the BEV twice per week give or take.

The batteries in all my cell phones can last more than 1 day, maybe 2-3 (depending on use), but I still charge them every night. Just so that I don't need to worry about it.

The same logic applies to EV batteries.
I charge my i3 every night, just like my cell phone, so that it's ready for any contingencies that life can throw at you.

Need to run to pickup something from a Home Depot? Then pickup kids from school, then do another HD run? Then meet someone at the airport?

It does happen. On a full battery, I can do it all, every day.
I can do that twice over and then some, if I plug my L2 charger either at home, or at work. I prefer to be ready and not worry about the remaining fractional battery state of charge.

There will be plenty of other occasions when range anxiety will drive you nuts. So I do my best to minimize the frequency of those occasions.

Originally Posted by rolltidef32

When you say I'll "soon discover", are you referring to how slow the level 1 is or something more sinister with using the cord?

Charging on L1 cable takes 13-16 hours. That's borderline useless-slow for me.

L1 charger relies on consumer grade 120V receptacles that may, or may not be, wired properly in your home. That have been abused over the years by having cords yanked out of them with little regard (so all connections are now loose).

If you search archives you will see reports of smoking 120V receptacles, failed L1 BMW chargers (not covered by warranty). You will also find 2-3 people who swear by only relying on L1 chargers.

YMMV,
a

[snowie]

My home electrical panel is equipped with a SquareD QO SurgeBreaker whole panel/house surge protection. If you don't have one on your panel, it is fairly inexpensive to add it in. Here's the link to Amazon.