Yes — an exposed wall, with no porch or eaves above it, is a case this wallbox is rated for. The EV-ACT3204E‘s listing quotes IP65/IP66: dust-tight, and sealed against water jets at the lower figure and powerful jets at the higher one. What the rating does not decide is siting: which wall, where the cable enters, where the water goes. This guide covers those.
Key Takeaways
- The EV-ACT3204E is listed at IP65/IP66 — dust-tight and jet-proof; plan against the lower figure, the higher one is margin.
- The rating covers dust and water only — not immersion, pressure washers, sun or standing water.
- The wall choice matters for sun, cable reach and drainage more than for rain.
- Cable entry and drainage are the installer’s half of making the laboratory rating true on a real wall.
Reading the Pair: Plan Against the Lower Figure
The listing quotes both numbers rather than one. Plan against IP65 and treat IP66 as headroom: wind-driven rain — what an unsheltered wall delivers — is a jets exposure, and jets are what the 5 already covers. The full scale is compared in our explainer on IP ratings for EV chargers.
| Element | IP65 | IP66 |
|---|---|---|
| First digit (solids) | 6 — dust-tight | 6 — dust-tight |
| Second digit (water) | 5 — water jets from any direction | 6 — powerful water jets from any direction |
| What it means on an exposed wall | Driven rain and splashing are inside the test | The same, against a stronger jet |
| What neither covers | Immersion, standing water, pressure washers, sun or heat — the rating is about dust and water only | |
Choosing the Wall: Exposure Is a Direction, Not Just a Place
Two walls of the same house give the charger different lives: one takes rain driven at it horizontally for hours, the sheltered side barely gets wet. The rating makes either permissible, so choose on the other factors:
- Cable run and parking position. The wall that keeps the charging cable short and untrailed beats a marginally drier wall that leaves cable across a path.
- Sun. The IP scale says nothing about sunlight. A south-facing wall bakes the housing and parked connector all summer; where a choice exists, the less sun-blasted wall is kinder.
- Shelter is optional, not required. A canopy helps the driver and keeps the connector drier to handle, but the installation does not depend on it. Do not let missing shelter push the charger onto a wall the cable cannot serve.
- Clear of the ground’s water. Splash-back, pooled water and snow piled against the housing are siting failures, not rating failures. Mount clear of where water collects.
The Installer’s Half: Cable Entry and Drainage
A hardwired wallbox has one deliberate hole in its weather defence: where the supply cable enters. Sealing that entry, routing the cable so rain is shed before the gland rather than into it, and fixing the unit so water cannot sit on its top edge or track behind it are the installer’s craft points — what makes the tested rating true on your wall, not only in the laboratory. The final say on mount position belongs to the installer who sees the wall — see our guide to installing a home EV charger outside. The owner’s half is smaller: keep the connector holstered — or the socket flap closed — between sessions; the rating belongs to the closed unit.
The Charger on the Wall
The EV-ACT3204PE is a 22 kW wallbox for three-phase supplies — 32 A per phase at 380–400 V — hardwired, tethered Type 2 cable, RFID and app control, IP66 housing, CE mark, 3-year standard warranty. Being hardwired, it has no outdoor socket behind it — one less weather joint than a plug-in install. A licensed electrician makes the final call on wall, cable entry and drainage.
Frequently Asked Questions
The listing says IP65/IP66. Which one does my charger have?
The manufacturer quotes the pair rather than one figure. For an exposed wall it makes no practical difference: driving rain is a jets exposure, covered by the lower figure.
Can the EV-ACT3204E go on a wall with no shelter at all?
Yes — that exposure is what the rating addresses. The conditions are siting ones: mount clear of pooled water and piled snow, cable entry sealed, connector holstered or socket flap closed between sessions.
Does the rating mean I can wash the charger down?
Rinse-level water is in the same family as the test jets; a pressure washer is not — its close-range jet is harsher than the standardised test. Keep pressure washers away, and never aim one at the cable entry.
