BUILDING SOLUTIONS

ELECTRICAL AND POWER

standards on EV charging connectors.

The SAE J1772 connector has emerged as the
most common EV car plug for L1 and L2 charging
in the United States. Tesla is the significant excep-
tion due to its use of the North American charging
standard (NACS). The NACS was formerly a pro-
prietary connector and now is being standardized
under the name SAE J3400. This connector will be
backward-compatible with Tesla vehicles and will
also be able to support an emerging 800 V battery
architecture, which the original connector could
not. However, an SAE J1772 adapter is currently
included with every Telsa vehicle.
The combined charging standard (CCS) con-
nector has emerged as the most common connec-
tor for DCFC. The “combined” portion of the CCS
namesake derives from the connector’s ability to
support L1, L2 and L3 charging as it uses several
FIGURE 3: Stanchion-mounted single station Level 2 electric vehicle chargers of the pins from the J1172 port. NACS connectors
located along a reservoir wall. Single dispenser Level 2 chargers allow only one can also support L1, L2 and L3 charging.
car to charge at a time per charger. Courtesy: CDM Smith Non-Tesla EVs can sometimes charge via a Tesla
charging station using an adapter. These adapt-
recharge an EV at a rate of 3 to 20 miles of range ers historically would not work at Tesla’s DCFC
per minute. See Table 1 for detailed information on stations or “Tesla Superchargers,” which were
typical charging rated by EV charger level. designed for sole compatibility with Tesla vehicles.
However, in early 2023, Tesla began deploy-
EV charging connectors ment of a proprietary dual-connector “Magic
SAE International, formerly the Society of Auto- Dock” adapter at a small number of North Amer-
motive Engineers, is a U.S.-based professional and ican Supercharger locations. The Magic Dock can
standards-developing organization focused on use either a NACS or CCS connector and allows
motor vehicle components. In addition to provid- non-Tesla EVs to charge at the Tesla Superchargers.
ing standards for rating automobile horsepower, Additionally, Ford and General Motors have recent-
the organization has also developed and published ly announced their intent to use exclusively NACS
from 2025 onward, a development that could spur
Table 1: EV charging speed broader shifts in the industry from CCS to NACS.
Charging Voltage Range added Time to charge
level required
Power delivery
per hour 60 kWh EV*
Design considerations
As EVs become more prevalent, their associat-
Level 1 120 V 1-1.4 kW 3-5 miles 30-40 hours ed electrical demand might strain existing power
Level 2 208-240 V 3-12 kW 12-80 miles 2.5-4.5 hours distribution systems and force upgrades. In July
2022, Texas underwent a heat wave predicted to
208-480 V,
Level 3
three-phase
24-350 kW 75-1,200 miles 30-40 minutes tax the utility grid beyond its capacity. The Elec-
tric Reliability Council of Texas, which operates the
* Time to raise the battery's charge level from 10% to 80%.
state’s grid, called on residents to conserve energy
to stop the grid from being pushed to near-emer-
TABLE 1: Different charger types require different voltage power sources
gency conditions. Tesla told users not to charge
and consume varied amounts of power. This power requirement relates to the
their cars at peak hours during this time and even
amount of time it will take to charge a 60-kWh battery for the 10% charge
offered incentives to their clients to charge their
level to 80% charged in an electric vehicle. Courtesy: CDM Smith
cars during off hours.

22 | March/April 2024 consulting-Specifying engineer — www.csemag.com