Porsche charging app (or alternatives?)

[W1NGE]

You don't get the wall plinth for the PMCC as standard, well not in France. This is an accessory option. I have it on order.

The subject is the PMC+ - I'm guessing the basic wall mount is bundled.

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[f1eng]

Mine, delivered last month in the UK, had the basic wall mount kit bundled with the unit.
I will probably install it at my daughter's house.

 

[Kev946]

The subject is the PMC+ - I'm guessing the basic wall mount is bundled.

The picture shows the PMCC mount unless I've ordered the wrong one.

 

[Scandinavian]

You don't get the wall plinth for the PMCC as standard, well not in France. This is an accessory option. I have it on order.

Have they change the spec then. I certainly got the wall mount included with the PMCC in 2020.
and the manual describes it as well.

The simple wall mount was included but the big dock was some 400€ extra?

 

[Edwos]

Just to clarify, I'm aiming to use the basic PMC+ that ships with the car (as opposed to the upgraded and more costly PMCC). Looks like the budget mount ships with the basic PMC+ (which will be fine for my needs).

 

[Kev946]

Have they change the spec then. I certainly got the wall mount included with the PMCC in 2020.
and the manual describes it as well.

The simple wall mount was included but the big dock was some 400€ extra?

That's annoying then as I ordered the wall mount and negoiated it free included in the price I'm paying. I'll need to get another accessory free of charge or keep it as a spare so I can mount it in other locations.

 

[W1NGE]

The picture shows the PMCC mount unless I've ordered the wrong one.

I posted 2 pictures from the PMC+ manual.

The base mount is provided as standard which would more than suffice.

The other mount supports both PMC+ and PMCC I would assume but check the manual.

 

[Kev946]

I posted 2 pictures from the PMC+ manual.

The base mount is provided as standard which would more than suffice.

The other mount supports both PMC+ and PMCC I would assume but check the manual.

thanks I must have this one one order then

 

[W1NGE]

thanks I must have this one one order then

Sounds likely - save some Dosh as you probably don't need both.

I opted for the Porsche Dock for my PMCC.

 

[Edwos]

I think you're approaching this in the wrong way.

1. The car controls the charging session either via the PCM or via the My Porsche App (same settings). Same for any EV.

2. The wall box (any) is not a charger. The charger is physically in the car for both AC and DC charging.

3. Standard EVSE (Electric Vehicle Structured Equipment - wall box / portable unit) supplied with the car is perfectly suited to wall mounting for home charging on single phase 32A fused supply (7.4kW).

4. Suggest that if you use a 3rd party EVSE then don't use any of the features or programming and essentially run in "dumb" mode. In time you can experiment but for a painless experience only programme via the PCM or My Porsche App. Don't mix and match.

Ok, so, apologies, but here is the really stupid question. I get the wall box and run it in ‘dumb‘ mode, therefore use the PCM and the App on my iPhone for all the settings/programming. Therefore I assume that the wall box isn’t connected to my WiFI? So, how is my iPhone going to connect to the car‘s PCM if i want to set a schedule from say the lounge at home whilst the car is 20m away on the driveway? Or do I need to be sat in or stood near the car to use the iPhone to control PCM and charging (thus benefitting from the Taycan’s own WiFi)..? Again, sorry for the stupid questions… Cheers Ed

 

[daveo4EV]

Ok, so, apologies, but here is the really stupid question. I get the wall box and run it in ‘dumb‘ mode, therefore use the PCM and the App on my iPhone for all the settings/programming. Therefore I assume that the wall box isn’t connected to my WiFI? So, how is my iPhone going to connect to the car‘s PCM if i want to set a schedule from say the lounge at home whilst the car is 20m away on the driveway? Or do I need to be sat in or stood near the car to use the iPhone to control PCM and charging (thus benefitting from the Taycan’s own WiFi)..? Again, sorry for the stupid questions… Cheers Ed

car has it's own 3G/LTE/4G cellular data connection talking to porsche - you phone/porsche-app talk to Porsche servers, car talks to porsche servers - the EVSE (wall box) isn't involved _EVER_.

the wifi connection for the wall-box is for firmware updates (for the wall-box) and reporting charging statistics to your porsche account (pointless really). the wall boxe's WiFi connection is NOT USED by the vehicle.

the car has it's own data connection - which makes sense if you think about it because you can control charging and such when you're away from home sitting in a hotel room and want to control charging when it's parked in a hotel garage…

the wifi connectivity of the Porsche EVSE's (PMCC/WallBox) is almost (but not quite) pointless.

 

[daveo4EV]

if you step back and take a breath - and think about it…

the requirements are that you can control charging of your EV with out regard to where or when or what charging hardware you are using…you can control charging your Taycan when it's plugged into a business EV charger or hotel or restaurant - or your place of employment - that means as a vehicle designer you can not mandate/expect that every charger a Taycan is plugged into will be a Porsche charger (in fact most chargers will not be Porsche EVSE's) - or even able to be controlled by the vehicle owner…the charger are _NOT_ smart - they are simply external raw power sources (EVSE = Electrical Vehicle Supply Equipment)

they are simple a "raw tap" to 240V AC power…

the vehicle/EV/Taycan (and the onboard vehicle software PCM) are in 100% control of the charging process - the _ONLY_ thing the Taycan tells the EVSE is to start/stop the power flow - and that's pretty much the only function an EVSE provided - power-flow control. The EVSE does not "charge" the vehicle - it simply allows power to flow when the vehicle requests power - it's an on/off switch like a garden irrigation controller - let the water flow or not…

the schedule, timing, rate, power level is all controlled by the vehicle software - which makes it compatible with _ALL_ EVSE's - because EVSE's are DUMB simple on/off switches - nothing more.

an EVSE does TWO things

1. of/off switch for power flow (with safety being no power can flow if there is no vehicle connected - no electrocuting the vehicle owner in the rain if it's not plugged into a vehicle)
2. tells the vehicle the maximum amount of power than it can deliver - so the vehicle does not request too much power

that's IT!!!! that is the only two things an EVSE does

an EVSE has far more in common with a simple water valve (on/off for flow) than a water filter - an EVSE does not even modify/fold/spindle/mutulate the power flow - it simply starts/stops the flow of what EVER power it is being fed…i.e. if your grid supplier is providing you "bad" power your EVSE will _NOT_ fix-it/clean-it-up - it will simply let the power flow - just like a water valve will pass clean or dirty water - it's simply a valve on/off flow control.

the car controls the charging process _NOT_ the EVSE - once you realize this it become much simpler to think about.

 

[W1NGE]

Ok, so, apologies, but here is the really stupid question. I get the wall box and run it in ‘dumb‘ mode, therefore use the PCM and the App on my iPhone for all the settings/programming. Therefore I assume that the wall box isn’t connected to my WiFI? So, how is my iPhone going to connect to the car‘s PCM if i want to set a schedule from say the lounge at home whilst the car is 20m away on the driveway? Or do I need to be sat in or stood near the car to use the iPhone to control PCM and charging (thus benefitting from the Taycan’s own WiFi)..? Again, sorry for the stupid questions… Cheers Ed

You connect to the car via the cellular telephone network - this is standard on the Taycan - no need to communicate therefore with the wallbox / EVSE.

On your phone use My Porsche App, connect to the car, set your charging preferences, finish.

Whatever you set on the phone is transmitted to the car"s PCM (and vice vers).

Your Taycan is always connected and accessible from anywhere in the world.

IPhone --> My Porsche App --> WiFi or Cellular Network --> Taycan (PCM)

This will also enable you to remotely lock / unlock the car, use the Porsche Vehicle Tracking System, preheat / precool.and so on.

Think of the Taycan as a mobile device and self contained at that.

 

[Edwos]

if you step back and take a breath - and think about it…

the requirements are that you can control charging of your EV with out regard to where or when or what charging hardware you are using…you can control charging your Taycan when it's plugged into a business EV charger or hotel or restaurant - or your place of employment - that means as a vehicle designer you can not mandate/expect that every charger a Taycan is plugged into will be a Porsche charger (in fact most chargers will not be Porsche EVSE's) - or even able to be controlled by the vehicle owner…the charger are _NOT_ smart - they are simply external raw power sources (EVSE = Electrical Vehicle Supply Equipment)

they are simple a "raw tap" to 240V AC power…

the vehicle/EV/Taycan (and the onboard vehicle software PCM) are in 100% control of the charging process - the _ONLY_ thing the Taycan tells the EVSE is to start/stop the power flow - and that's pretty much the only function an EVSE provided - power-flow control. The EVSE does not "charge" the vehicle - it simply allows power to flow when the vehicle requests power - it's an on/off switch like a garden irrigation controller - let the water flow or not…

the schedule, timing, rate, power level is all controlled by the vehicle software - which makes it compatible with _ALL_ EVSE's - because EVSE's are DUMB simple on/off switches - nothing more.

an EVSE does TWO things

1. of/off switch for power flow (with safety being no power can flow if there is no vehicle connected - no electrocuting the vehicle owner in the rain if it's not plugged into a vehicle)
2. tells the vehicle the maximum amount of power than it can deliver - so the vehicle does not request too much power

that's IT!!!! that is the only two things an EVSE does

an EVSE has far more in common with a simple water valve (on/off for flow) than a water filter - an EVSE does not even modify/fold/spindle/mutulate the power flow - it simply starts/stops the flow of what EVER power it is being fed…i.e. if your grid supplier is providing you "bad" power your EVSE will _NOT_ fix-it/clean-it-up - it will simply let the power flow - just like a water valve will pass clean or dirty water - it's simply a valve on/off flow control.

the car controls the charging process _NOT_ the EVSE - once you realize this it become much simpler to think about.

Thanks Daveo4EV, that really helps and makes it all totally logical and crystal clear. Appreciated

 

[Edwos]

Thanks so much, super helpful!

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