Surge Protector Needed?

[Shorisha]

We recently purchased the Lucid Connected Home Charging Station, which supports charging up to 80 amps. We're looking to ensure proper surge protection for both the charger and our vehicle. Does the Lucid charger have built-in surge protection, or do we need to install an external surge protector? If so, what type of surge protection (e.g., whole-home surge protector, panel-mounted, or inline) would be recommended for optimal safety and performance? Would love to hear what other owners have done!

 

[Worldwide Beagle]

You are correct, but my setup is unusual. The service entrance and meter is directly on the back side of the wall where the garage sub panel is. This sub is spiced off the main feeder, a few inches from the meter.

The feeder then goes 70 feet to the basement Main Breaker panel. The SPD on the garage wall is closest to incoming power- external surges. The SPD on the basement panel, on the other side of the house, is aimed at internal surges. SPDs are the most effective close to where the surge enters the system.

Best practices is to have a SPD on each panel for best protection for internal surges. The SPD on the basement Main panel is far closer and more effective an diverting internal home surges than the SPD 70 feet away on the Service Entance.

Unless you are in Florida or Colorado, with lightning issues, far more frequent surges are internal. Luckily, good SPDs handle external and internal.

 

[boydracing]

We recently purchased the Lucid Connected Home Charging Station, which supports charging up to 80 amps. We're looking to ensure proper surge protection for both the charger and our vehicle. Does the Lucid charger have built-in surge protection, or do we need to install an external surge protector? If so, what type of surge protection (e.g., whole-home surge protector, panel-mounted, or inline) would be recommended for optimal safety and performance? Would love to hear what other owners have done!

You would need to add the external surge protection. As others have stated, best to mount outside your box to monitor the green lights - showing it is operational and doing its job.

 

[Worldwide Beagle]

You would need to add the external surge protection. As others have stated, best to mount outside your box to monitor the green lights - showing it is operational and doing its job.

Agreed and very worthwhile. Note. The issue with EV AC home service equipment and GFCI is also confusing. Most companies, like Charge point, build in GFCI and recommend you not add another GFCI. Some local codes require a GFCI for EV equipment even if there is an internal one.some codes only require a GFCI for plug in equipment, not hard wired. Multiple GFCI in series leads to nuisance tripping. Where multiple surge protectors is fine.

 

[DeaneG]

...Where multiple surge protectors is fine.

And may offer even better protection.

 

[mikecronis]

That's what your electrical house fuse box is, a surge-protector. It's what the fuses are for.
You can install a whole-house conditioner to maintain smooth delivery, but it's unnecessary.
The Lucid charger has a built-in protector, and the car does as well. Overkill.

 

[DeaneG]

That's what your electrical house fuse box is, a surge-protector. It's what the fuses are for....

Sorry, that's not correct. Circuit breakers and fuses do nothing to absorb the energy in an inductive load dump (line arcing or a transformer problem) or a nearby lightning strike.

 

[Grav8yTraveler]

We recently purchased the Lucid Connected Home Charging Station, which supports charging up to 80 amps. We're looking to ensure proper surge protection for both the charger and our vehicle. Does the Lucid charger have built-in surge protection, or do we need to install an external surge protector? If so, what type of surge protection (e.g., whole-home surge protector, panel-mounted, or inline) would be recommended for optimal safety and performance? Would love to hear what other owners have done!

Great question, and congrats on the new Lucid charger! Once you start sending 80 amps into a very expensive rolling supercomputer, surge protection suddenly becomes a lot more interesting. From what many owners have shared, the Lucid charger seems to have only limited internal protection, so adding external surge protection is generally recommended for peace of mind. From what I understand, the Lucid charger has only limited internal protection, so I decided to take a more cautious approach and add external surge protection for peace of mind. My logic (and my desire to avoid electrical surprises) works like this:

1. Whole-home surge protector
This sits at the main panel and blocks the big, dramatic surges before they even enter the house. Think of it as the bouncer at the front door saying “not today.”

2. Panel-mounted surge protector for the EV charger circuit
This helps catch the smaller surges that slip past the whole-home unit. Think of it as the personal bodyguard stationed inside the electrical panel. In my case, I have a 400 amp service that splits into two 200 amp panels. The Lucid charger is fed from one of those 200 amp panels, so placing a surge protector in that specific panel gives the 80 amp charger its own dedicated layer of protection.

Some people also add an inline unit, although the two-layer setup already feels like giving the charger a security detail fit for a celebrity.

Yes, my setup may be on the cautious side, but when the thing being protected is a Lucid Gravity and the thing doing the attacking is the electrical grid or Mother Nature, cautious feels pretty reasonable.

Cheap insurance beats expensive regret every time especially when we are all trying to avoid the “surprise electrical event” version of Sanctuary Mode.

 

[boydracing]

Google is your friend:

What Is the Difference between a surge protector and a fuse?​

Surge protectors and fuses serve different purposes in protecting electrical systems. Surge protectors are designed to protect power and signal lines from overvoltage, overcurrent, and electromagnetic waves, ensuring the safety and reliability of equipment. They are typically used in power supply, communication, computer, and control systems. Fuses, on the other hand, are used to protect circuits from overcurrent and are generally found in power lines, engine starters, car fuses, and other locations. Fuses automatically cut off the current when a fault occurs to avoid dangerous situations such as equipment damage or fire.

usfull.com

In the context of home charging an EV car, surge protectors are essential for safeguarding the EV charger from voltage spikes that can damage sensitive electronics. They are installed in the home’s fuse box/consumer unit during the EV charger installation to protect the charger, the home, and the user from potential power surges. Fuses, while important for overcurrent protection, do not provide the same level of protection against voltage spikes as surge protectors. Therefore, both devices are necessary for comprehensive protection of electrical systems, including EV chargers.

starneselectricllc.com

 

[Alex]

I have this sub-sub panel in my garage for the chargers with a surge protector breaker insert. It says "This device will not protect equipment from a direct lightning strike." I have a full (external) surge protector in the main panel too.

 

[Worldwide Beagle]

"This device will not protect equipment from a direct lightning strike."

No.device.will. Some lawyer made them say that Electricity will always seek the path of least resistance. With multiple surge protectors, you are hopefully giving a surge or spike a closer and safe path to ground, instead of traveling onto another circuit. One of the benefits of the two pole, breaker size SPD you have in the panel is that it will hopefully protect/divert a surge from a circuit INSIDE the panel instead of going to another nearby circuit in that panel. I often hear about a large motor startup throwing a surge that affected a near sensitive electronics even when there is a massive whole house SPD on the entrance service equipment. Even the engineers at Siemens say that their top of the line whole house SPD's do not replace point of use SPDs at sensitive electronics.

I have a close direct strike once in college. The 100 amp cartridge fuses vaporized and knife switches in the panel melted.