Is Too Much EV A Bad Thing?

About 40 kW when battery is full or about 36 kW when running low on EV mile.

 

Mike[/quote]

I am not convinced this is the case. EVs & PHEVs use sophisticated software to control both the rate of charging and discharging the battery.
Below is a link to an interesting paper on PHEV battery life. A key focus of the study is the effect of average annual temperature on battery life. At 80% SOC the remaining capacity of a battery about the size used in both the PIP and the Volt was about 80% with the battery temperature fixed at 28 degrees Celsius. If you live in cooler climate (portland, me) the rate of battery degradation should be slower. The average annual high in my area is 14 degrees Celsius. Based on the data I have found I expect the battery in my PIP to loss ~10% of its capacity over ten years based on the models used in the study. I am confident the engineering used by Toyota will give similar if not better results.

http://www.nrel.gov/vehiclesandfuels/energystorage/pdfs/53817.pdf

 

i'm not smart enough to understand all of that. but any study of a phev is going to have to average some mixture of battery and ice use. if i drive 100,000 miles all battery and no ice, and you drive 100,000 miles all in hv, i believe my battery will degrade faster than yours. that is the nature of batteries.

 

Guys lets face facts, everything has a Life Span, people, cars, engines and batteries. Drive it, enjoy it, when the time comes repair it or replace it. Life is short. 10 year warranty, I read Americans keep cars an average of 11 years. I thought that was along time. In a decade car technology will be so advanced in the EV universe you may be the first in line for a new car.

 

Just want to point out that the PHEV40 in that paper is a blended plugin by looking at the traction motor rated at 43 kW.

 

i don't think the warranty applies to battery degradation, but i agree, enjoy it! i bought it for 15 miles of ev and hybrid beyond that and that's how i'm using it.

 

What can be better? What are you spending per month on gasoline? $25 (Don't answer if it is a personal question).
Part of the game is keeping my money.
My gasoline expense was $250-$325 per month. My gas expense is now below $100.

 

Here is another study that takes a look at the impacts of opportunity charging (ie. charging at work).

http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy12osti/53470.pdf

 

John has the PHV-40 mastered. He is the source.

 

I would have to disagree. drinnovation has much more insight than I do.

 

John you got me looking at the Volt in a positive light.

 

It works for me. I think it works well for a lot of people once they get past the FUD and go drive one.

 

Both studies are very informative. They used 782 sample Texan drive cycles with Phoenix, AZ climate.

 

Yes, a constant 82 F climate and average 37.97 miles per day, 335 days per year with 30 rest days.

 

Difference insights.. not necessarily more or better.
Besides.. its not how much you have but what you do with it.. you've educated people here..

Which is great. Good factual information from real users will defeat the FUD, albeit slowly.

Actually the study uses a varying time of day, temp model, so its even ore realistic than just using Contant temp. They also consider solar loading.

With respect to the OP.. if one charges and commutes 15 miles a day, 350 days a year, that is about 5250 EV miles a year. Li-Ion has two types of degrading usage and aging. For those charging at work, it would be best to use a timer to have it finish charging jut before you return home. (Produces lower average SOC which impacts ageing, especially in smmer heat0. With proper car and type of EV milage per year, with 2 charges per day, the battery should be providing 70% of its range after about 8 years, and the limiting factor will likely be calendar aging not usage. So twice a day is not "too much-EV", if you charge it just before use.

 

Regarding too much EV the flip side is too little ice operation. A series of cold engine starts of the ice with very short run times and not reaching operating temperatures will not be good for your internal combustion engine (ice). To the original poster if I were you once a week I would consider taking the car for a ride getting the engine up to operating temperature.

 

That takes less than 2 minutes, in the summer. In the winter, it takes around 5 minutes depending outside conditions outside. In other words, the exposure is minimum... especially with the 0W-20 synthetic oil... nothing to be considered about.

 

I agree best to get that car on the highway and open it up and get that ICE working.

 

The key is to heat the oil up. That takes considerably longer than getting the coolant warm. Unfortunately with the prius even with the scan gauge you can not see the oil temp. On other cars that I have owned with both water and oil temp indication I know the oil does not warm up in 5 minutes. During the winter from a cold start my Prius might hit 130 degrees F water temp in 5 minutes. I would be surprised if the oil hits 80 degrees.

 

How typical is it for a person to stay trapped within a town, rarely ever venturing on a highway?

Just think of how few miles per year would be driven with nothing by short & slow drives.