FAQ

Using a wallbox to charge your car has several advantages. Probably the most important point is that you can charge your car with a higher power than via a household socket (up to 22 kW instead of max. 2.4 kW).This significantly reduces the duration of the charging process (4h instead of 20h).

Secondly, there is the issue of safety. Contrary to what many people assume, normal household sockets are not designed for continuous load operation and can overheat. This results in an increased risk of fire as a consequence of inadmissible heating.

You can avoid this risk by using a wallbox specially designed for charging.

 

• AC alternating current
• DC direct current
   

Even though the battery of the electric car is charged with direct current, only AC charging stations are used in private use because they are cheaper than comparably expensive DC charging stations. With AC charging stations, the alternating current from the grid is converted into direct current by the on-board charger in the car before the current is fed into the car's battery.

 

The charging time of an electric car depends on the capacity of the installed battery (specified in kWh) and the charging power of the wallbox (specified in kW).
You can easily calculate the charging time with the formula:

Charging time = charging capacity/charging power
 

Please note that most cars have a maximum charging capacity of 11 kW.

Example: The BMW i3 (120 Ah) has a charging capacity of 42.2 kWh and a maximum charging power of 11 kW. Consequently, the charging time is calculated as follows:
 

Charging time = 42.2 kWh/11 kW = 3.8 h

 

In the meantime, 2 plug types have become established on the German and European market:
 

• CCS plug: standard plug for DC charging in Europe (also supports AC charging).
• Type-2 plug: Standard plug for AC charging in Europe (does not support DC charging)

Both plug types support 3-phase charging. The predecessor of the Type-2 plug, the so-called Type-1 plug, is no longer used in Europe.

 

In case of a power failure, the plug lock is automatically released and the plug can be removed from the charging socket. In addition, there is a manual lever in the wallbox for unlocking the charging plug.
 

The Backend is a software solution for the billing of charging processes via a backend operator. The use of a Backend is particularly required for charging stations in the public sector.
 

Our wallboxes work according to the Plug-and-charge principle. This means that charging starts as soon as you have connected your car to the wallbox. If a key switch or RFID module is installed, charging must be enabled accordingly. This is done either by turning the key switch to the charging position or by holding one of the supplied RFID cards in front of the RFID module.

Note: Optionally equipping the charging station with a key switch or RFID module is only possible with our cPH1 and cPP1 charging stations.



 

Yes, thanks to our eCB1 Smart Controllers, you get full control over your charge with all our wallboxes. This includes, among other things, the regulation of the charging current in 1 ampere steps.
 

Each charge specification of the wallbox is stored as a separate entry in the charge log*.
This entry contains, among other things, information about when the charge was started or stopped, how much current was charged and via which charging point (left or right) the charge took place.
The information about which car (model or manufacturer) was charged cannot currently be read out for technical reasons. If you still want to assign the charges to individual cars or persons, this can be realized by using RFID cards

 

In addition to the above-mentioned information, the RFID cards used to release the charge is also stored for each charging process.
This means that you can use the RFID cards to determine which person released the charge or which car was charged.
In addition, a user name can be stored for each card when the RFID cards are taught in, which simplifies the assignment of the card to a person / car.
 

*Prerequisite for this: eCB1-PV installed

Basically, it is possible to switch the wallbox from 3 phases to 1 phase with the help of a phase switch. However, this option is not offered for our wallboxes
If you would still like to have a switchover, please contact your electrical installer for advice.
 

How many phases a car is charged with depends on the wallbox as well as on the electric car.
 

The following applies in principle:
 

Note: To enable charging, at least phase L1 of the charging plug has to be connected at all times.
 

Our cPH2 and cPP2 charging stations are available in a version that complies with calibration law.
In October 2022, they received the test certificate and thus comply with the legal requirements of German calibration law.
 

Our cPμ2 wallbox is as big as an A4 sheet. You can order it with a fixed charging cable with 11kW power.
 

Our cPH2 Wallbox is as big as a DIN A3 sheet.
There are several possible versions of this wallbox. Such as number of charging points, power, socket/cable, etc....
 

For more detailed information have a look at our '"eCharge Hardy Barth charging stations" comparison list: https://www.echarge.de/de/service/download - overview / comparison of charging stations
 

The key switch enables direct switching of the charging modes at the wallbox. You can choose between OFF= no charging possible, ECO= PV surplus charging and fast charging= maximum charging.
 

It is required for current measurement within a wallbox with two charging connections in order to be able to measure the further charging point.
 

Our distribution channel is a 3-tier distribution. Consequently, you can only purchase our products through one of our distribution partners.
 

An overview with all our distribution partners can be found under the point reference partners.
 

• cPµ2 Pro: Charge Point Micro 2 Pro
• cPµ1: Charge Point Micro 1
• cPH: Charge Point Home
• cPP: Charge Point Public

It is the control center for intelligent control and current measurement. It provides the values for visualization for the web interface and is the head of the system.
 

ATTENTION: There are three different variants!
 

eCB1-LR-MP+ (Measuring point plus)
It is installed at the house connection.

It is intended for measuring the house connection (current draw / feed-in) and is used if no compatible photovoltaic system or measuring device is available.
It passes on the measured values to the eCB1-LR-PV for charging control. Direct control of the charging point (wallbox) is not possible. If a compatible smart meter from Fronius, Kostal, SMA or RCT is available, the eCB1-LR-MP+ is not required.

eCB1-LR-PV (photovoltaic control)
Controls the Wallbox based on the actual available power of the photovoltaic system or the remaining available power of the house connection.
The eCB1-LR-PV cannot be replaced by a smart meter from Fronius, Kostal, SMA or RCT. Consequently, at least one eCB1 is still required for smart charging.

Different placements are possible.

With our V1 versions, at least one Smartmeter is used to control the wallboxes.

With our V2 versions, the wallboxes are controlled by the new ChargeControler (SALIA board), which is why the Smartmeter is omitted.

If our wallboxes are not compatible with the existing PV system, an additional SmartMeter is required.

Yes, thanks to our eCB1 Smart Controllers, you get full control over your charge with all our wallboxes. This includes, among other things, the regulation of the charging current in 1 ampere steps.
 

A dedicated app is in progress.
 

You will find a display of the measured values as well as the option to set the charging modes on our local user interface. You can access this via a browser window on your computer or mobile device
 

With our V1 versions, at least one Smartmeter is used to control the wallboxes.

With our V2 versions, the wallboxes are controlled by the new ChargeControler (SALIA board), which is why the Smartmeter is omitted.

If our wallboxes are not compatible with the existing PV system, an additional SmartMeter is required.

No, a direct connection is not necessary. It is sufficient if both are in the same network.
 

Our wallboxes cPH1 and cPµ1 meet the IP44 degree of protection, our wallbox cPµ2 Pro and cPH2 meet the IP54 degree of protection.
Installation outdoors or outside buildings is therefore no problem for the wallboxes.
Nevertheless, we recommend to protect the wallboxes additionally by a roofing (carport, canopy, etc...) against strong weather conditions.
 

In our wallboxes, an RCM-Module is installed as standard, which detects DC fault currents and interrupts the charging process from DC fault currents>6mA.
 

For this reason, only a Type A RCD must be installed in the pre-installation.
 

For the supply line to our wallbox you need the following cable cross sections:
 

• cPµ2 Pro/cPµ1: min. 5x2,5 mm² – max. 5x4 mm²

• cPH1 (11kW): min. 5x2,5 mm² – max. 5x10 mm²
• cPH1 (22kW): min. 5x6 mm² – max. 5x10 mm²
• cPH1 (2x22kW): min. 5x6 mm² – max. 5x10 mm² (2 supply lines necessary)

• cPP1: min. 5x6 mm² – max. 5x35 mm²

The manufacturer warranty of all eCharge Hardy Barth devices is 2 years.
 

If a defect or problem should occur with the wallbox you purchased within the warranty period of two years, please follow the instructions below.

First of all, please contact a qualified specialist company who will inspect the defective device and fill out the required RMA certificate (downloads "Further information").

After the specialist company has determined a clear defect, it will send the completed RMA form with a request for spare parts or a replacement device to eCharge Hardy Barth (support@echarge.de).

In case of a defective cPµ1/cPµ2 Pro Wallbox, the device must be returned in the original packaging or equivalent packaging to …

eCharge Hardy Barth GmbH

Leinbergstraße 14

92262 Birgland-Schwend

... for inspection for warranty damage

For cPH1 wallboxes and cPP1 charging stations, the RMA certificate will be used to evaluate the case and the necessary spare parts for the repair will be sent to the specialist company and invoiced.

In case of a warranty claim there are no costs for the replacement device or the spare parts, shipping costs and possibly prepaid replacement devices or parts will be credited.

If no fault is found on the device during the inspection by eCHarge Hardy Barth, a flat rate inspection fee will be charged in addition to the replacement part or device costs.

In the case of devices that demonstrably do not meet the warranty conditions, or obviously the exchange was made improperly, no costs will be refunded and the inspection flat rate will be charged additionally.

The shipping costs outside of warranty cases have to be paid by the customer.

The disassembly of the defective device as well as the assembly of the replacement device or the installation of required spare parts must be carried out by a specialist company.
 

If a defect or problem occurs with the wallbox you purchased after two years, please follow the instructions below.

First of all, please contact a qualified specialist company who will inspect the defective device and fill out the required RMA certificate (downloads "Further information").

After the specialist company has determined a clear defect, it will send the completed RMA form with a request for spare parts or a replacement device to eCharge Hardy Barth (support@echarge.de).

In case of a defective cPµ1/cPµ2 Pro Wallbox, the device must be returned in the original packaging or equivalent packaging to...

eCharge Hardy Barth GmbH

Leinbergstraße 14

92262 Birgland-Schwend

... for inspection.

For cPH1 wallboxes and cPP1 chargings stations, the RMA certificate is used to evaluate the defect and the necessary spare parts for the repair are sent to the specialist company and invoiced.

Outside the warranty, the shipping costs, inspection flat rate, device-specific exchange costs or costs for spare parts are due in any case.

The disassembly of the defective device as well as the assembly of a replacement device or the installation of required spare parts must be carried out by a specialist company.