IEC 61851 explained

IEC 61851 is an international standard for electric vehicle conductive charging systems, parts of which are currently still under development^{(written 2017)}. IEC 61851 is one of the International Electrotechnical Commission's group of standards for electric road vehicles and electric industrial trucks and is the responsibility of IEC Technical Committee 69 (TC69).^[1]

Standard documents

IEC 61851 consists of the following parts, detailed in separate IEC 61851 standard documents:

• IEC 61851-1: General requirements^[2]
• IEC 61851-21-1: Electric vehicle on-board charger EMC requirements for conductive connection to AC/DC supply^[3]
• IEC 61851-21-2: Electric vehicle requirements for conductive connection to an AC/DC supply - EMC requirements for off board electric vehicle charging systems^[4]
• IEC 61851-23: DC electric vehicle charging station^[5]
• IEC 61851-24: Digital communication between a DC EV charging station and an electric vehicle for control of DC charging^[6]
• IEC 61851-25: DC EV supply equipment where protection relies on electrical separation^[7]

IEC 61851-1

IEC 61851-1 defines four modes of charging:

IEC 61851-1 charging modes^{[8] [9] [10]}

Mode	Diagram	Limits			Supply & Interface	RCD Protection	Applications	Notes
		Phases	Current	Voltage
1	EV connected directly to AC grid	1φ	16A	250V	AC, non-dedicated	electric bikes, scooters, trickle-charging	Direct connection of vehicle to conventional electrical outlets. Not allowed in the US, Israel, and United Kingdom; prohibited for public charging by Italy; restricted in Switzerland, Denmark, Norway.
3φ	16A	480V
2	EV connected to AC grid through cable incorporating RCD protection	1φ	32A	250V	AC, non-dedicated	"slow AC"	Requires control box between vehicle and electrical outlet incorporating RCD protection. Prohibited for public charging by Italy; restricted in US, Canada, Switzerland, Denmark, France, Germany and Norway. Typical portable / "home" charger.
3φ	32A	480V
3	EVSE connected to AC grid, supplies EV using tethered cable or socket-outlet with bidirectional communication	1φ	32A	250V	AC, dedicated (IEC 62196-2)	"slow and quick AC"	EVSE permanently connected to electrical grid; includes RCD protection and bidirectional (EVSE/EV) communication. Typical public AC charger installation. Tethered (cable permanently attached) & untethered (dedicated socket outlet only) configurations.
3φ	32A	480V
4	EVSE rectifies AC grid & supplies DC power to EV using tethered cable with bidirectional communication	–	200A	400V	DC, dedicated (IEC 62196-3)	"fast DC"	Current conversion handled by EVSE, not EV.

See also

• ISO 15118 - Standard defining a vehicle to grid (V2G) communication interface for bi-directional charging/discharging of electric vehicles
• IEC 61850 - Communication protocols for intelligent electronic devices at electrical substations
• IEC 61851 - Standard for electric vehicle conductive charging systems
• IEC 62196 - A series of international standards that define requirements and tests for plugs, socket-outlets, vehicle connectors and vehicle inlets
• IEC 63110 - Protocol for the management of electric vehicles charging and discharging infrastructure
• OpenEVSE

Notes and References

1. http://www.iec.ch/dyn/www/f?p=103:20:5560942192253::::FSP_ORG_ID,FSP_LANG_ID:1255,25 IEC Technical Committee 69
2. https://webstore.iec.ch/publication/33644 IEC 61851-1
3. https://webstore.iec.ch/publication/32045 IEC 61851-21-1
4. Web site: IEC 61851-21-2:2018 | IEC Webstore .
5. https://webstore.iec.ch/publication/32973 IEC 61851-23
6. https://webstore.iec.ch/publication/32582 IEC 61851-24
7. https://webstore.iec.ch/publication/31531 IEC 61851-25
8. Web site: Charging modes (IEC-61851-1) . Circutor . 10 August 2021.
9. Web site: Charging modes for electric vehicles . Ferrari, Lorenzo . Daze Technology . 10 August 2021.
10. Web site: Guide to Electric Vehicle Infrastructure . May 2012 . Association for the British Electrotechnical Industry (BEAMA) . 23 August 2022.