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Comment by readams | Hacker News Reader

The author seems to be overestimating what level 2 chargers actually do. They are really just switches that turn and off the electricity after you pay (and it verifies with the car). So his idea here of replacing all those complicated level 2 chargers with a regular outlet plus a way to pay is.. actually just what a level 2 charger already is.

DC fast chargers are considerably more complicated though.

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The biggest difference in the US is the integrated cord. It's about half the total cost and the primary wear item. If we had a spec similar to the UK where the charger had a female J1772 plug and the user supplied the cord we'd be able to roll out a lot more chargers for less money, they'd more consistently work, etc.

J1772 can handle up to 80 amps, but cords can vary anywhere from 16-80. How does the charger determine the ampacity of the user's cord?

In the Type 2 spec there is an additional resistor on the control pins of the cord that communicate the current capacity of the cord to the car. That, along with the signaled capacity of the station gives the car the maximum current it can draw.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_2_connector

Interesting, I wonder if resistor-coded detachable cables could be retrofitted into J1772 or NACS without breaking compatibility. As long as it's possible, it'll probably happen eventually.

> It's about half the total cost

Source?

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