I was reading about the BMW i3 and apparently, it has a 80 miles EV range and from a depleted battery, can be fully charged in just 3.5 hours on 240v. the PIP will take 1.9 hours to charge only 15 miles max on the same 240v charger (Level 2). how is this possible? I always thought the time it takes to charge assuming the battery's Kwh is kept constant depends on the amperage of the charger. if so, how can the i3 soak up 80 miles of range in only twice the time it takes the PIP to soak up 15 miles. i would have thought the i3 would take about 8-9 hours to charge to full. would there be a way to increase the rate the Prius battery can charge up? at 1.9 hours 240v, it's not really worth plugging in at public charging stations for only 15 miles.
the charger is in the car. the cable and box are the evse. no, you cannot speed up pip charging, but it should be 1.5 hours or less on L2. what we don't know, is how long the batteries will last in these new models.
The Volt will charge and deliver 38 miles of range in about 4 hours using the 3.6 kWh charging system. The Honda Fit EV will fully charge with 80 miles of range in about 3 hours using a 7.2 kWh charging system. The least of the breaker, the EVSE, (you think of it as the charger) and the car will be the limit of how fast you can charge. For the i3 you would need a 40 amp 220v breaker, a 30 amp EVSE and a BMW i3 The BMW i3 can charge in 3.5 Hours at 7.2 kWh In comparison the Prius PHV charges at 3.2 kWh, so needs only a 20 Amp breaker.
The rate of charge is managed by the in-car charger and will be the lower of the two: 1. The charger rated current ( for PIP 9.5 Amps @ level 2). 2. The line amperage limit as reported to the charger by the EVSE during shake-hands. I would take every opportunity given to me to charge, 15 minutes means about 5 km @level 2.
Actually Prius PHV is more like 2.3-2.4 KW (not KWh). Can run off a 15A breaker since it only takes max 12A per the rating (but more like 10A per actual usage).
It might be easier to look at charging in terms of kW. The PiP has a 3.3 kW onboard charger while the BMW i3 has a 7.4 kW onboard charger. So its pretty easy to see the i3 will charger more than twice as fast as a PiP. With the fuel efficiency of the hybrid motor, its been discussed at length that public chargers for the PiP is not worth it because the price is likely more than the cost of gasoline.
I would not want the PiP to charge much faster. 90 minutes from empty to full is quick, and I imagine any faster would put undue stress on the pack. I've wondered if 240v charging might deteriorate the battery any significant amount more than 120v charging. My guess is that the difference in battery longevity would be pretty close. After all, the battery is actually only charging from something like 40% to 85% when going from "empty" to "full".
The battery charge range is from 20% to 85%. It can discharge in 20 minutes using EV uphill or at high speeds. It can also fully charge in 20 to 30 minutes going downhill on some mountain to valley highways. There is no indication in the manual that such operation is undesirable.
+1. Which is why it's difficult for me to agree with those folks so paranoid about their charging practices. On a trip to Mammoth and Yosemite last year, I had several battery depletions while climbing followed by rapid charging to full on downhills. The car did not complain.
You guys honestly think you will see immediate effects from battery use like that? Heck no, but I firmly believe your battery will not be as good as mine in another 3 or 4 years.
I believe in those circumstances the BMS may occasionally start the ICE in order to protect battery from overheating. Did you experience unexpected engine starts during this trip?
Actually, no. I was amazed that even going up and back Tioga Pass Road, our overall mpg remained well over 50. I would opine that if the engine "started" to protect the batteries from overcurrent, no fuel would be injected into the engine so no impact on MPG.
Yep - The PiP owners that wanted to charge fast, should have bought a Tesla - which will charge (instead of just 2.4kW's) at 120kW's DC ... WoooHOOO! .... refill a half charge in just 20 minutes. Baby batteries charge at baby rates. But they cost a whole lost less, too. .
I usually just go to the blog to find out what certain EVs and Plug-in Hybrids (or range extended EV if you prefer). VEHICLE CHARGE TIMES WITH CLIPPERCREEK
