Best way to charge for battery life

[xSPARExSTEWx]

I just got a 2016 spark ev today (11,200 including taxes with 3.7k miles) and was unsure how I should be charging this. I just ordered a used Siemens VC30GRYHW VersiCharge and it will be here in a week. Monday to Thursday I have a 50 mile drive to school and I live in Denver CO so I get the cold and hot wether. I have read that I should charge it to around 80% at night and not let it go under 30%, is this right and how would I do this? I have also read that charging faster is worse, is this only for DCFC or with all tiers? Should I try to get this into my garage for charging and storage or would it be okay in the drive way? This is my first ev and would love some advice, even if it is not about charging! Also anyone else think it is weird it does not come with a garage door opener, and whats with the buttons on the top? I would also love to figure out how much battery capacity there is, I am guessing it is pretty good as it only has 3.7k miles and lived in san jose ca for its life.

 

[JPL]

Charge every night with the charger that came with your car.

Yes is better to park it under a roof, like in a garage.

If you are not going to use it for months keep it to a 60%

If it gets too hot or too cold GM advice to keep it plug in.

It is kind of difficult as is very fun to floor it but to maximize battery consumption avoid to run.

Also drive always on L

Good luck

 

[xSPARExSTEWx]

Charge every night with the charger that came with your car.

Yes is better to park it under a roof, like in a garage.

If you are not going to use it for months keep it to a 60%

If it gets too hot or too cold GM advice to keep it plug in.

It is kind of difficult as is very fun to floor it but to maximize battery consumption avoid to run.

Also drive always on L

Good luck

That is what I thought. Guessing GM put a cap of 90% on this car to keep a good battery life? Should I just leave it plugged in when ever I am not driving then? Also by charging with every night with the charger that it came with unless I need to use the tier 2 or would tier 2 always be okay?

 

[SparkE]

I would suggest reading these threads :

http://www.mychevysparkev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=4464

http://www.mychevysparkev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=4701

There are lots of opinions about battery life expressed. Personally, I don't charge to 100% unless I need the range - I generally charge to 75-85%.

BUT, I don't live in an area where it freezes or gets really, really hot (often), so the battery 'conditioning' isn't necessary so I don't leave it plugged in.

 

[SparkE]

Oh, and :

http://www.mychevysparkev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=8934



Different topic (12V battery), but important :

http://www.mychevysparkev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=4616

Other topic , but interesting info :

http://www.mychevysparkev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=9033&p=26475#p26473

 

[xSPARExSTEWx]

I would suggest reading these threads :

http://www.mychevysparkev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=4464

http://www.mychevysparkev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=4701

There are lots of opinions about battery life expressed. Personally, I don't charge to 100% unless I need the range - I generally charge to 75-85%.

BUT, I don't live in an area where it freezes or gets really, really hot (often), so the battery 'conditioning' isn't necessary so I don't leave it plugged in.

Oh, and :

http://www.mychevysparkev.com/forum/vie ... f=9&t=8934



Different topic (12V battery), but important :

http://www.mychevysparkev.com/forum/vie ... f=7&t=4616

Other topic , but interesting info :

http://www.mychevysparkev.com/forum/vie ... 475#p26473

Thanks for this. Last questions I could not seem to find or I am not wording it correctly. I have the battery to charge at 7pm with the off peak settings. Before 7pm (not charging) and it is plugged in does it cool or heat the battery with battery power or the charger? I also got the Volt PIDS in torque working and found Usable and Raw SOC. After today's drive I played with this as raw was at 40% (which is what the car was reporting too) and usable was around 29%. Does this mean I got 11% degeneration on a 3.7k mile EV or should I see what this reads at a 100% charge?

 

[JAMMan]

There have been literally thousands of posts with individuals producing long history and studies of battery data to support their conclusions on the battery degradation over time, use and charging.

Honestly though? It's all pretty inconclusive. I haven't seen any hard evidence that charging to 100% every day is bad. I haven't seen hard evidence that DCFC (DC Fast charging) is detrimental to the battery pack. I've NEVER seen an instance of Chevrolet replacing a battery pack due to being significantly degraded.

All this to say my personal philosophy is: Use it however you want. I don't get wrapped up in making sure it never goes above 80% or below 30% or plug and unplug throughout the day to maintain the ideal 80% range, or any number of tactics many have used. I charge on 120V, 240V or DCFC at any point is convenient to me. I just did a 80 mile trip to my in-laws this weekend using a DCFC along the way for 10 minutes to boost my battery range for interstate travel and my range is reporting the same it does every day.

Chevrolet warranties the propulsion system (battery, and electric motor) for 8 years or 100k miles. Are you likely to own this vehicle past that? If not, I wouldn't worry about babying the system.

Lastly, 100% 'reported' battery charge is NOT the same as 100% of the actual capacity of the battery. They do not allow full use of every kW of battery capacity, they build in a buffer for battery protection and, you guessed it, degradation. Tesla does the same thing. So even if YOU charge it up to 100% it is typically closer to the actual 85-90% optimal charge spot of the battery pack.

I think, a lot of people apply the same logic we've learned about consumer electric battery powered devices like smart phones and laptops to these commercial-grade automotive batteries because they are both lithium based but that is FALLACY. The two are similar but very different in a LOT of ways especially in chemical construction. The battery cycle and usage of smart phone batteries is so different than EV's, it's not like you should expect it to perform half as well after a few years.

 

[MrDRMorgan]

There have been literally thousands of posts with individuals producing long history and studies of battery data to support their conclusions on the battery degradation over time, use and charging.

Honestly though? It's all pretty inconclusive. I haven't seen any hard evidence that charging to 100% every day is bad. I haven't seen hard evidence that DCFC (DC Fast charging) is detrimental to the battery pack. I've NEVER seen an instance of Chevrolet replacing a battery pack due to being significantly degraded.

All this to say my personal philosophy is: Use it however you want. I don't get wrapped up in making sure it never goes above 80% or below 30% or plug and unplug throughout the day to maintain the ideal 80% range, or any number of tactics many have used. I charge on 120V, 240V or DCFC at any point is convenient to me. I just did a 80 mile trip to my in-laws this weekend using a DCFC along the way for 10 minutes to boost my battery range for interstate travel and my range is reporting the same it does every day.

Chevrolet warranties the propulsion system (battery, and electric motor) for 8 years or 100k miles. Are you likely to own this vehicle past that? If not, I wouldn't worry about babying the system.

Lastly, 100% 'reported' battery charge is NOT the same as 100% of the actual capacity of the battery. They do not allow full use of every kW of battery capacity, they build in a buffer for battery protection and, you guessed it, degradation. Tesla does the same thing. So even if YOU charge it up to 100% it is typically closer to the actual 85-90% optimal charge spot of the battery pack.

I think, a lot of people apply the same logic we've learned about consumer electric battery powered devices like smart phones and laptops to these commercial-grade automotive batteries because they are both lithium based but that is FALLACY. The two are similar but very different in a LOT of ways especially in chemical construction. The battery cycle and usage of smart phone batteries is so different than EV's, it's not like you should expect it to perform half as well after a few years.

I agree! I have been fortunate to have driven every model year of the Spark EV for at least 3 years. I started with a leased 2015 followed by purchases of a used 2014 and a used 2016 - both of which I still own. All three vehicles have exhibited about equal amounts of battery degradation. I am interested in what charging protocol is being followed by those Spark EV owners who have 75K+ miles on the ODO. At that mileage, they have had many more charging sessions than most of us.

 

[Kermit]

In my experience with delayed departure settings it will not cool the pack if plugged in and not charging. Going into winter I will watch to see if it heats the battery.

The batteries charge to about 97% (4.128 Volts is the max I have ever seen), there is no buffer beyond 3% from my calculations and battery cell voltage readings through torque pro. The buffer would be in not allowing the individual 4.2V cells to charge to that voltage. The idea of the battery having a buffer was something GM did on the Gen 1 Volts since it was their first run with this battery chemistry (they charge to 4.0-4.05 Volts which is about 85% according to peoples reports on www.gm-volt.com forums.)

Tesla's are different animals and they did have built in buffers that can be changed via a software update to access more capacity if so desired by the owner.

I do typically charge to about 80% through delayed departure (I think mine is set for 1pm and I leave about 5 hours before this I charge with an 8amp 120v charger) it's no extra work when it's set up correctly and my commute is so short if I forget to charge I can go a couple days without the need.

I do not know if this will extend the life of the battery but I'm logging when I do charge to 100% each month (based on the assumption that you have to so the pack can balance the battery cells) just so others can compare.

 

[Engineear]

The charge gets low, I plug in at night and drive away in the morning. A few days later the charge is low, I plug it in at night and drive away in the morning. No stress. It charges, I use the charge...rinse and repeat. Don't over think it. You'll drive yourself nuts. Get in and go, wave as you pass the gas stations, go fast when the light changes every once and awhile. Smile

 

[MrDRMorgan]

For what it is worth:

My 2014 Spark EV [20k miles on the ODO] shows my battery capacity, as measured by TorquePro, is degrading about 1 kWh in 4k miles of driving. This car is charged almost 100% using the 120 VAC L1 EVSE that came with the car. Charging is always set to 12 amps. Today, my full-charge GOM was 92 miles.

My 2016 Spark EV [24k miles on the ODO] shows my battery capacity, as measured by TorquePro, is degrading about 1 kWh in 13.6k miles of driving. This car is charged 80% using a BOSCH L2 EVSE, 240 VAC at 16 amps and 20% at EVGo DCFC stations. Today, my full-charge GOM was also 92 miles.

 

[NORTON]

I have charged my '14 to 100% 5 days a week since I got it in May, '15, with 3500 miles on it.
It finishes around noon and then I move it .25 mi. and it sits until about 5 and I don't plug in overnight, except in the dead of winter.
It's a ~ 50 mile round trip.

It now has +70 k miles and my last data point was 8-29-19.
The 'energy details' page displayed: 81% @ 'energy used' 15.0 kWh - which = 18.52 kWh.
( haven't figured out TorquePro with this car, yet, tho I had it working on my Volt.. )
I have been seeing 78 - 82 miles on the GOM. (of course this is the best time of year )
Interstate travel 80% of the commute, occasionally bumping the 90 mph limiter.
I don't know why this is such a great pack !
I definitely don't baby it in any way.
Maybe the cell balancing it does after it charges to 100% is important. :?: