Installation Guide:
Common Questions related to installation:
1.) Do I need a professional electrician to install? In many situations, local electric code will require a licensed electrician to install the EV Charger. If this does not apply to your situation and you feel comfortable working with 240v electrical systems, it is possible to perform a self install.
2.) Does Emporia Energy have a list of qualified installers/electricians to help? In select areas of the US, you can purchase an Emporia EV Charger along with professional installation from one of our partner electricians. To see if we operate in your area, visit: https://install.emporiaenergy.com/
3.) Ground Fault protection? The EV Charger has built-in ground fault protections in place. Because of this, we highly recommended not installing the charger on a GFCI breaker as this can nuisance tripping of the GFCI breaker. Additional information about GFCI protections and installing the charger on GFCI breakers can be found in this article. Details about protections on-device can be found on the Technical Specifications PDF for the EV Charger here: Technical Specs PDF
4.) Power supply wire diameter/AWG? 6 AWG copper wire rated for 90° C is recommended for the power supply as it will let you operate the charger at the full 48 amps but any three wire copper conductor will work for the two live line connections and ground. For how best to power the charger in your specific situation, please consult with a licensed electrician.
5.) Weather, outdoor installations, waterproof? The EV Charger housing is classified as a Type 4 NEMA enclosure which is rated for both indoor and outdoor usage. The charger should operate fine in all but the most extreme of outdoor installation scenarios.
6.) NEMA outlet alignment? The NEMA plug that comes with the EV Charger is 22" long and designed to be flexible enough to flip around to fit any orientation that an existing NEMA outlet may be in. In the default installation with the NEMA plug hanging down from the EV Charger, the ground pin is at the bottom of the plug.
7.) Size of cable knockouts on EV Charger? 1 1/4 inch diameter on charger casing. Included conduit fitting is 1" diameter.
8.) Is a neutral line used/required? No, we only need two live lines and ground/earth.
9.) Can I install the NEMA plug with the ground facing up, not down? Yes, you can install the NEMA plug upside down, just make sure to install the charger close enough to the outlet so you have enough slack to make the turn with the NEMA plug without putting strain on the cable.
10.) Higher amperage breakers ok? Yes, you can use any breaker size as needed - only lower rated breakers would reduce your available charge rate.
11.) Stranded or solid wire? Solid core wire is our recommendation of choice. However, a licensed electrician should be able to confirm whether stranded wire will work for your particular situation.
12.) Can it work on a single phase 240V line? No, the charger needs single-split phase (two lines) at 120V with a 180° phase offset to work properly.
13.) Different length charging cables available? Not at the moment, the only option is a 24' charge cable for the time being.
14.) Required wire temperature rating? We require 90° C rated wiring for the installation.
15.) Can I use the NEMA cable to hardwire? No, the NEMA cable is NOT rated for hardwire. We require 90° C rated wiring for the installation.
If you have any other questions about the installation process, feel free to reach out to the Customer Support team as needed.
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This knowledge base is pretty new for the Emporia team. Our goal is to provide all of the information we can to help you manage your energy in better ways. If this article wasn't helpful, or we could be more clarifying on any points please reach out to the Customer Support team and we'll certainly work to improve these guides.