mgs333
Well-known member
ElectricMonkey, how is the Wemo working out for you? I might get a similar setup for my garage in my rented condo (so can't install any EVSE) to take advantage of off peak rates. Thanks.
+1. And even though I can meet my needs charging at L1, in a location that does not present an inconvenience, what I don't like is the much lower efficiency (10% or more, I believe) of L1 vs. L2. And although this could be viewed as an economic reason (paying for electricity that doesn't end up in the battery), it's equally "environmental", in not wanting to waste energy (generated mostly by natural gas, in my case).bbrowncods said:The L1 vs. L2 decision is not a purely economic one. Having your Leaf tied up to the garage for 13-16 hours charging really puts a damper on when and how much you can use it.
The car has a certain amount of overhead while charging: to run the cooling pump, the electronics that work with the On Board Charger (OBC), and the like. That overhead will stay pretty much the same whether one is charging quickly or slowly.mbender said:...I'm not an engineer, but I don't see why L1 "has to be" so much less efficient than L2. Maybe I'll look further into in other posts, but if someone wants to provide a quick explanation here, it might save me and others time and energy searching (i.e., you'll be increasing efficiency in a different way ;-)).
smkettner said:I think charging overhead is about 300 watts. So how long do you want to burn that 300 watts? 3 hours or 15 hours?
dgpcolorado said:The car has a certain amount of overhead while charging: to run the cooling pump, the electronics that work with the On Board Charger (OBC), and the like. That overhead will stay pretty much the same whether one is charging quickly or slowly.mbender said:...I'm not an engineer, but I don't see why L1 "has to be" so much less efficient than L2. [...]
So, if charging slowly, [...]
Also — this is a bit subtle — charging to 100% is less efficient than charging to 80%. That is because the charge rate tapers as SOC approaches 100% but the overhead losses do not.
smkettner said:I think charging overhead is about 300 watts. So how long do you want to burn that 300 watts? 3 hours or 15 hours?
LeftieBiker said:In Winter I'd rather have it charge longer. In Summer it would depend on the weather.smkettner said:I think charging overhead is about 300 watts. So how long do you want to burn that 300 watts? 3 hours or 15 hours?
mbender said:I'm not an engineer, but I don't see why L1 "has to be" so much less efficient than L2. Maybe I'll look further into in other posts, but if someone wants to provide a quick explanation here, it might save me and others time and energy searching (i.e., you'll be increasing efficiency in a different way ;-)).
I agree. Even though I now understand why L1 is so much less efficient than L2, my hunch is still that it doesn't need to be that bad. 300 Watts is pretty much power -- what is it all doing that couldn't be done much more efficiently with solid-state electronics?!johnrhansen said:I think 300 watts overhead on 1.4 kw charging is sloppy design.
Not sure if by "you" you mean me, but no, I'm happy with my newly leased 2015. Aside from needing the space, there are two big drawbacks to the otherwise alluring smart ED*: A.) It does not come with a quick charge "module", even as an option, and 2.) despite its diminutive size (and weight), it has a lower range, due to its 25% smaller battery (17.x kWh, I believe).dgpcolorado said:You have options, one of which might be to skip the LEAF and buy the Smart ED mentioned above, another might be to charge the LEAF at L2 as fast as the OBC will allow. Or just ignore it and continue to charge at L1 and waste a few kWh of electricity for each full charge. Take your pick.
I like it!mbender said:...I think they should have called it the smart-ER. ...
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