1) Are very quick ‘splash and dash’ charges (as described above) viable? What sort of extra range can I expect to get in 10 minutes max? 2) If I charge a BEV (or a PHEV for that matter) to 100% on one day and then don’t use the car for say another 3 days (as occasionally happens) – or for a week or two if on holiday – when I go back to the car will it still be at 100%? I’ve never thought about this issue, but a review of the Mazda CX-60 suggested that the 100% dropped to as low as 80% after a few days if the car wasn’t used. Is that a thing, or a fault with the CX-60? 3) Whilst running costs aren’t terribly high on my list of priorities, I’d be interested to know how the costs would compare to our current petrol car. I’ve tried working out how much it would cost to charge these cars at home but get nonsense results. My electric cost is 23.838p per kWh (rate applies 24 hours a day). Would anyone be kind enough to work out how much it would cost to charge both these cars from 0-100%. I can then compare that to the petrol cost of doing 200 miles and 30 miles in our current car. 4) I believe that most people charge to 80% as the final 80-100% takes considerably longer. Is that correct? Does this mean that a car with a realistic range of say 200 miles will achieve 160 miles on an 80% charge, or isn’t it as simple as that? 5) Do you have to have a Smart meter to have an EV charger installed?
Firstly appolgies for not getting back to you this morning but, I did read it over a coffee before going out!
1 – Theoretically we will base this on the BMW’s claimed range of 279 miles.
The iX1 has a 64kWh battery and an average DC fast charging speed of 130kW. If hooked up to a 150kW charger it would take 29 minutes to add 80% charge or 223 miles. If you had a 10 min pee stop, it would add a third of the 223 miles, meaning you would add about 74 miles, in 10 minutes.
Keep in mind charging times can vary based on factors such as the ambient temperature, temperature of the battery and current state of charge.
2- A lithium battery shouldn’t theoretically loose charge, unless there is a drain on the system. That said, it is not optimal to leave 100% charge in a lithium battery, when the vehicle isn’t being used.
3 – Cost to charge price per kWh of electricity multiplied percentage charge you are topping up the battery. 100% charge 0.23838p x 64.7 = £15.42 , 80% top up 0.23838p x 51.76 = £12.33
(% charge required x 64.7 / 100 x by pench per kWh)
4- You normally charge from approx 20 % to 80% and charge to 100% on longer journeys. I’m going to get slated here but, battery’s have a useable capacity and a gross capacity that acts as a buffer zone. Topping up the battery to 100% won’t be a problem. The big problem is the time taken to charge from 80 – 100% is considerably slower and your 10 minute pee stop will turn into a hour.
5 – No but if you wan’t to take advantage of cheap electricity tariff, the answer is yes unfortunately!
I will be back 🙂