Service tip: SMA EV Charger etc. – The Benefits of the Latest Updates
Whether charging multiple electric vehicles, protecting the SMA EV Charger against unauthorized access or allowing you to use lots more new features, the upcoming e-mobility updates in SMA Energy Systems Home will offer a whole range of new and highly practical features. This article tells you more about the latest features available with the SMA EV Charger, Sunny Home Manager 2.0 and SMA Energy app along with some things you need to bear in mind.
Update status
The current Sunny Home Manager 2.0 and SMA Energy app updates were already made available to our customers in a large-scale rollout. The update (1.02.23.R) announced for the SMA EV Charger is now also available and will be rolled out to our customers.
These features are now available with the updated SMA EV Charger:
1. Multi-EVC operation of the SMA EV Charger:
This feature allows you to connect up to three SMA EV Chargers to one Sunny Home Manager 2.0, which is especially useful if you want to use the charging solution in a small-scale business setting or large-scale home network. When installing the SMA EV Charger, ensure a rolling (i.e. alternating) connection of line conductor L1 of the SMA EV Charger to the three line conductors in the building:
In optimized mode, the order of priority for the individual SMA EV Chargers can be set in the Sunny Portal under load characteristics:
To ensure power outage protection, the maximum charging current is limited as a function of the active charging stations. A special feature is also provided for electric vehicles that use two-phase charging. These vehicles are restricted to single-phase charging while more than one SMA EV Charger is active in order to adhere to the unbalanced load limit. More information on this is available in the operating manual, which you can find in the download area on the product page of the SMA EV Charger.
You can of course also control and monitor all three SMA EV Chargers via the SMA Energy app. When you click the “E-Mobility” tab, an overview of all SMA EV Chargers in the system appears. This allows you to call up the individual SMA EV Chargers in the usual way as well as visualize and control specific details:
2. Authorizing charging processes:
This feature allows you to protect your SMA EV Charger against unauthorized use. Following one-time activation during commissioning or at a later point in time via the SMA EV Charger user interface, each charging process can simply be approved via the SMA Energy app. Approval applies to the active charging process; fresh approval is required every time a new device is connected. This is SMA’s response to a frequently voiced concern among our customers and is designed to support secure use – for example with a much more visible installation in your home or business.
What you need to do in order to use the function:
3. Dimmable LED status display:
The LED status display, which many customers have complained is too bright, can now be dimmed so that it is no longer just another distracting and irritating source of light. You can choose from a total of three levels, which can be configured via the parameters on the SMA EV Charger user interface:
4. Power-based restriction on charging power
It has so far not been possible to use the boost function, i.e. single-phase charging, with up to 7.4 kW, when the SMA EV Charger is restricted to 11 kW. The update now makes this possible. If a single-phase PV and/or battery inverter is installed or the two other line conductors are carrying high loads, single-phase charging with up to 7.4 kW is possible when the unbalanced load limit required by the standards is simultaneously adhered to at the point of interconnection. For this to work, the SMA EV Charger supply line must be designed for 32 A. This is already queried via the “AC-Strom Begrenzung” [AC current restriction] parameter when you commission the SMA EV Charger:
Important requirements:
All three SMA products must have the latest update. Only then can the SMA EV Charger be utilized to the full in conjunction with Sunny Home Manager 2.0 and the SMA Energy app.
You can find out more about the solar filling station on your own doorstep here.
Find out more about the SMA EV Charger in these blog posts:
https://www.sma-sunny.com/en/sma-ev-charger-your-questions-our-answers/
https://www.sma-sunny.com/en/charge-your-electric-vehicle-at-home/
https://www.sma-sunny.com/en/more-sunshine-needed-in-the-tank/
https://www.sma-sunny.com/en/how-forecast-based-charging-works/
Hello Christiane,
Thanks for the information above, it is good to see that you are rolling out improvements.
As a one car home user in Europe there are three features I would like see.
1. Maximising PV energy usage by the EV charger in the afternoons after work or in the mornings. If the EV charger could use all available PV surplus and only use grid energy if surplus falls below 1,2kW, thus avoiding that the charging stops, it would save me money. Today I can not do this and if I try, as a proxy, to set a charging target like 6kWh and the time to 3 hours, in the evening. Then I would assume the charger would charge a steady 2kWh for the next 3 hours. But instead the charger first starts charging approx. 5kWh (using a lot of grid energy) and then drops back to 1,2kWh while I continue to inject PV surplus into the grid.
2. Select when the charging starts, when using “Charging with a specified target”. Many electricity tariffs are hour based, with the cheapest energy at night. If I have no PV production I would like to be able to charge when the price is the lowest and thus set the starting time.
3. Dynamically updated electricity tariffs in sunny portal. The tariffs for both consumption and feed-in are published the day before a 20.00. If sunny portal could automatically load this data the system I assume sunny home manager 2.0 would be able to make better decisions on when to charge.
Feel free to contact me, I would be happy to help and clarify any of the points above.
Best regards, Ulf
Hello Ulf,
Many thanks for the friendly and constructive feedback.
Feedback from our customers is very important to us and is incorporated into our further and new developments.
Sunny regards
Christiane
Christiane
I am hoping that I might have solved this issue. I have found a likely control parameter that seems like it might control how long the charger waits before disconnecting. If my interpretation is correct, the default value is unrealistically short, so I have set it to something more reasonable. I shall test it this evening and let you know if it works.
Regards,
Richard.
Hello Richard,
Please get back to our SMA Service as there is already a ticket / case containing all information related to your question.
Thank you!
Sunny regards
Christiane
Christiane,
That was the solution. I have informed the service centre for their future reference. As I said before, I am impressed by the design and robustness of SMA products but I appreciate that the support of complex equipment is always a problem.
If anybody else is searching for a solution and finds their way here the details are:
1) Login to the charger and select parameters
2) Change the value of ‘Standby for charging process to disconnection’ to a larger number – maximum allowed is 1440.
3) Save
Simple, but only if you know!
Cheers,
Richard
Hello Richard,
Thank you for the feedback.
Even though a solution seems to have been found in this case, our service colleagues will continue to review your request and may contact you again.
It is a great support if requests are made only once if possible.
Thank you for your support and understanding!
Sunny regards
Christiane
I have a simple requirement: charge only between the hours of midnight and 5 am when my electricity tariff is massively cheaper. I can reliably set my Kia eNiro to schedule this, but the charger will only provide power if I remove and replace the connector during this period. Alternatively, I can avoid going outside in my night attire by switching the charger from setting 1 to 2 and back again to achieve the same goal, but neither is an acceptable solution.
I have tested using the simple 2kW adapter that comes with the car and it works every time. Likewise, it works reliably with a friend’s charger from another manufacturer. I suspect that the charger is hanging in some interim state after being plugged in but the car not demanding current until the scheduled time slot.
I have tried a solution suggested by the service centre and it doesn’t solve the issue.
I insisted on fitting the SMA charger as I have Sunny Boy solar and battery inverters and Home Manager with which I am very happy.
Hello Richard,
Thanks for your kind feedback – good to hear that you are happy with our SMA products so far.
Unfortunately, your inquiry regarding the charging is not solved to your satisfaction until now.
As your request is still being processed, please allow some time until our Service Experts will get back to you again.
By using our SMA Online Service Center, you can check the processing status of your inquiry anytime or push your request.
Sunny regards
Christiane
Christiane
I believe I have identified a problem which limits delayed charging to no more than 10 minutes later. I hope this is an unintended feature of the charger that might be readily updated in a firmware change. I have shared my thoughts with the service team but am not hopeful of a response anytime soon.
Regards,
Richard.
Hello Richard,
Thanks for getting back.
You are already in contact with our SMA Service, too.
My colleagues have delegated your inquiry for further support.
For that reason, please get back to our SMA Service in case you have any additional information.
Thanks for your understanding!
Sunny regards
Christiane
Hi there,
My Sunny Home Manager 2.0 is still on version 2.08.5.R even though the automatic update setting is enabled. Is the update being staggered geographically perhaps?
Because I’m used to the Apple/Google ecosystem of software updates – i.e. as soon as the update is released it’s available instantly or delayed by a few days – making the HM2 update somewhat weird as I’m never too sure when it’ll happen or if something is broken. I’d happily apply the update manually too if that was an option.
Cheers.
Hello Idris, the update is rolled out step by step. To be on the safe side check this part of the manual. If everything works perfectly you should get the update in due time.
Sunny regards!