Hybrid Charge Mode Question

We stay in ECO mode. Though we have been playing with the CHG setting. It charges the battery pretty quickly.

 

No. There are natural energy losses in the engine (maximum of 40% efficiency) and then in transferring that energy to the battery.

The only reason to consider using the engine to charge the battery is if you cannot charge elsewhere but wish to have some EV range for use for short local trips where you want to avoid the engine going through its warm up cycle.

 

Example usage 1: before entering indoor parking structure or ZEZ zero emission zone city like Tokyo.
Usage 2: some country it's illegal to have engine on and parking for more than 5 minutes. Prime can use EV mode for AC without engine.

 

I'm not sure whether this is exactly what you're asking, but I did the proverbial back-of-the-envelope calculation, and at least here in Austin, operating the P.Prime on electric worked out to about 1/4 of the cost per mile of fuel at 55MPG. 1/4! I like that.

Now, granted, The City of Austin (Texas) has some charging subsidies, but even factoring that out, it's on the order of 1/3 to 1/2, depending upon where I charge.

 

Wattup, welcome to the board. Lots of good info here to make you a Prius owner for life.

 

Oh oh oh, I understand your question (I think) now: Whether it's worthwhile to use the setting to charge the battery from the engine. I would not expect that to "pay off," so to speak.

 

agree with all of the above, you'll pay a financial penalty for using it, so you would have to have a good reason such as you're heading for a big mountain climb, or just want some ev to toot around in.

 

Pretty much it will only have a chance of being worth it, is when you won't be able to charge where you are going, and you will be doing short trips there before getting a charge.

 

they got a lot of heat when volt came out with it, and took the bait.

 

It is also preparing for the future. Zero Emissions zones in city centers.

 

Charge mode is a new feature, not a lot of empirical data...why not trying it and report your findings?

 

Quick summary for the CHG mode i tried earlier this month
- took 32 minutes to charge battery from "empty" to 30%, i.e. 30% of 6.5kwh. This is faster than L2 charging.
- Reported 32MPG from dashboard. Same route I usually get >50MPG using gas (hybrid mode)

Not sure what page in manuals is it. Learn it from another hybrid driver

 

Thanks

 

Manual does not tell a lot on charge mode...to say the least.

 

One of the uses is to extend the range of your next tank of gas.
I was driving through South Carolina and was going to stop for gas at Costco 100 miles away. Seeing that I had more than enough gas to get to the gas station, I switched to charge mode. When I got to the gas station, I had 10 miles of gas left. So I got an extra 25 miles of range for this relatively inexpensive tank of gas.

 

this is my fear, that prius now becomes less efficient.