INCH Duo Regular Maintenance Process
- 1 2. Regular Maintenance
- 1.1 2.1 Regular Maintenance
- 1.2 2.2 General Inspection of the Station
- 1.3 2.3 Reset and Test the Protection Elements
- 1.4 2.4 Maintenance Checklist
- 1.5 2.5 Diagnostics of the Functioning of the Station
- 1.6 2.6 Installing New Versions of Charging Station's Firmware
- 1.7 2.7 Communication with the Control Centre
- 1.8 2.8 Locking the Charging Plug into the Socket
2. Regular Maintenance
2.1 Regular Maintenance
No specific services are needed apart from recommended regular maintenance protocol, which is described below. The procedure takes approximately from 60 to 90 minutes onsite, per one charging station. Recommended service interval is once per year, starting one year after the installation of the station. The service protocol is performed as specified in the checklist.
The infrastructure operator should carry out audits periodically, once a year.
This will allow the person, inspecting the charging station to identify any critical damage to the casing or other components that may affect the safety of users.
The regulations require that residual current protective device (RCD) is tested regularly, and an audit log should also be kept.
Public charging stations are often exposed to harsh climate conditions and mechanical damage. Critical damage of the casing or other components of the charging station can affect user safety. The charging infrastructure operator should perform regular inspections of the charging stations (preventive maintenance).
Before the general inspection, the charging station MUST BE switched off. It is turned on FOR testing of the performance.
2.2 General Inspection of the Station
The charging infrastructure operator should perform regular inspections of the charging stations (preventive maintenance). Public charging stations are often exposed to harsh climate conditions and mechanical damage. Critical damage of the casing or other components of the charging station can affect user safety.
The duty of the maintenance service is to:
Examine every socket for potential damage. Access to the sockets must always be enabled and any foreign objects that might be lodged in must be removed as soon as possible.
Examine the casing of the charging station for potential damage. The internal components of the charging station can be examined by unlocking and opening the service doors of the station. The maintenance staff should look for mechanical damage of individual components and examine the interior for potential presence of water or moisture. The equipment installed in the upper part of the station (LCD, RFID, electronics) is the most delicate and should be examined thoroughly.
Examine the functioning of ground protection of each socket, by using the »test« button on the residual current devices (RCDs).
Examine the operation of the charging station following the specified sequence:
Plug in the cable into socket 1.
Perform identification to start the charging (RFID, SMS, or via App).
To conduct an optimal test, some energy consumption should be induced. Amount of energy consumed is shown on the LCD display.
Log off with the RFID card.
Charging should stop.
Repeat the procedure for socket 2.
For testing purposes, the maintenance staff should use a test cable with an IEC 62196-2 Type 2 plug, where a connection with an IEC 61851 standard vehicle can be simulated.
The service doors of the station can be opened by lifting unlocked doors and slightly opening them at the same time, then slightly lifting them once more and opening them completely. The handle next to the lock should be used to lift the doors.
2.3 Reset and Test the Protection Elements
To ensure that the protection elements are working properly they need to be tested. This should be done for both RCD’s (Residual-current devices), installed inside the charging station.
Overcurrent Protection
Check the overcurrent protection (if installed) once a year for any visible damages on the surface. If the overcurrent protection is tripped and the switches can’t return to the active position something is wrong with the protection and needs to be changed by maintenance crew.
2.3.1.2 RCD
The regulations require that residual current protective device (RCD) is tested regularly, and an audit log should also be kept.
The test button on the RCD unit allows user to verify the correct operation of the device by passing a small current through the RCD unit. This simulates a fault by creating an imbalance in the sense coil. If the RCD does not trip when this button is pressed, then the device must be replaced by licensed electrician. The device must be changed also when the RCD was tripped but the switch cannot be moved back into active position. RCD testing must be completed and documented at least every year.
Figure 2: RCD test buttons
2.3.1.3 Surge and Overvoltage Protection
Check the surge and overvoltage protection (if installed) once a year for any visible damages on the surface. If the surge and overvoltage protection is tripped it needs to be changed by maintenance crew.
2.4 Maintenance Checklist
1 | Measuring the voltage on all phases and between neutral and earth wires. |
2 | Measuring resistance between grounding and housing / door of the station. |
3 | Test of RCD protection 1 with the test button (in case of failure, change of RCD is required or removal of charging station from operation). |
4 | Test of RCD protection 2 with the test button (in case of failure, change of RCD is required or removal of charging station from operation). |
5 | Performance check: switch off all the main fuses and reboot of charging station. |
6 | Check-up of pins in socket 1 (no corrosion should be visible). |
7 | Check-up of pins in socket 2 (no corrosion should be visible). |
8 | Checking the socket 1 (socket should be free of dirt and foreign objects). |
9 | Checking the socket 2 (socket should be free of dirt and foreign objects). |
10 | Login with RFID card (if RFID authorization is enabled and online check is made). |
11 | Login with SMS (if SMS authorization is enabled and online check is made). |
12 | Login with mobile- app (if APP authorization is enabled and online check is made). |
13 | Start charging on socket 1 with a load (with EV or tester + load). |
14 | Display of power consumption on LCD display of the charging station for socket 1 (for this step approx. 5 minutes is needed). |
15 | End of charging at socket 1. |
16 | Logout and re-login. |
17 | Start charging on socket 2 with a load (with EV or tester + load). |
18 | Display of power consumption on the screen for socket 2 (for this step approx. 5 minutes is needed). |
19 | Check-up of the mechanical condition of the housing and optional labels. |
20 | Check-up of the condition of LCD display (mechanical or other defects). |
21 | Verifying that the latest version of SW is loaded on the charger |
22 | Optional update if it is part of the product offer. (It can be implemented by Etrel locally or it can be done remotely from client’s back end). |
2.5 Diagnostics of the Functioning of the Station
The maintenance staff can access and view archived events and statuses with the use of recorded logs. Overview of logs and monitoring of the functioning of the station can be done through the configuration interface of the station, which runs as a web application in the station itself.
The configuration interface of each individual station can be accessed remotely from the charging infrastructure Control centre.
Local access to the configuration interface requires the following:
Computer with web browser.
Network cable used to connect directly to the charging station. Connect the computer with the charging station via router. If router is not used, insert the cable directly into the LAN socket that is in the service space of the charging station, behind the maintenance doors.
Charging station and computer must be in the same network segment. To set the correct segment, the first three segments of IP address should be the same as they are for the charging station (192.168.1.XXX). Fourth segment should be unique and can be chosen randomly in the range 2-255 (1 is usually dedicated to the router and it is not used for the computer).
For the example above, the computer IP address could be set to 192.168.1.230.
After the setting of IP address and connection with charging station network, enter the following address into web browser: http://local_IP_address_of_the_station, example:
http://192.168.1.250 (default IP address).
The configuration’s interface login windows should appear on the screen. Default login settings:
Username: root@etrel.com
Password: toor
After the successful login, the control panel is shown, with overview of the present charging station state. With click on ''Burger'' menu, Diagnostics, Download logs, selection of date, Download, diagnostic logs can be downloaded and saved to the computer.
In case of problems, download the logs and then sent them to the operator. In some cases, the option of extended logs needs to be turned on with click on Temporarily turn on verbose logs in the Diagnostics menu.
2.6 Installing New Versions of Charging Station's Firmware
New firmware versions are installed through the application in the charging infrastructure Control centre. The system administrator manages new firmware versions and their distribution to individual charging stations.
New firmware versions cannot be installed while charging is in progress. Installing of new firmware versions is performed in a few steps:
Application in the Control centre notifies the charging station that a new firmware version is ready to be installed.
When it becomes available, the station begins downloading the new firmware version.
After the firmware is successfully downloaded, the install process is started.
After the firmware is installed, the station is automatically restarted.
If the latest version of the firmware is not installed on the charging station, it can be performed through charging station’s web interface.:
Connect the computer with the charging station, following the same procedure as described in previous chapter.
In the Web interface click on ''Burger'' menu, Diagnostics, Upgrade firmware, Browse.
Select the file with the latest version of firmware (file with zip suffix) and click on the button Save.
After the firmware upgrade, the charging station resets automatically.
The latest firmware upgrade is available at Etrel Knowledge Base web page.
2.7 Communication with the Control Centre
For its normal operation, the charging station requires an active connection with the Control centre. The communication is required mainly to perform central user identification, transfer billing data and charging detail records, and to exercise remote control over the charging process.
If there is no communication connection with the Control centre, user identification is not possible, and the default option is that no charging can be started on stations that require identification of EV users. The setting can be made to allow charging in case of communication loss for known users with use of whitelist.
The charging station communicates even when it is »Available«. It cyclically sends its general status to the Control centre.
If it is diagnosed that the charging station does not have a reliable communication connection with the Control centre, alternative communication solutions need to be considered (new GPRS service provider, upgrade of the antenna, different communication channel – ADSL, WAN network).
2.8 Locking the Charging Plug into the Socket
For IEC 62196-2 Type 2 type sockets, the plug of the charging cable is locked into the socket while charging. For locking mechanism of the plug, the solenoid is used, which means that the electronics of the station controls the locking and unlocking of the plug.