Charging in the Sun

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hyperionmark

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 31, 2017
Messages
202
Location
Nebraska
At what temp or above would you avoid (if you could) charging under full sunlight via L1 trickle charging? What about 6kw L2?
(let's assume you can't roll down or even crack the windows)
 
Interesting question..
I wouldn't think L2 causes much heat increase, even at 6Kw...
QCs, yeah, but L2???

Not sure, but I wouldn't think it would add too much..
Now that said, if it's really really hot, that's bad for the battery and any increase would technically make it worse, but I wouldn't think it would be significantly more..

Never measured tho, so don't take my word for it.. ;-)

desiv
 
You should go by the car's pack temperature, not the ambient temp. I avoid charging when 6 temp bars are showing if possible, 7 bars for sure. Some people will charge at 7 bars.
 
LeftieBiker said:
You should go by the car's pack temperature, not the ambient temp. I avoid charging when 6 temp bars are showing if possible, 7 bars for sure. Some people will charge at 7 bars.
Sounds good. I have yet to see mine over 5, although I'm sure that will change in the summer.
 
hyperionmark said:
LeftieBiker said:
You should go by the car's pack temperature, not the ambient temp. I avoid charging when 6 temp bars are showing if possible, 7 bars for sure. Some people will charge at 7 bars.
Sounds good. I have yet to see mine over 5, although I'm sure that will change in the summer.
I finally saw 5 bars on my meter just two days ago. It goes back to 4 bars every morning though.

What's the difference in terms of damage from charging a hot battery vs. discharging (driving) a hot battery?
 
IssacZachary said:
What's the difference in terms of damage from charging a hot battery vs. discharging (driving) a hot battery?

They're both bad, but there's not much you can do about the latter if you have to drive the car.
I generally avoid charging @7TB and above; I see 6TB all summer in Texas.
 
What's the difference in terms of damage from charging a hot battery vs. discharging (driving) a hot battery?

You have some control over heating a hot pack while driving. Use D for minimum regen, and accelerate gently. I'm not sure if using the A/C while moving matters, but you should probably NOT use it while stopped.
 
Not that heat is much of a problem where I live, but sometimes I dream of opening the battery and running stainless steel tubing throughout the whole pack, closing it up and sealing it real tight again, and running coolant through the tubing that's cooled via a small refrigeration unit and then insulating the battery case really well so that once it's cooled down it stays cool.
 
Don't make this too complicated. Use the car and charge it as you need. I normally charge only at night during off-peak rates, but have no qualms about using DCQC or L2 during the day when needed. The battery is under the car so the sun shining on top of the car has little impact on battery temperature. If possible, it is better to park on white concrete vs. black pavement because the black surface absorbs more heat from the sun which is radiated to the underside of the car in the first few minutes after parking. It was officially 108 F yesterday in Phoenix (new record high for 5/5) and my battery was at 8 temperature bars when I arrived home last night. The battery cools to 5 or 6 temperature bars overnight under these conditions.
 
No, the battery pack is sealed (except for small pressure/vacuum release vents). There are ducts formed in the underside of the body (between the body and top of battery) to help direct air flow over the top of the battery while moving. I routinely see battery temperature increase when I park after driving on the highway.
 
Finally saw 6 bars yesterday when it got into the 80's here.

Anecdotally, it seems as though L1 trickle charging adds very little to no extra heat to the battery pack. So, in theory, charging via L1 out in the sun wouldn't increase the heat any more than just sitting in the sun already would.
 
No offense to the nice people who are posting on this topic, but I need to say that I think people are worrying about something does not need to be worried about... Some of the posts are what is in my field are called "magical thinking" and "superstitious routines".

Yes, you should not drive your car at 100mph when its 110 degrees in Arizona, and then supercharge it with 400 volts over and over.
However, people should not be worried that the should not charge their car (especially on 110 volt) based upon.. of all things the outside temperature, or even the number of temperature bars.?? I can think of NO BATTERY POWERED products (at all) that caution that they "SHOULD NOT CHARGE" if you have a hot day.

So why worry about a car??? I have 4 bars of temperature even on a cool day, and I have not even driven the car. If the bars went to the red, then I would take it easy on the car, but would still use the car.. Let's not be a society of car owners that have to pamper our cars like they were newborn infants....
 
Yes, you should not drive your car at 100mph when its 110 degrees in Arizona, and then supercharge it with 400 volts over and over.
However, people should not be worried that the should not charge their car (especially on 110 volt) based upon.. of all things the outside temperature, or even the number of temperature bars.?? I can think of NO BATTERY POWERED products (at all) that caution that they "SHOULD NOT CHARGE" if you have a hot day.

Welcome to the world of EVs with no TMS.
 
powersurge said:
No offense to the nice people who are posting on this topic, but I need to say that I think people are worrying about something does not need to be worried about... Some of the posts are what is in my field are called "magical thinking" and "superstitious routines".

Yes, you should not drive your car at 100mph when its 110 degrees in Arizona, and then supercharge it with 400 volts over and over.
However, people should not be worried that the should not charge their car (especially on 110 volt) based upon.. of all things the outside temperature, or even the number of temperature bars.?? I can think of NO BATTERY POWERED products (at all) that caution that they "SHOULD NOT CHARGE" if you have a hot day.

So why worry about a car??? I have 4 bars of temperature even on a cool day, and I have not even driven the car. If the bars went to the red, then I would take it easy on the car, but would still use the car.. Let's not be a society of car owners that have to pamper our cars like they were newborn infants....
Umm...you do realize people on here have drastically different battery health because of the temps and the way they treat their car, correct?

Why would I want to shorten the life of or make my battery range go down when I can easily prevent something?
 
hyperionmark said:
Umm...you do realize people on here have drastically different battery health because of the temps and the way they treat their car, correct?
Well, people do have different battery health primarily because of where they live and which generation of the battery pack they have. As powersurge observed, it is unlikely that their problem is whether they charge in the sunshine or in the shade.
 
Dooglas said:
hyperionmark said:
Umm...you do realize people on here have drastically different battery health because of the temps and the way they treat their car, correct?
Well, people do have different battery health primarily because of where they live and which generation of the battery pack they have. As powersurge observed, it is unlikely that their problem is whether they charge in the sunshine or in the shade.
You live in Oregon, so I know you don't experience extreme heat. But when the weather is warm there can be a 20 degree difference in the sun or shade. So yes, charging routinely in the sun or shade can make a longevity difference.
 
hyperionmark said:
You live in Oregon, so I know you don't experience extreme heat. But when the weather is warm there can be a 20 degree difference in the sun or shade. So yes, charging routinely in the sun or shade can make a longevity difference.
If it were that simple, everyone in Phoenix would use a carport and the problem would be solved. We are talking about the temperature of the battery.
 
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