Mobile Connectors to go? Replaced by a Wall Unit?

[hiroshiy]

Thanks, FlasherZ, for explanation. In HK air conditioners are almost running all the time I thought - but I agree it's the compressor that requires a lot of power.

But still - I'm not convinced by Tesla's explanation about BS1363 safety. Considering the fact that many HK residents live in condos, all they could easily find is only BS1363s in the condo parking or parkings nearby.

Maybe Tesla thinks one or two Superchargers in central HK would be enough to cover both destination charging and on-the-way charging

 

[widodh]

In the long run this will be the safest option. "The mass" is not aware of extension cords, adaptors, ratings, plugs, current, power, etc.

Those people should just "plug and forget" and that is only possible with a dedicated wall unit.

 

[markwj]

Perhaps HK laws prohibit high-amperage connectors and therefore it needs to be installed as a fixed device.

The EMSD oversees the regulations for this, and have released a document containing their recommendations for using BS1343 to charge electric cars.

http://www.emsd.gov.hk/emsd/e_download/pps/pub/Charging_Facilities_Electric_Vehicles.pdf

In a nutshell, for mode 1 (13A 220V): dedicated radial circuits, 16A cabling, RCD, and a BS1343 socket.

The EMSD has supervised the installation of 500 BS1343 sockets in government car parks around Hong Kong. The two electrical companies. (CLP and HKE) have themselves deployed a further 500 BS1343 sockets in shopping centers and housing estates.

There are hundreds of cars (Tesla Roadsters included), in HK, that use these sockets every day.

The issue is definitely not regulatory.

My personal opinion is that Tesla have concerns about the safety of this, but I guess the primary reason is that they don't want owners that can -only- charge at these public sockets (let's face it, the ownership experience of trying to grab 2 or 3 hour charges at 2.2kWh is not going to be great). They are supply constrained at the moment, and a few hundred cars in Hong Kong (particularly if they are dissatisfied owners) is just not worth it.

Longer-term, there is commitment by the government to deploy public 32A sockets, with 100 coming this year. Based on IEC62196, that should be a simple (OEM) cable for the Model S to connect to. Again, my guess is that this is what Tesla will suggest for HK mobile charging.

The medium power wall charger is a very good solution for home charging. A 32A cable run is not much more costly/difficult than a 16A run, and the unit is dial able between 10A and 40A, so should be able to cope with whatever you have available. Bundled with the car, the cost is attractive also.