Charging safely with the go-e Charger

From little warnings like "don't poke sockets" to "stay away from fire" and "check both sides before crossing," we've had safety lessons since forever. In adulthood, however, we are dealing with things that require a slightly different approach. For instance, now when you buy a new device, such as a wallbox for your electric car, you need to check whether it has all the necessary safety features. 

The go-e Charger has a bunch of different functions in its pocket in order to offer you safe charging. In this blog post, we will take a closer look at the most important safety features and explain what they are for. 

Complex terms - simple explanations. 

Let’s go!

EV charging safety involves both how the charging station is built and the safety features it has for charging. 

If you've been following our blog, you're familiar with the two main characters in this story: the simple wallbox and its smart counterpart. A simple charger without smart features is generally safe, but lacks awareness of the electricity demand in the household. All it does is provide the amount of power your electric car asks for.

In contrast, smart chargers offer load balancing, allowing you to set a maximum kW limit for charging. For instance, our smart combo, the go-e Charger and the go-e Controller, offer dynamic load balancing, adjusting to the evolving energy demands of your household. This ensures a perfect charging experience without the risk of potential blackouts.  

This prevents the wallbox from exceeding available power when other appliances, like a heat pump, air conditioning, sauna or dishwasher, are active.

A smart wallbox, such as the go-e Charger, ensures safety at all levels. It can protect you, your electric car, your house and itself from fault currents, overloading, water, dirt and even theft.

The go-e Charger comes with the Direct Current (DC) protection module with DC detection and additional AC detection (6 mA DC, 20 mA AC). On the building side, an RCD type A must be installed and a miniature circuit breaker must be installed upstream. 

This module continually monitors the car for potential fault currents, safeguarding the household power grid from any dangers. In such a way, it ensures you're safe even if faults occur within your electric car. Unfortunately, such cases are not so rare, but with sufficient protection, you are completely safe.

If a fault occurs, the DC protection module will shut down power in order to keep you away from any dangers.

In addition to the DC protection module, the following should be installed on the building site: 

• an RCD (Residual Current Device) type A 

• a miniature circuit breaker 

You might be wondering why and how it is done. 

The main reason for this is that it is provided for in specific regulations. The rules are there to keep you safe, so it’s better to follow them, right?

As a matter of fact, the RCD type A can be really useful in some cases. It detects any imbalances in the current flow, which could be a sign of leakage or faults, and immediately disconnects the charging circuit if necessary. 

With the miniature circuit breaker, you basically get an extra level of circuit protection. Together, these components are responsible for protecting the wallbox, the electric vehicle, and the electrical system from overcurrent and ground faults, making the charging process safe and reliable. 

The whole installation process must be done by an electrician only. So don’t worry, no need to watch a dozen YouTube videos to educate yourself on that topic. Simply find a professional who knows how it’s done. 

Voltage changes in the electrical system of the building can be dangerous for your vehicle as well as for the charger. 

If you own the mobile wallbox go-e Charger Gemini flex, you are probably taking it with you when travelling to various locations. And voltage input in these locations may vary which means your mobile wallbox needs to be prepared for it as voltage fluctuations are like unexpected potholes on the road. 

The go-e Charger adjusts itself quickly to match the voltage wherever you plug it in and keeps monitoring the situation during the charging process. That’s how it prevents problems caused by voltage changes, which can happen at home or while on the go. 

Another great feature for ensuring the safety of the charger and the connected electric vehicle is the over- and undervoltage protection.

This adaptability to different electrical systems and the protection against voltage fluctuations make the go-e Charger an incredibly safe and versatile solution for electric vehicle charging.

Different regions have different types of electrical grids. The ground check feature is like a multilingual translator, allowing your wallbox to speak the electrical language of various grid systems. This feature stops charging in TT and TN power grids if the power connection lacks grounding. It's on by default but can be turned off in the go-e Charger app. Disable it only if you're sure the electricity grid lacks grounding (IT grid, common in many parts of Norway). In case you are unsure, keep it enabled to play it safe.

In certain situations, your energy supplier may recommend or even require the installation of a ripple control receiver. This is particularly likely if an installation is to contain a larger number of EV chargers like it is often the case with fleet operators. The go-e Charger Gemini comes prepared for such scenarios and is equipped with two additional wires besides the mains wiring. Those can be connected to control equipment like ripple control receivers to modulate charging power on demand.

It’s better to avoid installing the charging station under direct sunlight. But we understand that there is not always a choice. What then? 

Imagine your electric car is charging at maximum power of 11 or 22 kW in direct sunlight in the scorching summer heat. In this situation, temperature sensors monitor and regulate the charging current, acting like a thermostat. They make sure your charging power adapts to prevent overheating and potential damage of the wallbox. The go-e Charger starts  limiting charging power as soon as any of the internal temperature sensors detect a temperature over 75°C. So no worries, the smart wallbox will keep protecting you from electrical dangers wherever and whenever you charge.

Another scenario that can be dangerous, or at least annoying, is a vehicle that consumes more energy than the wallbox has set. In such a case, the installation could be overloaded, which will cause the fuses to trip and, as a result, a power outage in your home.

The go-e Charger Gemini continuously monitors the current drawn by the vehicle and compares it to the maximum current that is signalled to the vehicle. If the current consumption exceeds this limit, the charging process is stopped, protecting the electrical installation.

You've installed your go-e Charger outdoors, and it starts to rain. What should you do? 

The correct answer is nothing. With an IP65 rating, the smart wallbox is protected against dirt and water, making it suitable for permanent outdoor operation. In winter, you can charge even when it’s snowing.

Charging your electric car at home normally takes a couple of hours. It depends on how much you want to charge and the state of charge of your car’s battery, of course. In any case, normally, you just connect the car to the wallbox and go to run errands or watch the new season of your favourite Netflix series. If the go-e Charger is located in your own yard, you must feel pretty safe doing so. But what if it’s installed in an open area where anyone can access it? 

As they say it’s better to use go-e anti-theft protection than to be sorry. 

There are two ways you can protect your wallbox and the charging cable you own. 

Option 1: Use the cable locking feature

By default, the cable stays locked in the wallbox during and after the charging process for theft protection, but you can change this in the app. You can also permanently lock the charging cable in the charger so that it can never be stolen.  During a power failure, the cable remains locked and can only be unlocked by powering up the station. You can change the settings in the app to auto-unlock and a bit of reserve power stored inside the Charger will be used to unlock it after a power failure. Keep in mind that theft protection is disabled in this case.

Option 2: Optionally mountable anti-theft device (U-piece)

Make it impossible to detach your wallbox from the wall. You have the stationary go-e Charger Gemini or even the mobile go-e Charger Gemini flex, but don't intend to travel with it? Secure it properly outdoors by attaching the U-piece that comes with the wallbox.

But what if you have a neighbour with an electric car who would like to use your go-e Charger? You don’t have to restrict him or her from using it at all if you don’t want to pay an extra cost for electricity and wish to avoid awkward money talks. Access control through RFID ensures that only you and authorised users can access it. All the charging information will appear in your go-e Charger app immediately, allowing you to keep track of your electricity bills and protect your wallbox.

If you want to let your neighbours, family, or friends use the charging station, it's easy to set up. They just need RFID cards or chips that you register in the app. When they bring their RFID card close to the charging station’s RFID reader, the system recognizes them as authorised users, allowing them to charge their electric vehicles conveniently and securely. This way, you can share your charging station with people you trust while still keeping control over its use and costs. 

Furthermore, RFID management means that no one else can use the charging station, making theft pointless because the thief won't be able to use it anyway.