Ingineer said:
Just so everyone knows, I've thoroughly tested the Power supply system I use in the Upgrade to ensure it is efficient, and well within all limits for EMI/RFI, and even Audible Noise. As we all know, it's not the EVSE at fault, it's the Leaf's OBC (On-Board Charger).
Absolutely! I'm sorry if I potentially implicated your unit! Clearly the noise is from the LEAF's charger, not from the EVSEupgrade. The implication which I should have stated more clearly in both the thread opener and the post you referenced is that our issues did not (and DO not) occur on L1, only L2.
Ingineer said:
To ensure that EM radiation would be kept to a minimum I did what I could once I discovered the Leaf's OBC was noisy. I immediately switched to fully shielded cabling on the adapters and inlet cord. Obviously this isn't much, but in some situations it may be enough of a difference.
Interesting. I have two of your units, an older one AND a newer one. I use the newer one for our daily charging since the cable is LONGER and better suits my needs. I had no idea it had different shielding, as well. But, yeah, shielding will not make much difference with conducted emissions.
Ingineer said:
The problem you are having with your solar system is directly related to the PLC (Power Line Communications) system used between the Micro inverters and the Envoy. The best noise abatement you could do is to install additional filtering in the power cabling adjacent to the OBC, even though there is substantial treatment already installed there by Nissan. This should go beyond a simply ferrite choke if possible.
O.K. Thanks for the specific recommendation here! While I will again state that I am disappointed that the Enphase system is so sensitive and the LEAF is so noisy, I agree that filtering close to the LEAF is the best idea. When I installed the outlet for the EVSEupgrade, I did not foresee this issue and I installed a fairly small "old work" box in our finished garage. As such there is no room for any filtering in there, not even ferrite beads.
So I think the best solution would be a metal can with an L6-20P pigtail on one side and an L6-20R on the other. I could include an energy meter at the same time so I can meter at L2. I know that you sell the L6-20R pigtails, perhaps I could also purchase an L6-20P pigtail from you? Better yet, would you like to sell a noise suppression/metering accessories to some of your EVSE customers who are charging noisy EVs with your unit?
Thanks for the specific filter recommendation! One question about the unit you recommended: Is that a shunt device or does it go in series? I'm guessing it goes in series with each line meaning two are needed.
Ingineer said:
Another recommendation is to install the Envoy electrically as close as possible to the inverters. If the inverters have their own subpanel, I highly recommend you add a dedicated outlet to this panel to accommodate the Envoy. It will also be a great idea to install some noise suppression on the feed to the subpanel if possible.
This has always been at the top of the list of things to try, particularly because I would rather locate the Envoy unit there. Both the PV subpanel and the LEAF charging circuit are located at the garage, which is far from our main panel. The LEAF charger is on a 140'-long 10-3 circuit and the PV subpanel is on a 100' 2-2-2-4 circuit.
It is a rather simple matter to drop an outlet near that the PV subpanel, but running the 120-feet of Cat-5e back to the router has given me pause. But I have another similar run to make, so perhaps I will address them at the same time.
Ingineer said:
If this advice is implemented, this should eliminate all the problems with disruption of the PLC signal.
Agreed! It sounds like excellent advice! Thanks again!
I do intend to do a few more tests with my system and I will also be watching Tony's RAV4 EV charging to try to document the characteristics a bit more. Unfortunately, there are quite a few variables involved, particularly since there seem to be multiple versions of the LEAF charger out there and of course every house is wired differently.