charge daily or when needed?

In your case, just plug in when needed. Use the charge timer so that you start using the car as soon as possible after the car has finished fully charging. This will maximize battery life, but not necessary.

 

I'm convinced that lithium batteries last longer when they are kept topped up, and deep discharges are kept to a minimum.

 

Not to me. I have about a 4 mile RT commute and I don't always plug-in either at night. Once every other day unless I know I've got errands to run. Does it bother me that I'm leaving a couple/three miles "in the tank"? Nope. During the winter when we had a rather bitter 3 week stretch of cold weather, I didn't have to plug in at all for about a week. Even though I was down to 9.6 miles of EV, the PiP only used a couple of miles of EV because the ICE would fire up (voluntarily and involuntarily) and I would be in EV boost.

 

have you considered a bicycle?

 

In the winter?

 

it's oregon.

 

Neither applies to the plug-in Prius. A charge of "full" is actually just 85% and the "empty" level is really 23.5%. And when you want to save the maximum charge while out driving (after the engine has fired up), it depletes to 72.5% for optimal longevity. The battery is always kept in that happy place, automatically for you.

Overnight charging is the best, since you take advantage of the lowest electricity rates while also minimizing grid demand, as well as recharging when the pack has had an opportunity to cold soak (rest).

 

That's a good point. High temperatures also shorten battery life. Toyota has wisely opted to set their "full" at 85% to extend battery life, so a "full" charge is well below the maximum voltage the battery will take. The less you change the chemistry in a battery, the longer it will last.

 

Ohhhhhh you mean the OP. Bikes suck in snow. But from the OPs territory you get double the water when it rains, once coming down and again kicking up from the tires.

 

especially without fenders.

 

Haven't had a bike with fenders since I was 12.

Back to the discussion.... I do about once a month during the winter put a charger on the 12V aux battery. Those short commutes and large accessory usage (lights because its darker out longer and heat) can put a dent on the charge and Lead Acid batteries aren't very good with prolonged discharges.

 

if i only drove 3-4 miles a day, i would plug in for an hour and a half sometime before leaving. and no, it doesn't use more kilowatts.

 

I'm not sure I follow. Normally, the system keeps the aux battery topped up. Using more accessories won't run down the battery. The charge-converter supplies all the power necessary to run all the electrical components.

 

The system does keep the battery topped up, but much like the traction battery it takes longer to recharge than to discharge. My short commute doesn't give it a chance to fully recover. Particularly during the winter when it is just as cold as the traction battery it cannot absorb as much charge. Of the 4 times I put the charger on last winter, only once did the auto charger NOT put in any charge. Now that I have EngineLink and an ODB II WiFi plug, I can monitor the temp and charge of the Aux Battery a little bit better.


iPad ? HD

 

For battery life, only charge when you need it. Toyota recommends long term storage with no EV miles. The battery sitting on a full charge is not good, especially under the sun high heat.

You can save electricity by not pluggin in the EVSE (cable) into the wall socket. It draws some amount of electricity.

 

Sounds like a defect. If the charging system can't handle all the load, and the battery runs down, it could present a potentially dangerous situation for someone traveling a long distance in the winter.

 

You're mixing up EV and HV operation. They have different tolerances and temperature is one of the influencing criteria.

The behavior is quite intentional. There is no danger. The reason for the difference is battery longevity.

 

We weren't talking about the EV battery, John.