Electric car anyone?
5 lurkers |
72 watchers
4 Aug
9:17pm, 4 Aug 2024
25,327 posts
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larkim
I charge to 100% every night, unless I've drained the battery a lot in which case I top up by as much as my 5 hour octopus go window allows.
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5 Aug
7:14am, 5 Aug 2024
50,614 posts
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HappyG(rrr)
I've only got a 3 hour cheap window at mo, so only does about 30% overnight. Trickle solar charging at mo. Not much sun today though! Good that I can go to 100% at work tomorrow. (Work is also solar actually. )  G
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5 Aug
8:56am, 5 Aug 2024
22,943 posts
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DeeGee
Fenners-Reborn wrote: Stupid question, do you charge your EVs every night, or wait until the charge drops to 20%? I have a time-of-use tariff which gives me a variable rate for my electricity depending on the demand on the grid, and an app which predicts the prices over the next 48 hours or so. If there's a rate I like the look of, I'll charge then, otherwise I'll charge overnight when the battery drops to about 20%. My MG4 has a battery that supposedly doesn't have an issue with being charged to 100%, so when I charge, I fill it up. |
5 Aug
10:23am, 5 Aug 2024
4,457 posts
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NordRunner
While many cars have a buffer above 100 % to reduce the worst effects of charging consistently to nominal 100 % I think it is still advised to aim to stay between 30 and 80 % as a rule of thumb.
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5 Aug
11:48am, 5 Aug 2024
50,617 posts
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HappyG(rrr)
I don't believe there is any such recommendation with my car. I believe the charging electronics manage that. G
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5 Aug
12:34pm, 5 Aug 2024
24,522 posts
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3M
NordRunner wrote: While many cars have a buffer above 100 % to reduce the worst effects of charging consistently to nominal 100 % I think it is still advised to aim to stay between 30 and 80 % as a rule of thumb. Why on earth would you design a system that apparently* has a problem with "fully charging" the battery, though? If nothing else, you'd simply let the meter show "100%/Full" when it was at the normal "optimum" charging point, so people didn't overcharge the battery. Or better still, as per Happy's comment - let the car electronics handle the charging rate and level automatically, and take the human element out of the process! *I do know about the whole thing around battery charge vs. longevity of holding charge/battery performance thing! |
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5 Aug
12:48pm, 5 Aug 2024
50,618 posts
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HappyG(rrr)
I suppose there is a trade off - speed and range v longevity of vehicle. The manufacturers want to claim fastest charging and longest range they can. They can't just leave 20% battery "spare". But my car slows down charging towards end and I think that's what protects battery. No expert here though. G
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5 Aug
1:06pm, 5 Aug 2024
17,583 posts
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jda
Certainly slowing the charge rate is an important element of it. What usually kills rechargeable batteries in general use is cooking them by trying to pump in charge too fast when they are getting full - so a dumb fast charger is dangerous for them (and can even cause Li-Ion to blow up). But car chargers should be smart enough to handle that, with temperature sensors and sophisticated charge management. Going to 0% can also be damaging if the cells are unbalanced so some go to zero first and get reverse charged by others. (A single cell going to 0 is usually fine AIUI, though that may also vary with chemistry)
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5 Aug
4:46pm, 5 Aug 2024
737 posts
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dobbers
@jda Whilst I agree with your sentiments in your post there are some points that are misleading. The electric vehicle (EV) is in control of the charging process no matter what charger you are plugged into. The EV decides on the initial charge rate and will use information supplied by the charger on the maximum charge rate and will use this information during the charging process. The EV BMS knows the battery pack temperature, state of charge and will decide on the charge curve and will ask the charger to charge at the rate it decides to meet this charging curve. For example you could arrive at a fast charger with a low state of charge and a battery at the optimum temperature but if the charger says it is site limited then the car could in theory want 200kW but the charger only can supply 100kW so the car will ask for the maximum of 100kW. Likewise if the car arrives with a battery at 75% then the car will ask for only 50kW even though the charger can supply 100kW. There is add confusion in the market however with some home chargers being branded "dumb" and some branded as "smart". This is more about their capabilities to remotely monitor, scheduling or other features such as integration with MyEnergi/Octopus rather than their ability to vary the charge rate. |
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5 Aug
5:48pm, 5 Aug 2024
17,585 posts
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jda
Thanks for the info dobbers, yes by "car charger" I didn't really mean to refer to the wall box but rather the battery charge management system within the car.
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