Phihong announced the availability of the AC32A 7.7 kW electric vehicle charger with UL certification for the North American market. The charger is designed to be compact, reliable, lightweight, and vibration resistant. With a sleek, ergonomic, and customizable design, the AC32 chargers require a single-phase 220 Vac to 240 Vac input and have options to be wall-mounted or free standing.

The company says its AC32 chargers are ideal choices for residential, parking lot, gas/service station, commercial fleet operators, EV infrastructure operators, and service providers. They are also ideal for EV dealer workshop EV charging requirements.

With an operating temperature range of -30°C to +50°C and NEMA Type 3R rating, the AC32 chargers are compatible with indoor and outdoor applications throughout North America.

A 5-inch LCD monitor is included in the design to display charging status and any charging messages. An optional RFID unit handles charging authorization through the built-in RFID reader, accepting ISO/IEC 14443A/B, ISO/IEC 15693, FeliCa, NFC, and Mifare cards.

Standard external communications occur through a LAN connection with options available for 4G or Wi-Fi. Internal communications occur through OCPP 1.6 JSON. External communications allow for remote monitoring and management such as troubleshooting, self-diagnosis, charging status feedback, and firmware remote updates for preventative maintenance.

Bill Morrison, Phihong’s director of sales and marketing—Charger Products for Transportation Systems, said the AC32 chargers are the first of many products to be introduced in this market. He noted that future announcements of portable chargers, mobile chargers, and high-power DC chargers will be coming to the U.S. market in the near future. He said, “Early adopters of these technologies, such as automobile and truck manufacturers, can work with our North American team with early samples of future product releases while agency certifications are completed.”

Phihong’s AC32 chargers weigh less than 7 kg (~15 lb) and include a 5-m charging cable with a standard SAEJ1772 Type 1 Plug/Socket. For automobile manufacturers designing and testing new vehicles for China, special order versions of the AC32 are available with the GB/T charging plug. Safety features include over-current, over-voltage, and under-voltage protections on the input and output.  Ground fault protection is provided through lost input ground connection notification.