FAQ
Charging Standards
Will any standard 120V charging cord work with your charging stations?
All standard, grounded, cords with opaque plugs, rated for 15A, will work with our Level I charging stations. Outdoor-rated, bright orange, charging cords with opaque connectors are recommended for use with our Level I charging stations. Cords with clear plastic plugs – ones through which you can see the wires and contacts – are not supported. For safety reasons ungrounded plugs with only two contactors are also not supported. The charging station will only energize the outlet if it detects that a plug has been firmly seated into the outlet and that the door is closed and locked. This FAQ does not apply to our Level II and charging stations where the SAE J1772™ Document connector and cable are physically attached to the station.
What is meant by Level I, Level II and Level III charging?
Within the various standards for plug-in vehicles and charging stations, ChargePoint Networked Charging Stations have been grouped into three basic levels:
- Level I: Refers to 120V AC charging at currents up to 16A. Typically, these are implemented as 12A chargers to match a standard North American home outlet that is served by a 15A circuit breaker.
- Level II: Refers to 208-240V AC charging at current from 12A to 80A. The most common home installation will be 240V at 12A or about 2.8kW. A Level II charger will charge a battery faster than a Level I charger.
- Level III: Refers to DC charging, or "fast charging." To achieve very short charging times, Level 3 chargers supply very high voltages (300-500VDC) at very high currents (100's of Amperes).
