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2017 Prime Charging Thoughts and Question

Discussion in 'Prime Plug-in Charging' started by JackJ, Nov 26, 2016.

  1. JackJ

    JackJ New Member

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    new owner of a Prime Advanced. Also new to the plug in model after having three non plug in Prius in a row.

    This question is about using EV mode as much as possible, getting the most out of the battery charge and running the ICE as little as possible and only when it might be most efficient to do so.

    I prefer to drive in EV mode as much as possible. The car is really smooth in EV mode.

    When I had the regular Prius, I couldn't control when the ICE would run. For example, in the morning when I left the house with the old Prius, the engine would run to get warmed up regardless of the situation, i.e. hills, cold/hot weather etc.

    Now I've been running in EV mode with the Prime as much as possible whenever I'm in town, going less than 20 miles in a day, which is most days.

    With the cost of gas so low, about $2.50 a gallon here now, does it make sense to run the ICE in charge mode while running in EV mode if I need to use the AC or heaters? I don't need it for power as I'm generally on a short commute, so I figure since I can control the ICE now, why not run it if it might turn itself on anyway? I've noticed the battery goes down so fast in EV mode when using the AC or heaters and the ICE isn't on.

    I guess what I'm saying is since gas is so cheap, should I use charge mode when it makes the most sense to get the EV range back to ~20 miles (80%) and then plug it in (if I want to) to get it from 20 to 25? Does using charge mode use less, equal or more gas than using the ICE to power the car? I'd say less.

    Over time, would using EV mode as much as possible along with charge mode result in less gas usage compared to having it in auto or hybrid mode?

    I'm thinking like this. I have an electric vehicle and I'm using a built in efficient engine to keep the battery charged, and won't need the ICE power unless I'm on a longer trip.

    I haven't figured or what the cost to charge is yet. (I think it might be more expensive to plug in than fill up right now.) The electric company gave me some convoluted explaination based on how much I might drive in a year which didn't help me at all. I just want to know how much it costs (approximately) to charge the battery from empty to full. Can anyone explain that?

    Thanks for any input.
     
    #1 JackJ, Nov 26, 2016
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    congrats and welcome! charge mode will use more gas than hv driving because of the conversion losses.
    do you hacve a copy of your electric bill? i pay 24 cents per kWh, so, gas is much cheaper currently, but i still prefer to plug in and not use middle eastern product.
     
    #2 bisco, Nov 26, 2016
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  3. Lee Jay

    Lee Jay Senior Member

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    Charge from the grid as much as possible, and only use charge mode to avoid a future ICE warmup cycle. That's my opinion, anyway.

    I did post a break-even chart.
     
    #3 Lee Jay, Nov 26, 2016
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  4. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    That's a good question. My first response would be to use EV Auto mode and leave it as such and see how it performs. Then maybe for the next week, try the CHG mode and see which uses more fuel.

    Are you able to pre-heat/cool while plugged in? That can help reduce battery usage.

    I would not use CHG mode then top up with plug power. I would try to get to your destination in EV and use plug power to charge up. It's more efficient than using CHG mode. I can see certain situations where you might want to do that (e.g. you're not at your destination for long enough to fully charge so using it to top up is better than a partially filled battery).

    This is an interesting question. I hope you can follow up with your results so that others may learn from it.
     
    #4 Tideland Prius, Nov 26, 2016
  5. PT Guy

    PT Guy Senior Member

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    As I understand it, EV is battery only until depleted, then gas with the battery as some charge is added from regent braking. The electric heat pump handles heating & cooling without the engine unless very cold.
    EVauto is battery with gas added when needed for more giddy up.
    HV is primarily gas with battery for more oomph.

    So, we're going to run EV only when we have a trip within range. We'll recharge with the cord every chance we get.

    Jack, how about testing your idea? If your trips are repeatable, try one week with your idea and one week using EV to the max. Keep a log and let us know the result. I see home power consumption meters on fleaBay as low as $13 for a good reading of the power actually used to recharge.
     
    #5 PT Guy, Nov 28, 2016
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  6. GT4Prius

    GT4Prius Active Member

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    Various threads say that charge mode is v inefficient compared with other modes and should only be used if plugging in not an option and battery for e.v. mode is required, for example by a clean city where ICE use is not allowed.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #6 GT4Prius, Nov 29, 2016
  7. Uh-Oh

    Uh-Oh Junior Member

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    How many kwh does it take to charge the Prime?
     
    #7 Uh-Oh, Dec 1, 2016
  8. JamesBurke

    JamesBurke Senior Member

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    While we wait for someone with a scangauge to give us actual charge mode gph. My calculations came out at about the idle usage of my Cavalier. This was my best analytical attempt. Prime's Charge Mode - Fast Charge? | Page 3 | PriusChat
     
    #8 JamesBurke, Dec 1, 2016
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