Soldato
- Joined
- 22 Aug 2004
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- 7,606
I don't quite understand these charge at home hybrids. I always thought the best use of tech was to reuse the power from braking etc.
PHEV/Hybrid Owners?
- Thread starter West
- Start date
Don
They do that too though.
Myself, I've never understood the point of non-plug-in hybrids.
Soldato
- Joined
- 22 Aug 2004
- Posts
- 7,606
But they harness braking etc and put that waste energy back into the system?
Plug ins also do that.
A plug in is effectively a regular hybrid with huge battery. They still take energy from braking but they can do much more. The main advantages are because of the large battery the vehicle can travel on entirely electric power at high speed for tens of miles, many are 30 but the ampera could do 50. Many can also heat and cool the cabin off the battery pack so if you only have a short commute you don’t burn any fuel at all.
When the battery runs out they just become a regular hybrid.
Associate
We had a nissan leaf for 2 years and now have a 530e plug in hybrid, 3500 miles so far 1900 of which has been on electric. So suits my use fine, plus it was cheaper than a new leaf lease.
Any questions just ask.
Any questions just ask.
PHEV question-Just came up in conversation.
On shorter journeys, it is likely that the engine will be making multiple cold starts and short duration runs without ever getting to warm up fully.
In the past, this was considered a "Bad thing" that would increase wear and shorten engine life.
Is this no longer an issue??
On shorter journeys, it is likely that the engine will be making multiple cold starts and short duration runs without ever getting to warm up fully.
In the past, this was considered a "Bad thing" that would increase wear and shorten engine life.
Is this no longer an issue??
Associate
I get 20 miles on electric so in slow traffic electric only, then just switch to petrol when on a run, it is so seamless that I can change without passengers being able to tell unless under acceleration. Most days are pure electric.
Associate
- Joined
- 28 May 2008
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- 132
On the Mitsubishi Outlander the engine only starts up for short periods on short journeys if you floor the accelerator to give you a bit more oommph, not that there is much to be had. So it doesn't kick in all that often for short periods. Whether this is a problem for the engine I don't know, but I would say it happens less than the 'stop start' technology a lot of cars now have...
Soldato
Electricity from the grid is far better to fill the battery (for significant range) than using the engine with additional load and hence using petrol.
Why cycle the batteries like that for very little value. They are expensive to replace and do wear with cycles.
The Tesla Model S has a projected life of 1000-1500 cycles. Plenty if you use it as a car, but discharging and and charging it every day as a reservoir?
The Tesla Powerwall on the other hand which has been designed to do this (for the home) is warrantied for 5000 cycles.
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Not all cycles are equal, higher power draw/charging and deeper discharges will degrade a battery more then taking a small amount over a long period. In vehicle to grid scenarios the latter is more representative of what they are doing. Powerwalls are relatively small packs and get cycled pretty hard as they are designed to keep you off grid as long as possible. V2G is just meant to shave the top off usage from the grid and not directly replace all of your energy usage.
You can also sell the energy back to the grid for far more than you paid for it in high demand periods e.g. 5-7pm. There is loads of V2G testing going on and it’s having a negligible effect on the degradation of the fleet of Leafs hooked up.
You can also sell the energy back to the grid for far more than you paid for it in high demand periods e.g. 5-7pm. There is loads of V2G testing going on and it’s having a negligible effect on the degradation of the fleet of Leafs hooked up.
How are you finding it? I am going down this road when my current lease expires later this year.
Its exceeded all of my expectations to be honest. My only ongoing concern is practicality of the i3 as the boot is fine for now (small pram for 2 year old), but if we become a family of 4 I can see it getting a bit tight compared to the 535i Tourer we've come from. Its a really nice car to drive, the instant go and torque is fantastic, it really does make ICE power feel old and outdated.
Evezy has been straightforward, no issues at all, and of the 800 miles we've done in the past 2 weeks, its only cost me around £10 with a few top ups we've done on the 3 pin plug granny charger at home. The rest has been on charge provided by Polar chargers which I've used for free when convenient while out and about with the supplied card from Evezy, and the rapid down the road that's on free vend. £399 a month isn't cheap, but its great value for all inclusive motoring in a £35k car.