Lecture on Charging Pile Devices (V) – DC Charging Gun Cable

In the previous section, we discussed the requirements for megawatt level charging guns in the latest MCS (Megawatt Charging System: IEC TS 63379:2026) standard. At present, the megawatt charging gun has not been fully deployed and its application scenarios are limited. The charging guns used by mainstream charging stations are still mainly CCS.

In this article, we will continue to discuss the requirements for mainstream CCS guns and gun lines. However, this time we will switch perspectives and not start from the gun line itself (IEC 62196 series). Instead, we will focus on the charging pile – using the new standard for DC charging piles (IEC 61851-23:2023) to understand the specific requirements for guns and gun lines in the entire pile design.

(1) Temperature requirements for charging gun cable

The current of the charging gun cable is increasing, and the corresponding heat generation of the charging gun is also increasing. In daily life, especially in summer, the temperature of the charging gun cable is particularly high, so the standards have put forward stricter requirements.

The new standard has strictly defined the gripping part of the charging gun to avoid vague judgment criteria. Defining cables and gun heads as gripping components avoids the risk of burns caused by high temperatures.

(2) Multiple gun combination requirements

Before understanding the requirements for multiple gun combinations, let’s first take a look at the different types of DC charging interfaces. The mainstream DC charging interfaces on the market currently include CHAdeMO, GB/T, CCS1, CCS2, and NACS.

Regardless of the category, there are only 5 different types of combinations allowed by the standard. It can be clearly seen that more complex hybrid interfaces such as B+C or A+B+C are not within the feasible combinations allowed by the standard.

(3) Other requirements

These other requirements mainly include the length of the gun line and the height of the gun hanging. There are two main points:

• When the charging gun is idle, the hanging height of the gun should be kept between 0.5-1.5m.
• When the charging gun cable is longer than 7.5m, a gun cable management system should be equipped.

The first point is the height of the gun hanging. In addition to the standard requirement of 0.5-1.5m, various international standards (such as PAS 1899:2022 and DIN SPEC 91504) emphasize accessibility for people with disabilities.

(4) Conclusion

After reading this, I believe everyone has a clearer understanding of the requirements for the charging gun cable in the entire pile. If we investigate its principle, it is nothing more than not scalding people with too high a temperature, not making it too high for people to take it off, and not too long without knowing how to retract the wire. The core point is human safety and convenience.

Therefore, when designing and developing charging piles, pile companies should not only focus on charging speed and reliability, but also pay attention to ergonomics.