Battery Conditioning Energy Usage?

[scott1686]

I just got a used 2015 and so far I'm really liking it. However, I live in Florida and it's really hot here, so I noticed that when I have the car parked in my garage and plugged in, it's running the battery conditioning really frequently. Does anyone know how much electricity battery conditioning typically uses while plugged in? Obviously it's great for the battery itself, but I'm just wondering if the cost savings vs paying for gas are being partially cancelled out by constant battery conditioning in my garage.

Thanks!

 

[CCIE]

I just got a used 2015 and so far I'm really liking it. However, I live in Florida and it's really hot here, so I noticed that when I have the car parked in my garage and plugged in, it's running the battery conditioning really frequently. Does anyone know how much electricity battery conditioning typically uses while plugged in? Obviously it's great for the battery itself, but I'm just wondering if the cost savings vs paying for gas are being partially cancelled out by constant battery conditioning in my garage.

Thanks!

Can't tell you what it uses. But, I set the car to start charging overnight (2am), when it's cooler, to minimize required battery cooling.

 

[scott1686]

Can't tell you what it uses. But, I set the car to start charging overnight (2am), when it's cooler, to minimize required battery cooling.

Thanks for the response, I guess I'm a little confused then about how battery conditioning works. I was under the impression that the sooner you can get your car plugged in to start charging and conditioning the battery, the better. So it's ok for the battery if it spends a little extra time in the heat and doesn't start charging/conditioning until overnight?

 

[NORTON]

... So it's ok for the battery if it spends a little extra time in the heat and doesn't start charging/conditioning until overnight?

Right, when you're driving the car it is maintaining a proper temp for the pack.
The pack is in an insulated container.
Days in the Tucson heat unplugged would not be ideal, but a few hours is no problem.

I've been noticing 'Battery Balancing' power usage.
I plug in once a day (except for winter when I plug in at home overnight) and I get the Onstar txt msg: 'Charge Complete'.
Then usually 15 minutes later I'll get a Chargepoint txt saying: 'Car is using very little power and probably done charging.'

But if I go for a weekend of not ever completing charges at public L2's and some DCFC charges to ~80%, when I do charge the car completely at the L2 near work, it may be a 30 minute wait to get the CP txt.
And on my CP acct I can see the ~500 watts used during the battery balancing. That is BMS taking more time to balance the individual cell voltages.

When I leave it plugged in all day during the dead of winter I have seen the TMS use power for ~ 15 minutes several times a day.
It uses more power for TMS than for BMS.

 

[CCIE]

Can't tell you what it uses. But, I set the car to start charging overnight (2am), when it's cooler, to minimize required battery cooling.

Thanks for the response, I guess I'm a little confused then about how battery conditioning works. I was under the impression that the sooner you can get your car plugged in to start charging and conditioning the battery, the better. So it's ok for the battery if it spends a little extra time in the heat and doesn't start charging/conditioning until overnight?

Battery Conditioning is the car's Thermal Management System (TMS) actively heating or cooling the battery to keep the battery temp within predetermined values.

When it's very cold out, a heater can activate to warm the battery. That only happens when charging/driving/preconditioning. If the car is just sitting there unplugged, battery heating will not happen.

When it's very hot out, the car's AC system can activate to cool the battery. That usually only happens when charging/driving/preconditioning. However, if the battery is at a high State of Charge (SOC) and gets very hot while sitting unplugged, the TMS may activate to cool it and prevent damage.

In general, cold can't permanently harm a battery (it does temporarily reduce capacity). Heat, on the other hand, can harm a battery. Especially a battery at high SOC. Sitting at a high SOC is also bad for Lithium batteries in general.

Having said all of the, the healthiest thing for battery (and the most energy efficient), is to leave it at a lower SOC until right before it's needed. I accomplish that by telling the car not to start charging until 2am. In summer that means it sits at a low/mid SOC for half the night, starts charging when it's cool outside, and is fully charged just in time for me to leave in the morning. In winter it still sits at low/mid SOC for half the night, and the charging/warming of the battery finishes right before I leave in the morning, giving me better range since the battery is still warm.

 

[ZipZap]

I looked through the data from my charger and came up with these numbers:

Saturday, 7/21; North Las Vegas, NV; High Temperature of 99C. Car outside in full sun
800W, 20 min @~5:30am
900W, 25 min @~11am
900W, 25 min @~ 2:30pm
850W, 20 min @~7pm

So total of about 1.3kWh for the full day

Saturday, 7/14; North Las Vegas, NV; High Temperature of 105C. Car outside in full sun
800W, 30 min @~3am
900W, 25 min @~11am
1000W, 30 min @~ 1:30pm
1000W, 45 min @~3:30pm
1000W, 35 min @~ 6pm
900W, 25 min @~9pm

So total of about 3kWh for the full day.

These are with my car having finished charging sometime around midnight and just sitting around plugged in all day.

 

[NORTON]

....So total of about 3kWh for the full day.

These are with my car having finished charging sometime around midnight and just sitting around plugged in all day.

So less than a buck a day to not have your pack suffer in that extreme heat.

You know what a Leaf does to protect its pack?

Nothing.

 

[SparkE]

I looked through the data from my charger and came up with these numbers:

Saturday, 7/21; North Las Vegas, NV; High Temperature of 99C. Car outside in full sun
800W, 20 min @~5:30am
900W, 25 min @~11am
900W, 25 min @~ 2:30pm
850W, 20 min @~7pm

So total of about 1.3kWh for the full day

Saturday, 7/14; North Las Vegas, NV; High Temperature of 105C. Car outside in full sun
800W, 30 min @~3am
900W, 25 min @~11am
1000W, 30 min @~ 1:30pm
1000W, 45 min @~3:30pm
1000W, 35 min @~ 6pm
900W, 25 min @~9pm

So total of about 3kWh for the full day.

These are with my car having finished charging sometime around midnight and just sitting around plugged in all day.

What is the model year of your SparkEV?