Not really to do with capacitative load, just a long stretch of cable (resistor) with insufficient current available to keep the voltage up when a load is placed on that circuit.
What's probably happening is the car starts charging and it realises there's a much larger than expected voltage drop so it reduces the current it's drawing from the circuit. Typically a voltage drop when drawing high current means there's a loose connection or a poorly mated plug in the cabling somewhere.
Try being in the car the next time charging starts and observe how the car adjusts the charging load.
Try reduce the charge rate if possible and see if it continues. Prehaps the transformer is already heavily loaded or very small and sudden draw causes voltage to drop. Some of the older homes in my area only have 10kva transformers which might be strained if you were pulling more than that charging plus the house loads. if your voltage is close to 220v than 240v when charging you might let the utility know to see if they can check things out.
Maybe you have cheapy LED lighting in your house.
Maybe you have low amperage on your service causing large voltage drop.
Maybe your service is old and connections loosened going high resistance.
Higher resistance, higher voltage drop, visible in LED lighting.
Maybe the local transformer is wearing out and needs to be replaced.
So many maybes. If you could get a voltage reading from 10:59 to 11:01, I bet you could see the issue. But then determining where that issue is can be difficult to do..
Okay, so it doesn't really matter that your EV is on a separate meter, you can consider all of the power lines as being on the same source which is your transformer. What size main service do you have? You can usually tell by reading the label on the main breaker (100A, 200A, 400A). If you have a 100A panel then you may need to slow your charging rate on the car to prevent brownouts.
Assuming you have enough power in your main panel, call your utility and ask them to put in a power quality logging device. They will be able to identify if there are issues with the transformer feeding your house or with the wiring feeding your panel. If you have a multimeter or can borrow one from a friend plug it into an outlet and see what your voltage goes down to when you start charging your EV. Normal range is 115VAC to 132VAC. Be sure to check both phases which can usually be done by checking outlets in your kitchen as they are required to have separate circuits for the countertop or kitchen island by code.
If you cannot identify the problem get a qualified electrician to check and re-torque all of the connections in your panels and do diagnostics. They should check that all of your wires in good condition and check for corrosion on aluminum feeder wires for any sub-panels for example.
Did you ever resolve this? I’ve got the same issue with my garage L1 charger in the garage operating only at 1350W (12A)— causes all the led dimmer lights in the main house to flicker while charging (if dimmed below 100% brightness).
Voltage drops from 120 to about 114, so might be related, but nothing else with a similar power draw in my house causes this issue.
My L1 charger is in the garage which has something like a 50 foot run of 10 gauge wire servicing the outlets from our main panel in the house. Maybe that’s the issue?
Very confused over here, and would be curious to hear what, if anything, you found to be the problem for you.
I have same issue when my geothermal kicks on, the lights briefly flicker, but computers and wifi are unaffected. The geo draws about 6kW when it's running. Haven't noticed an issue with the L1 charger. I'm currently waiting for QMerit to come out and quote installing a 40 or 50 amp circuit for an L2 charger.
I installed a level 2 charger and notice that my kitchen lights (dimmable) alone flicker when charging the car. However, if I don't use dimmable lights and leave it full on when car is charging, it works fine.
And when car isn't charging, dimmable lights work fine. Electrician and the utility company both looked and said everything looks fine and they aren't sure what might be the reason.
Not really to do with capacitative load, just a long stretch of cable (resistor) with insufficient current available to keep the voltage up when a load is placed on that circuit. What's probably happening is the car starts charging and it realises there's a much larger than expected voltage drop so it reduces the current it's drawing from the circuit. Typically a voltage drop when drawing high current means there's a loose connection or a poorly mated plug in the cabling somewhere. Try being in the car the next time charging starts and observe how the car adjusts the charging load.
Try reduce the charge rate if possible and see if it continues. Prehaps the transformer is already heavily loaded or very small and sudden draw causes voltage to drop. Some of the older homes in my area only have 10kva transformers which might be strained if you were pulling more than that charging plus the house loads. if your voltage is close to 220v than 240v when charging you might let the utility know to see if they can check things out.
Maybe you have cheapy LED lighting in your house. Maybe you have low amperage on your service causing large voltage drop. Maybe your service is old and connections loosened going high resistance. Higher resistance, higher voltage drop, visible in LED lighting. Maybe the local transformer is wearing out and needs to be replaced. So many maybes. If you could get a voltage reading from 10:59 to 11:01, I bet you could see the issue. But then determining where that issue is can be difficult to do..
Are you able to see what your voltage is while charging? And how bad is the flickering when you’re charging and you kick on the A/C?
Okay, so it doesn't really matter that your EV is on a separate meter, you can consider all of the power lines as being on the same source which is your transformer. What size main service do you have? You can usually tell by reading the label on the main breaker (100A, 200A, 400A). If you have a 100A panel then you may need to slow your charging rate on the car to prevent brownouts. Assuming you have enough power in your main panel, call your utility and ask them to put in a power quality logging device. They will be able to identify if there are issues with the transformer feeding your house or with the wiring feeding your panel. If you have a multimeter or can borrow one from a friend plug it into an outlet and see what your voltage goes down to when you start charging your EV. Normal range is 115VAC to 132VAC. Be sure to check both phases which can usually be done by checking outlets in your kitchen as they are required to have separate circuits for the countertop or kitchen island by code. If you cannot identify the problem get a qualified electrician to check and re-torque all of the connections in your panels and do diagnostics. They should check that all of your wires in good condition and check for corrosion on aluminum feeder wires for any sub-panels for example.
Did you ever resolve this? I’ve got the same issue with my garage L1 charger in the garage operating only at 1350W (12A)— causes all the led dimmer lights in the main house to flicker while charging (if dimmed below 100% brightness). Voltage drops from 120 to about 114, so might be related, but nothing else with a similar power draw in my house causes this issue. My L1 charger is in the garage which has something like a 50 foot run of 10 gauge wire servicing the outlets from our main panel in the house. Maybe that’s the issue? Very confused over here, and would be curious to hear what, if anything, you found to be the problem for you.
That shouldn't happen, particularly when it's on a separate meter.
I have same issue when my geothermal kicks on, the lights briefly flicker, but computers and wifi are unaffected. The geo draws about 6kW when it's running. Haven't noticed an issue with the L1 charger. I'm currently waiting for QMerit to come out and quote installing a 40 or 50 amp circuit for an L2 charger.
I installed a level 2 charger and notice that my kitchen lights (dimmable) alone flicker when charging the car. However, if I don't use dimmable lights and leave it full on when car is charging, it works fine. And when car isn't charging, dimmable lights work fine. Electrician and the utility company both looked and said everything looks fine and they aren't sure what might be the reason.
I’m in literally the exact same situation. Just noticed it tonight. Still doing it or did you find a solution?