The charger's datasheet, line by line
After the inspection, the technician files the report and opens the datasheet of charger 1, the document every line of this path has been about. Eighteen lines, each a decision somebody made and a rule somebody wrote.
The sheet is composed in the form manufacturers use; the figures are those of the chargers in this path.
The questionWhich lines are physics, which are law, and which are promises, and what does each one mean for the site?
Guess firstThe output line says 375 A at 800 V and 500 A at 600 V, both for 300 kW. Which car reaches the full 300 kW?RevealHide
Only the 800-volt car. A 400-volt car runs into the 500 A limit of the cable at about 200 kW. The cabinet has the power; the cable sets the current.
What you are looking at
A datasheet mixes three kinds of statements: physical limits (voltage, current, efficiency, temperature), legal conformity (CE marking under the Low Voltage Directive, charging modes and protection under IEC 61851-1, the connector, payment and connection rules of , the metering class of the 2026 EU rules) and commercial promises (sharing, service, warranty). Reading it well means knowing which line is which.
Select the lines to see which stop of this path explains each one.
In the order manufacturers use: what goes in, what comes out, how it connects, what it complies with, what is promised.
- Line 1What the number on the door means
300 kW is the cabinet, not the outlet. Six modules of 50 kW can serve one car or be divided between two (stop 05). The line already says what happens when one module fails.
A composed datasheet with the figures of this path. The legal lines rest on the Low Voltage Directive, IEC 61851-1, AFIR and the 2026 amendment of the Measuring Instruments Directive. The security profiles of the backend line are those of the OCPP 1.6 security whitepaper.
| Kind | Checked by | |
|---|---|---|
| Input, output, efficiencyvoltage, current, heat | physics | the site's planner, against the connection |
| Connectors, payment, connectionAFIR | law | the compliance manager, at commissioning |
| Meteringmeasuring law | law | the authority, through the meter's approval |
| ConformityCE, IEC 61851 | law | the manufacturer's declaration, kept on file |
| Sharing, service, warrantycontract | promise | the operator, in the purchase contract |
The same sheet read by four people. The planner reads the top, the compliance manager the middle, the buyer the bottom.
Three lines the technician reads differently
- Six modules of 50 kW. To the buyer a feature; to the technician the reason a failed module costs 50 kW and not the charger (stop 04).
- Derating above 40 °C. A hot afternoon in July explains a driver's complaint about 240 kW instead of 300 without any fault.
- Availability 98%. About seven days a year, two percent of 365; stop 08 computes eleven for the 97% of the US rule. The definition in the service contract decides whether a July afternoon at reduced power counts.
How a datasheet becomes a tender, and what a certificate adds to a claim, is the subject of EV charging fundamentals, stop 08.
Check your understanding
3 questions. Answer all of them to complete this stop. Each answer explains itself.
The sheet gives 375 A at 800 V and 500 A at 600 V for the same 300 kW. What does the second figure tell a 400-volt car?
Power is voltage times current. At 400 V the 500 A of the cooled cable give 200 kW; the 300 kW line is for 800-volt cars (stop 06).
Which lines of the datasheet are required by law rather than chosen by the manufacturer?
AFIR sets connector, payment and connection duties for public points; measuring law the meter. Modules, service and warranty are the manufacturer's and the buyer's business.
One of six modules fails on a hot afternoon with derating already active. What does the sheet predict?
Modules work in parallel; derating lowers what the remaining ones deliver. Reduced power, not an outage (stops 04 and 08).
- AFIR Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (EU) 2023/1804: EU rules for public charging, from payment to coverage. EV charging fundamentals, stop 08 Glossary
- EUR-Lex: Directive 2014/35/EU (Low Voltage Directive), Article 1. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2014/35/oj. Checked 09 Oct 2026. © European Union, reused under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
- IEC: IEC 61851-1:2017, Electric vehicle conductive charging system, Part 1: General requirements. https://webstore.iec.ch/en/publication/33644. Checked 09 Oct 2026.
- EUR-Lex: Regulation (EU) 2023/1804 (AFIR), Articles 2, 5 and 20 and Annex II. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1804/oj. Checked 09 Oct 2026. © European Union, reused under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
- EUR-Lex: Directive (EU) 2026/706 amending Directive 2014/32/EU as regards measuring systems for electric vehicle supply equipment, Annex Va (MI-011). https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2026/706/oj. Checked 09 Oct 2026. © European Union, reused under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
- EUR-Lex: Directive 2014/35/EU (Low Voltage Directive), Article 1. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2014/35/oj. Checked 09 Oct 2026. © European Union, reused under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
- IEC: IEC 61851-1:2017, Electric vehicle conductive charging system, Part 1: General requirements. https://webstore.iec.ch/en/publication/33644. Checked 09 Oct 2026.
- EUR-Lex: Regulation (EU) 2023/1804 (AFIR), Articles 2, 5 and 20 and Annex II. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1804/oj. Checked 09 Oct 2026. © European Union, reused under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
- EUR-Lex: Directive (EU) 2026/706 amending Directive 2014/32/EU as regards measuring systems for electric vehicle supply equipment, Annex Va (MI-011). https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2026/706/oj. Checked 09 Oct 2026. © European Union, reused under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
- Open Charge Alliance: OCPP 1.6 security whitepaper, 4th edition, February 2026: security profiles 1 to 3. https://openchargealliance.org/ocpp-info-whitepapers/ocpp-1-6-security-whitepaper-4th-edition/. Checked 09 Oct 2026. Licence: CC BY-ND 4.0.