Level 2 or Level 3: matching an EV charger to your site

Picking between Level 2 and Level 3 is usually framed as a question about speed. On a real site it is settled earlier than that, by the electrical service already in the ground and by the vehicles that will plug in.

Start with the service, not the charger

Every charger record lists two numbers that matter before any other: what it draws, and what it delivers.

On the Level 2 side, the AC5500-G runs on 208/240V AC and asks for a dedicated dual-pole breaker — 50A for the 40A station, 40A for the 32A station, 20A for the 16A station. The ACL22100, at 22kW / 100A output, asks for a dedicated dual pole 120A. Both list a NEMA 14-50 input cord and 3-wire power wiring, L1 and L2 plus ground.

Level 3 is a different conversation with an electrician. The DC300 and DC360 are listed as 3 phase plus neutral and PE at 480V, with maximum input current of 400A and 435A. The portable DC60-P accepts 300-520V and draws up to 80A.

If the service at the site cannot carry the input current, the choice has already been made for you.

Connector type follows the vehicles

• The Level 2 models use SAE J1772 (Type 1). The AC5500 and ACL22100 list dual connectors; the AC5500-G lists one.
• The Level 3 models use CCS1 — either dual CCS1, or CCS1 paired with CHAdeMO. That pairing is what lets one station serve a mixed fleet.

Output, as the sheets state it

• AC5500 — 3.5-10kW, 16-40A
• AC5500-G — 10kW /40A, 7kW /32A, 3.5kW /16A, adjustable
• ACL22100 — 22kW / 100A
• DC60-Cal and DC60-P — 60KW constant power
• DC300 — 300KW constant power
• DC360 — 360KW constant power

The practical split: Level 2 output suits a vehicle parked for a working day. Level 3 output is for a vehicle whose driver is standing next to it.

Networked, or not

The ACL22100 and AC5500-G both list OCPP 1.6J and report over 4G, Wi-Fi or Ethernet, with charging control by plug and play or RFID card. OCPP is an open protocol, so the hardware is not tied to one vendor's back office — which matters if you intend to meter usage, restrict a charger to staff, or hand the data to a billing platform later.

What the environment rows tell you

The Level 2 sheets list a Type 4 electrical enclosure, storage from -40 to 75°C, operation from -30 to 55°C ambient, humidity up to 95% non-condensing, and natural cooling. The protection rows run over-voltage, under-voltage, overload, short circuit, earth leakage, ground and over-temperature, plus surge. The AC5500-G adds an IP65 rating and UL and cUL listing.

Those rows are the difference between a charger that lives in a parking structure and one that lives on an exposed pad.

Where to look next

Every model has its own cutsheet on the EV charging page, and the full spec table sits on each product page. If the input current is the constraint — and it usually is — start there and work back to the models your service can actually run.