Wallbox
Wallbox is a fixed AC charging station, mounted on a wall or a pole, that connects an electric vehicle to the building installation over its own protected circuit. Select by output (7.4 kW single phase, 11 or 22 kW three phase), by tethered cable or Type 2 socket, by access control (RFID, app, OCPP 1.6J back office) and by whether you need an MID meter or dynamic load management. Stations from Fronius, Goodwe, Huawei, OlifeEnergy, SMA, Victron Energy and Zencar. Guide
Our selection includes high-quality Wallboxes from the renowned manufacturers Fronius, Goodwe, Huawei, OlifeEnergy, SMA, Victron Energy, and Zencar, catering to diverse charging needs.
Wallbox home charging station
The Wallbox is specifically designed for the home environment, offering a practical solution for charging electric vehicles. True to its name, the Wallbox is a compact, wall-mounted unit that connects seamlessly to your home's electrical grid. Versatile in placement, it can be installed in your garage, on your house wall, or even on a pole in your parking area.
Harness solar energy with wallbox
For those utilizing solar energy with a photovoltaic system, the Wallbox presents an eco-friendly charging option. Connect the Wallbox to your solar setup and utilize excess solar power to recharge your vehicle. This enables you to charge directly from the solar panels or use stored solar energy, maximizing your renewable energy usage.
Choose Wallboxes for electric vehicles according to the brands
Product sorting
List of products
Related charging categories
- Charging stations
- Portable EV chargers
- Charging cables
- Electromobility
- Smart meters
- Hybrid inverters
Wallbox: output, phases and how the connection limits you
A wallbox is an AC charging station. It does not convert anything: the on-board charger inside the car rectifies the alternating current, and the wallbox switches the supply, communicates with the vehicle over the Type 2 control pilot and protects the circuit. What separates one unit from another is rated output, number of phases, cable or socket, the access and metering electronics, and the enclosure rating for outdoor mounting.
Three ratings cover almost everything sold in Europe: 7.4 kW single phase at 32 A, 11 kW three phase at 16 A and 22 kW three phase at 32 A. The binding constraint is rarely the wallbox. It is the main fuse of the property and what the on-board charger of the car will actually accept. In this category you will find units from Fronius, Goodwe, Huawei, OlifeEnergy, SMA, Victron Energy and Zencar.
FROM THE FIELD
"The most common mistake I see is a 22 kW wallbox behind a main fuse that cannot carry it. Size the station against the main breaker and the measured peak load of the property, not against the car. If the headroom is not there, fit dynamic load management and an 11 kW unit, and the customer will still wake up to a full battery."
Ladislav Proc · EV charging specialist, ONSA Plus
How to choose a wallbox
Start from the electrical installation, not from the charging station. The available main fuse, the number of phases at the distribution board and the cable route to the parking place decide most of the specification before any brand is on the table.
Work through it in this order: connection capacity and phases, then output against the car's on-board charger, then cable or socket, then access control, metering and OCPP, and finally the enclosure rating for where the unit will hang.
Show the full guide Close the guide
7.4, 11 or 22 kW and what the grid connection allows
Output follows directly from voltage, current and phase count. A wallbox drawing 32 A on one phase gives 7.4 kW; 16 A on three phases gives 11 kW; 32 A on three phases gives 22 kW. That current has to exist at the main breaker while the house is still cooking, heating water and running a heat pump.
- 7.4 kW single phase: the practical ceiling where only one phase reaches the parking place. Adds roughly 35 to 40 km of range per hour, which fills a typical battery overnight.
- 11 kW three phase: the residential default. It matches the on-board charger of most current electric vehicles and needs a 16 A three-phase circuit.
- 22 kW three phase: useful for fleets, workplaces and cars with a 22 kW on-board charger. In many countries it also requires approval from the distribution system operator.
Single phase or three phase
Three phase is faster only if the car can use it. A vehicle with a single-phase on-board charger will draw one phase from a three-phase wallbox and charge at 7.4 kW regardless of the station's rating. Check the on-board charger specification in the vehicle datasheet first, then decide. Three-phase wiring is still worth pulling during construction even if the current car is single phase, because recabling later costs far more than the cable did.
Tip from practice
Pull the supply cable one size larger than the calculation demands and run a data cable, usually twisted pair, to the distribution board at the same time. That single extra step is what later makes dynamic load management, an external smart meter or a wired network connection a configuration job instead of a chasing-and-plastering job.
Tethered cable or Type 2 socket
A tethered unit has a fixed cable with a Type 2 plug: no cable to carry, no cable to forget, faster daily use. A socket version takes any charging cable, so it suits shared parking, visitors and older vehicles with a Type 1 inlet that need a Type 1 to Type 2 cable. Sockets with a shutter and a locking mechanism are the norm on public or semi-public installations.
Access control, OCPP and billing
Access matters as soon as the wallbox is reachable by anyone but the owner.
- RFID: a card or fob starts the session. Simple, offline, and enough for a household or a small company car park.
- App and cloud: scheduling, tariff windows, session history and remote unlocking, usually over Wi-Fi or Ethernet.
- OCPP 1.6J: the open protocol that lets the station talk to a third-party back office over WebSocket and JSON. It keeps you free to change operator later instead of being locked into one manufacturer's cloud.
- MID meter: an integrated meter certified under the Measuring Instruments Directive. Required if energy is invoiced to an employee, a tenant or a fleet driver rather than just displayed.
Protection, RCD and IP or IK rating
An EV charging circuit needs residual current protection. The usual arrangement is an external RCD type A plus 6 mA DC leakage detection integrated in the wallbox, which together replace a far more expensive type B device. Outdoors, look for at least IP54, with IK08 or better against impact in public places, and check the ambient temperature range if the unit sits in full sun or in an unheated car park. Protective devices and enclosures belong to electrical installation material.
Load management and photovoltaic surplus charging
Dynamic load management reads the total current at the main incomer and reduces the charging current in real time so the main fuse never trips. It is what allows an 11 kW wallbox on a modestly sized connection. Photovoltaic surplus charging works the same way in reverse: a meter at the connection point reports the surplus flowing to the grid and the wallbox raises or lowers charging current to consume it. Both functions need a current measurement, so a wallbox on its own cannot do either.
Quick wallbox comparison
| Property | What to compare | What it affects |
|---|---|---|
| Output | 7.4, 11 or 22 kW | Charging time, required breaker, operator approval |
| Phases | Single phase or three phase | Real speed, limited by the car's on-board charger |
| Connection | Tethered cable or Type 2 socket | Daily convenience, shared and visitor use |
| Access and data | RFID, app, OCPP 1.6J, MID meter | Authorisation, back office, billing to a third party |
| Protection and enclosure | RCD type A plus 6 mA DC detection, IP and IK | Compliance, outdoor and public mounting |
| Energy management | Dynamic load management, PV surplus | Fuse headroom, share of self-consumed solar energy |
Swipe the table to the left
Frequently asked questions about wallboxes
Do I need a three-phase wallbox?
Only if the car can use three phases and the property has three phases at the parking place. A vehicle with a single-phase on-board charger draws 7.4 kW from an 11 kW station. Where three phases exist, an 11 kW unit is the sensible default.
Is a 22 kW wallbox worth it for a family house?
Usually not. Most electric cars accept 11 kW at most on AC, so the extra capacity is unused, and 22 kW needs a 32 A three-phase circuit plus, in many countries, approval from the distribution system operator. Choose 22 kW for fleets and workplaces.
How long does it take to charge from a wallbox?
Divide the energy you need by the real charging power. A 40 kWh battery from empty takes roughly 5 to 6 hours at 7.4 kW and about 3 to 4 hours at 11 kW. Real time is longer because of charging losses and the final tapering phase.
Can I plug an electric car into a normal socket instead?
You can, with a portable EV charger, but a 230 V socket delivers around 2.3 kW, so charging is several times slower. Household sockets and their wiring are not designed for hours of continuous full load, which is the reason a fixed wallbox exists.
What RCD does a wallbox circuit need?
A wallbox circuit needs residual current protection covering DC fault currents. The standard solution is an external RCD type A combined with 6 mA DC leakage detection integrated in the station. Check the manual: if the unit has no integrated detection, a type B RCD is required.
Tethered cable or socket, which should I pick?
Pick a tethered Type 2 cable for a private garage or drive, where the same car plugs in every day and convenience wins. Pick a socket for shared parking, visitors or vehicles with a Type 1 inlet, since every driver brings their own cable.
What is OCPP 1.6J and do I need it?
OCPP 1.6J is the open charge point protocol in its JSON over WebSocket variant, used between a charging station and a back office for authorisation, remote control and session records. You need it for company, tenant or public charging. For a single household unit, an app is enough.
Do I need an MID meter in the wallbox?
Yes if the energy is invoiced to someone else, for example an employee reimbursed for home charging, a tenant or a fleet driver. An MID certified meter makes the reading legally usable for billing. For personal use, an ordinary internal meter is sufficient.
Can a wallbox charge from photovoltaic surplus?
Yes, if the installation measures the flow at the connection point. A meter reports the surplus exported to the grid and the wallbox modulates the charging current to match it, alone or combined with a hybrid inverter and battery. Without that meter, surplus charging cannot work.
Will charging trip the main fuse of the house?
Not if the wallbox uses dynamic load management. It measures total current at the main incomer and lowers the charging current whenever other appliances need capacity, then raises it again. Without load management, size the station so the sum of all loads stays under the main breaker.
The charging power you can actually use depends on the supply capacity at the site, the vehicle's on-board charger and the conditions of your grid operator.
About ONSA Plus
Why installers across Europe buy wallboxes from us
ONSA Plus is a European B2B distributor of photovoltaics, battery storage, heat pumps and EV charging stations. In our own EU warehouses we keep over 1,500 products from 25+ brands, including Huawei, Solis, SolaX and Dyness.
We are not just a trading company. We design and service energy systems ourselves, so we answer questions on charging power, load management and photovoltaic surplus charging from engineering practice, not from a catalogue. You handle a warranty claim directly with us and you buy per job.
