Trip Planning Spreadsheet

[NYLEAF]

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Vc4S_KfbaFpac997qTMieW53cq6HVJ7RVAmAtgMaVqo/edit?usp=sharing

I took some time and created a Google Drive spreadsheet to help plan out longer road trips in the Leaf. I figured some other Leaf drivers may also want to use it, so I'm sharing it here for everyone to take a look at. (Save a copy to use it)

I find that it's best used in conjunction with the Trip Planning feature of PlugShare.com. Sometimes I'll re-create the trip that PlugShare created in Google Maps so that I can fine-tune the route to take advantage of more efficient roads and shorter distances. Once I'm happy with the numbers, I'll put everything into the spreadsheet.


Some instructions for using the spreadsheet...

The spreadsheet is based on Point A-Point B trip segments. If you need more segments, choose "Add Trip Segment" from the "Trip Planner" menu. That menu also has an option to delete the last segment of the trip. You should only enter data into yellow cells. None of the cells are locked, so please be careful.

Speed (Column E) only effects Driving Time (Column D). You must manually enter your expected Energy Economy for that trip segment into Column F. When you create a new segment from the "Trip Planner" menu, that segment will default to 55mph and 4.0 mi/kWh. I chose not to automate Energy Economy because most Leaf drivers should have a good idea of what sort of economy they can achieve based on road conditions and the weather.

Starting Battery Charge % for the first segment (Column G, Row 3) defaults to 100% of the starting battery capacity, which is adjustable in the Settings tab. If you plan to start your trip with less than a full charge, change this field.

Average Charging Power (Column O) should be altered based on the average input you expect your car to receive from the station you plan on using. For 2011-2012 Leafs charging at Level 2, you should enter "3.3". For 2013-2014 Leafs with the upgraded OBC, you should enter "6.0", so long as you know the Level 2 station you plan on using can provide 30A. For CHAdeMO (Level 3) Quick Charging, make sure you enter the average, not max, power input from the station. For example, a 50kW CHAdeMO station will provide an average of about 32kW when charging from Low Battery Warning to 75%.

In the Settings tab, you can change 5 options:
-the kWh value of your battery when fully charged
-the Minimum Charge per Session, which allows you to ensure the car is charged at the end of a segment, even if the spreadsheet predicts it isn't necessary to complete the following segment
-the Value of a Gid (.075 Wh by default)
-the Charging Buffer %, which allows you to ensure the car is charged in excess of what the spreadsheet predicts will be necessary to complete the following segment
-the Max Charging % for High-Speed (10 kW or greater) charging, which lets you limit the battery state of charge if you're using a Quick Charger

If anyone has any feedback, finds any bugs, or (hopefully) finds this useful, please let me know. Thanks!

 

[NYLEAF]

Just in case anyone already saved a copy of the spreadsheet, I just made some minor changes...

The spreadsheet now determines if you should stay for a full charge or leave once you've reached the minimum charge needed to make it to your next destination based on the power available at your next charging spot. So, for example, if you are using a QC on Segment 1 and you will be using a Level 2 at the end of Segment 2, it will have you stay for a full charge at the QC on Segment 1, even if one isn't needed to get to your next destination, because QC is faster than Level 2.

The second change goes hand-in-hand with the first. In the Settings, you can set a maximum % charge for high-speed charging (10 kW or greater). This is set to 80% by default since QCs slow down considerably after that, but you can raise it if necessary.

 

[Luft]

Just in case anyone already saved a copy of the spreadsheet, I just made some minor changes...

The spreadsheet now determines if you should stay for a full charge or leave once you've reached the minimum charge needed to make it to your next destination based on the power available at your next charging spot. So, for example, if you are using a QC on Segment 1 and you will be using a Level 2 at the end of Segment 2, it will have you stay for a full charge at the QC on Segment 1, even if one isn't needed to get to your next destination, because QC is faster than Level 2.

The second change goes hand-in-hand with the first. In the Settings, you can set a maximum % charge for high-speed charging (10 kW or greater). This is set to 80% by default since QCs slow down considerably after that, but you can raise it if necessary.

After taking my LEAF on a 3,000 mile road trip from Candida to Mexico and back may I suggest that you take Terrain into account? Your spread sheet will fail you going over a mountain pass or in very hilly Terrain.

 

[NYLEAF]

Just in case anyone already saved a copy of the spreadsheet, I just made some minor changes...

The spreadsheet now determines if you should stay for a full charge or leave once you've reached the minimum charge needed to make it to your next destination based on the power available at your next charging spot. So, for example, if you are using a QC on Segment 1 and you will be using a Level 2 at the end of Segment 2, it will have you stay for a full charge at the QC on Segment 1, even if one isn't needed to get to your next destination, because QC is faster than Level 2.

The second change goes hand-in-hand with the first. In the Settings, you can set a maximum % charge for high-speed charging (10 kW or greater). This is set to 80% by default since QCs slow down considerably after that, but you can raise it if necessary.

After taking my LEAF on a 3,000 mile road trip from Candida to Mexico and back may I suggest that you take Terrain into account? Your spread sheet will fail you going over a mountain pass or in very hilly Terrain.

That's why I didn't automate the Energy Economy field. It's up to the user to calculate an accurate average Energy Economy based on the road conditions (including terrain), driving style, weather, and all the other variables that go into energy economy.

I originally created the spreadsheet to see how much longer my Leaf would need to make a certain trip as compared to my ICE. There's a great app for iOS called "Leaf Energy" that uses Tony's chart data and does take terrain into account if you give it the exact route you'll be taking.

 

[NYLEAF]

I've made some additional minor changes to the spreadsheet, so please download the latest version. I found a few glitches in the formulas that dictate how much energy the car needs for the next leg of the trip.

I also changed the functionality of the Minimum Charge setting. Instead it now sets the minimum Post-Drive charge, so you can ensure your car will charge long enough to avoid LBW, VLW, or Turtle. This setting is superseded, however, by the Max Charge setting for High-Powered Charging (DCQC). This can, in some cases, cause a situation where the car would still go below your set Minimum Charge because the car can't charge past 80% (or whatever you set) on a Quick Charger.