All EVSE have built-in GFCI protection for the charging cord, charging connector. Adding a GFCI to the circuit at the panel or the receptacle protects the user when plugging or unplugging the EVSE. Some users never unplug the EVSE once it has been installed. Some users read the owner's manual that comes with the EVSE and understand that they should turn off the power at the circuit breaker before plugging or unplugging the EVSE. Then there are users who don't know any better and do whatever.The GFCI on the circuit breaker or the receptacle is for these users.
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GFCI Breaker is Code for EV Charging
- Thread starter caffeinated
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I’m not sure what this is supposed to mean?
Money grab:
CH 20 Amp 2-Pole Self Test Ground Fault Circuit Breaker by Eaton
$176.86
Eaton CH 20 Amp 2-Pole Self Test Ground Fault Circuit Breaker CH220GFTCS - The Home Depot
Eaton's CH ground fault current interrupters (GFCIs) are 3/4 in. wide and provide superior safety over a standard electrical outlet in areas where electricity may come into contact with water. GFCIs arewww.homedepot.com
Eaton CH 50 Amp 2-Pole Self Test Ground Fault Circuit Breaker-CH250GFTCS - The Home Depot
gfci breakers are expensive, but that doesn’t mean they are a money grab.
Hair dryers have exactly the same configuration. But gfcis are still required for bathrooms.
Good point about RVs. For whatever reason, the 120/20 outlets at campground are usually on a GFCI, but I've never seen one on the 120/30 or 240/50. Fortunately, most 14-50 cords for RVs have a big handle on the back to hold when plugging in.
We were discussing the need to protect users of EVSE fitted with power plugs with a GFCI for the receptacle. Kitchens and bath rooms have always had a risk of electrocution due to the proximity of the receptacle to water. Maybe new hair dryers have GFCI but older hair dryers, curling irons, etc. do not.
The Gen2 Mobile Connector does detect ground faults, has a built in GFCI. Some GFCI are just overly sensitive. The EVSE manufacturer can point a finger at the breaker manufacturer, vice versa.
You're absolutely right: risk is far higher plugging/unplugging the RV while standing on damp ground (something I do probably 16 times per summer), than it is plugging/unplugging a Mobile Connector (which is usually indoors, and rarely touched). Yet, the EVSE requires GFCI while the RV doesn't... irony. If it were possible to protect an RV lead with a GFCI, then code would require that protection. Unfortunately, normal GFCI is not compatible with the way RVs use a 14-50 power pole. Since code can't require the impossible, and changing the way RVs use power would be an uphill battle, that risk is left unaddressed by code.
Why couldn't the RV 14-50 receptacle be protected at the service panel with a GFCI circuit breaker? Is there a 50A cutoff switch on the RV that can be turned off before connecting the RV power cable to the 14-50 receptacle, then switched on once a connection has been made?
Yes: clever SAE engineers designed the J1772 spec to leak power to ground, in a way that trips GFCI as required by NFPA engineers. Maybe the two groups should have a team-building picnic and come-up with a solution.
One difference is that an RV would _always_ trip GFCI immediately, but with an EVSE it depends on how much current the EVSE leaks, versus the sensitivity of the GFCI. Common GFCI is 5mA trip, but there is 10mA and 20mA (allowed only for underwater pool lighting). There are industrial GFCI now that work with welders etc., so it is likely possible to make a GFCI play well with EVSEs (but not with breakers from a big box store). Maybe easier would be to specify that EVSEs should only leak 2mA.
Another difference is that it's impossible to hard-wire an RV, but it's safer to hard-wire an EVSE. NFPA doesn't care if you have to buy separate MobileConnector and HPWC.
Is anyone having an issue of their Tesla tripping the GFCI breaker when it does its self test? Our electrician recommended the HPWC instead of a 14-50 and claimed that the Tesla will trip the GFCI occasionally if we went with the 14-50. We are only paying 20% of the total install cost so we opted for the HPWC as it gave us several pros that the 14-50 didnt. I was just wondering if anyone was having tripping issues when connected to a GFCI protected 14-50.
It sure gives issues, even with third party EVSEs (ChargePoint Home Glex in my case). Here is my thread on it: Home charge tripping breaker: Anyone?
If the GFCI circuit breaker repeatedly shuts off power due to repeated false ground fault tripping (not due to a circuit overload condition) you can try switching the GFCI to a different brand of GFCI circuit breaker. (If the GFCI circuit breaker is very sensitive it will trip when as little as 5mA (5 milliamp) current is detected on the ground connection. Some special purpose GFCI circuit breakers are designed to only trip when 10mA or 20mA is detected.) An electrician can advise. The type of GFCI circuit breaker you may need to resolve the false tripping issue would have to be ordered from an electrical supply store, not a big box store.
If you replace the GFCI circuit breaker with a standard circuit breaker the circuit might not meet code if the circuit was installed after 2016. Not all states and local jurisdictions have adopted the 2017 version of the NEC that specifies GFCI protection for receptacles used for charging an EV. (The GFCI requirement does not apply to hard-wired installations, only EV charging circuits that terminate with a receptacle for a power plug.)
Not having to deal with a potentially troublesome GFCI circuit breaker is another reason to install a hard wired EVSE such as the Tesla Gen3 Wall Connector. The Tesla Wall Connector has a built-in GFCI that protects the user when plugging the charging connector into the Tesla's charging port. No additional GFCI protection is required to meet code. This is also true of non-Tesla EVSEs that are hard wired into the non-Tesla charging circuit.
If you replace the GFCI circuit breaker with a standard circuit breaker the circuit might not meet code if the circuit was installed after 2016. Not all states and local jurisdictions have adopted the 2017 version of the NEC that specifies GFCI protection for receptacles used for charging an EV. (The GFCI requirement does not apply to hard-wired installations, only EV charging circuits that terminate with a receptacle for a power plug.)
Not having to deal with a potentially troublesome GFCI circuit breaker is another reason to install a hard wired EVSE such as the Tesla Gen3 Wall Connector. The Tesla Wall Connector has a built-in GFCI that protects the user when plugging the charging connector into the Tesla's charging port. No additional GFCI protection is required to meet code. This is also true of non-Tesla EVSEs that are hard wired into the non-Tesla charging circuit.
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Since the GFCI only monitors the current on the neutral, it does absolutely nothing to make the ungounded energized conductors or terminals any safer. The breaker trips when the ungrounded conductors fault to ground, phase to ground, or one another, phase to phase, and the GFCI trips when the neutral curret does not return to the breaker or receptacle that is monitoring it. Most qualified electricians should be aware of this.
In a normal 120v GFCI outlet, 5mA can be carried out the conductor, through a frayed extension cord, into a puddle and back to the service entrance via earth ground. Nowhere does that 5mA need to pass on the neutral wire of the outlet, but the outlet still trips. I think that to do that, a GFCI needs to compare current on the conductor versus current on the neutral (or compare current on the two conductors, for 240v circuits). It's like counting the cows leaving the barn, and counting them coming back in again... if it's not the same number, you have a problem.
You're mostly correct, but leave out those references to 240V--code doesn't specify that. It just says any outlet being installed for EV charging has to have it. But hard wired devices don't.
But yeah, if anyone is installing something, they generally would be doing the higher voltage.
The 2020 National Electrical Code requires ALL 240V receptacles & appliances to be GFCI-protected. In Nebraska, we haven't adopted the code yet. I think the 2023 code may be eliminating some of that, but not sure why the delay. If your jurisdiction has adopted the 2020 code, you must GFCI-protect your car charger receptacles too.
This only applies to new circuits. Existing circuits do not have to modified/updated.
