5. Safety and Protection Systems: Various safety and protection systems are integrated into EV charging stations to ensure the safe operation of the equipment and protect both the user and the vehicle. These systems may include ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCI), overcurrent protection, overvoltage protection, and temperature monitoring sensors.
Grounding occurs at nearly every level of electronic device integration within an EV charging station. For sensor and monitoring equipment, fabric-over-foam gasketing is used to provide a reference voltage and mitigate signal noise.
6. Energy Metering: EV charging stations typically include energy metering components that measure and record the energy consumption during the charging process. This data can be used for billing purposes, energy management, and usage analysis.
Like charging controllers and communication modules, these meters must be properly cooled and shielded for proper long-term reliability.
7. Enclosure and EMI Shielding: EV charging stations are housed in enclosures that protect the internal components from environmental factors (e.g., weather, dust, and moisture). Additionally, EMI shielding materials may be used to prevent electromagnetic interference from affecting the performance of the electronics within the charging station.
EV Charging stations come in nearly every shape, size, and color but every single one is tested to rigorous industry standards. Enclosures must not only protect the valuable internal electronics from the environment but also from stray signals coming from telecom equipment, nearby vehicles, cell phones, and other devices. Conductive elastomer gaskets provide the perfect combination of environmental sealing and EMI shielding, able to protect devices from driving wind and rain, and even harsh chemicals. Conductive plastic housings provide design flexibility for individual electronic modules within the device while specialty materials such as conductive coatings and sealants provide an additional layer of shielding at interfaces.