Could I make this trip on a single charge?

[craigmartell]

ALL:

I just bought my Leaf last Friday, and today (Monday) was the first time I tried my commute. My intent all along has been to charge at one of two places near work. However, after today, it looks like I might be able to do the round trip on one charge. Here's the info:

1. Left the house in San Juan Bautista, CA with SOC 100%, 12 bars, GOM reading of 108miles.
2. Arrived at work in Monterey, CA having gone 29.9 miles, 8 bars left, GOM reading of 64 miles.

So on the way there 4 bars and 29.9 miles.

On the way home:

3. Left Monterey with a full charge 100%, 12 bars and GOM of 100 miles
4. Arrived home in San Juan Buatista having gone 28.8 miles (I took a short cut coming home), 7 bars left, and a GOM of 47 miles.

So on the way back, 5 bars and 28.8.


You should know that it is more uphill on the way home. That might explain the increased usage.

My questions are:

1.) Is power usage linear? That is, can I assume that if I didn't charge I would have used 9 bars for the round trip total of 58.7 miles?
2.) If so, is this better than charging twice a day from 8 or 7 bars?

This is important, since I am the one that takes my 13 month old daughter to day care, and I can't be stranded on the side of the road with her.

Any suggestions/thoughts/ideas?

Thanks,

Craig

 

[Stoaty]

1. Left the house in San Juan Bautista, CA with SOC 100%, 12 bars, GOM reading of 108miles.
2. Arrived at work in Monterey, CA having gone 29.9 miles, 8 bars left, GOM reading of 64 miles.

The GOM is meaningless, I wouldn't pay attention to it or report it. The bars are a lot more useful.

1.) Is power usage linear? That is, can I assume that if I didn't charge I would have used 9 bars for the round trip total of 58.7 miles?

Yes, it is roughly linear. The only problem is that you only know within half a bar how much you have actually used.

2.) If so, is this better than charging twice a day from 8 or 7 bars?

Yes, because it is better to keep the state of charge lower when possible (down to around 3 bars). I would suggest charging to 100% (and reaching 100% shortly before you plan to leave). Minimizing time at high state of charge is the best way to take care of the battery. Alternatively, you could charge to 80%, drive to work and charge back to 80% with the charge finishing right before you need to leave.

 

[Nubo]

Not all "bars" represent the same amount of energy. See Tony Williams' excellent range chart:

http://www.lovemyleaf.com/

That being said, it seems to me like you would have made it just fine.

Since you have the opportunity to charge at work, charging to 80% would be good insurance for side trips, detours, etc..., without the battery-life penalties of 100% charge.

 

[DaveEV]

The other critical missing bit of information is the mi/kWh for each leg of the trip. Reset the dash meter before you leave and see what it reads after you get to your destination.

Knowing driving conditions would be helpful, too. Looks like it's mostly highway with speed limits of 60-65 mph?

Anyway, 60 miles round trip on a 100% charge should be pretty easy in good weather with minimal HVAC (always use ECO mode which minimizes HVAC use for you). You should make it home with about 2 bars left - or about 15-20 miles range remaining. If you can manage your speed so that you drive 55-60 when traffic allows by staying in the right lanes you'll extend your range further.

Now if it's raining and/or you have to use a substantial amount of heat/defrost it will cut it closer - in which case drive more slowly which should be easier with the inclement weather until you're used to how the car does on the trip in those conditions.

 

[TonyWilliams]

 

[garsh]

Anyway, 60 miles round trip on a 100% charge should be pretty easy in good weather with minimal HVAC (always use ECO mode which minimizes HVAC use for you).

I do this commute every day in hilly western PA. I'm finding that in the summer, I can even make the round trip with only an 80% charge, even while using air conditioning.

 

[davewill]

2.) If so, is this better than charging twice a day from 8 or 7 bars?

Yes, but what you really want to do is set the car to charge to 80% and charge twice a day. The main rule is to stay as much between 30-80% as possible.

 

[craigmartell]

2.) If so, is this better than charging twice a day from 8 or 7 bars?

Yes, but what you really want to do is set the car to charge to 80% and charge twice a day. The main rule is to stay as much between 30-80% as possible.

Excellent. Do I set it for 80% by creating a timer that is set for 80% and then overriding the timer when I plug in. Or do I need to reset the timer everytime I plug in?

Thanks,

Craig

 

[garsh]

...what you really want to do is set the car to charge to 80% and charge twice a day.

Do I set it for 80% by creating a timer that is set for 80% and then overriding the timer when I plug in. Or do I need to reset the timer everytime I plug in?

I *think* you can create a single timer for 80%, apply it every day, and make sure the time range includes all hours during which you might charge. You shouldn't have to override or reset anything that way - just plug it in.

 

[grommet]

Depends on how you use the "timer". For me, I've set the LEAF timer set to 24/7 (12-12) at 80%. This means my LEAF always stops at 80%, unless I override it via the button or the web site/app.

I have my home EVSE set to charge only off-peak. Public chargers will just charge immediately on plug-in.

By the way, it doesn't hurt charging to 100%... just don't let it sit there. Feel free to charge to 100% every single day, as long as you use it within a day or so.

 

[davewill]

Excellent. Do I set it for 80% by creating a timer that is set for 80% and then overriding the timer when I plug in. Or do I need to reset the timer everytime I plug in?

They way I do it is to have a timer for midnight to 5PM for 80%. It charges to 80% whenever I plug it in during the day, and or waits until midnight when my super-off-peak rates start if I plug it in after I get home. You could also use midnight to midnight. Then use the timer override or the Nissan phone app when you want the charge to go to 100% instead.

 

[craigmartell]

By the way, it doesn't hurt charging to 100%... just don't let it sit there. Feel free to charge to 100% every single day, as long as you use it within a day or so.

Is this true? Because what I really want to do is charge from 50% to 100% twice a day. But it definitely doesn't sit there.

Thanks to all for the other info about timers as well.

Craig

 

[davewill]

By the way, it doesn't hurt charging to 100%... just don't let it sit there. Feel free to charge to 100% every single day, as long as you use it within a day or so.

Is this true? ...

There are several long, long threads debating that and other battery longevity questions. To the best of my knowledge, he's right and wrong. It DOES help to run the car and get the charge down immediately after charging to 100%, but he's wrong that charging to 100% in the first place has no effect on battery longevity.

 

[Stoaty]

By the way, it doesn't hurt charging to 100%... just don't let it sit there. Feel free to charge to 100% every single day, as long as you use it within a day or so.

I don't think the data that we have supports this line of thinking. First of all, if you are going to charge to 100%, it should be within a couple of hours of your planned trip, not a day or so. Second, data from other lithium battery chemistries strongly suggests that shallower depth of cycling leads to longer battery life. We don't know exactly how much longer, and it is also dependent on temperature (what are summer temps like in your area?). It all depends on how long you want your battery to last, and how much trouble you are willing to go to in order to try to achieve long battery life. Based on your location, the best for you battery would probably be to charge to 80% right before departure, then charge back to 80% right before leaving work, leaving the Leaf at much lower state of charge most of the time (e.g., 30-40%). While this was once thought to be an overly conservative approach, the information we have at this point suggests it is a prudent one.

 

[JimSouCal]

In the future, I will respect WIND.

Recently, I did a trip up PCH to Ventura (and then on to Santa Barbara). I believe wind was a HUGE factor. Leaving with 11 bars showing, I made it into Ventura with two bars showing, and on the phone app, it showed one bar remaining.

On the return, I charged to 100% in Ventura, and arrived back in Santa Monica, with 4 bars (starting with 100% in SB, would have been enough to do the whole trip with no recharge in Ventura).

Quite a difference, and if I was cutting it close, would have been a drag.

Ground speed was the same. The only real variable was the strong afternoon seabreeze and headwead going up. This caveat and experience may be worthy of it's own post and a more clear explanation, actually.

 

[craigmartell]

By the way, it doesn't hurt charging to 100%... just don't let it sit there. Feel free to charge to 100% every single day, as long as you use it within a day or so.

I don't think the data that we have supports this line of thinking. First of all, if you are going to charge to 100%, it should be within a couple of hours of your planned trip, not a day or so. Second, data from other lithium battery chemistries strongly suggests that shallower depth of cycling leads to longer battery life. We don't know exactly how much longer, and it is also dependent on temperature (what are summer temps like in your area?). It all depends on how long you want your battery to last, and how much trouble you are willing to go to in order to try to achieve long battery life. Based on your location, the best for you battery would probably be to charge to 80% right before departure, then charge back to 80% right before leaving work, leaving the Leaf at much lower state of charge most of the time (e.g., 30-40%). While this was once thought to be an overly conservative approach, the information we have at this point suggests it is a prudent one.

This discussion is very interesting to me. It presents a whole new arena about which I can "geek out". (I am a Computer Science professor, but it has been a very long time since I took chemistry or physics. It will be fun to refresh my knowledge in these areas as I learn more about EVs.)

Until I have more data about the car and my driving habits, I think my plan will be to charge to 100% at home, and to 80% at work. This allows me to run errands in Monterey with out fear of running out of power. Today is a prime example, just after getting to work I had to go pick up my daughter at day care and take her to the doctor. The car had been on the Level 2 charger for ony about 20 minutes. And this trip was probably an extra 7-10 miles. I had already run a few errands after dropping her off and before work, so my SOC was already pretty low. Luckily, there is a Walgreens near by and I charged for about 1 hour while she slept in the car seat. This gave me an extra ~3.5 kwHs. However, there were 4 bars left when I got home, so I probably could have made it without the Walgreens' charge. But I don't want to take the chance of being stranded on the 101 with my 13 month old in the car .

Thanks again, and chime in with more info/thoughts if you have them.

Craig

 

[craigmartell]

In the future, I will respect WIND.

Recently, I did a trip up PCH to Ventura (and then on to Santa Barbara). I believe wind was a HUGE factor. Leaving with 11 bars showing, I made it into Ventura with two bars showing, and on the phone app, it showed one bar remaining.

On the return, I charged to 100% in Ventura, and arrived back in Santa Monica, with 4 bars (starting with 100% in SB, would have been enough to do the whole trip with no recharge in Ventura).

Quite a difference, and if I was cutting it close, would have been a drag.

Ground speed was the same. The only real variable was the strong afternoon seabreeze and headwead going up. This caveat and experience may be worthy of it's own post and a more clear explanation, actually.

Wind is a big factor for me as well. But the direction is not really predictable along the 1 around Monterey Bay. Usually it is against you going "south" and with you going "north" on the highway. But sometimes it just blows you sideways off the road.

Craig

 

[Rmasu]

Hi Craig
I got almost the same commute
1000 ft decent in 1.5 miles
1000 ft accent in about 10 miles to work
Round trip is 58 miles.
Mostly freeway but some traffic for about 10 miles
Speed 60 mph.
I took it to work today for the first time got home after climbing 1000 ft in 1.5 miles with two bars left. A little close for me. I would charge at work for sure especially with a baby in car.
Hawaii temps
75-80F

 

[planet4ever]

got home after climbing 1000 ft in 1.5 miles with two bars left. A little close for me.

I really don't understand why people feel this way. It is quite literally like panicking in a gas car if the needle gets anywhere close to the 1/4 mark. You still have more than 30% of the battery capacity left when you drop to 2 bars. With a relatively small range to start with, why would anyone throw 30% of it away?

As for worrying about a baby on board, how many reports have you read, here or anywhere, about a LEAF running out of power, other than when the driver did it intentionally? If you are running low, the solution is simple, and fully within your control. Just slow down, and you can go twice as far. Everyone knows that, and everyone does that, and that's why people don't get stranded at the side of the road. You say it will take too much time? That's silly. If you are driving 60 and are 10 miles from home, that's a ten minute drive. If you drop your speed to 30, it will take 20 minutes. Is the world going to end if it takes you ten minutes longer to get home? You can easily drive 10 miles after the very last bar disappears. Just slow down!

Ray