120 Charging time

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I'm considering a Spark EV - well, I'm actually dying to own one - but I can't seem to get any information on 120v charging, other than how long it takes to fully charge the battery on 120v. What about partial charge on a 120? I have about nine hours at work to charge on 120 with no accessibility issues and wonder how much charge I could get in that amount of time?? Certainly not a full charge, but wondering if it's worth it or if I should just wait until more of the fast charge stations are available and pick up a Spark EV next year...
 
MsR said:
I'm considering a Spark EV - well, I'm actually dying to own one - but I can't seem to get any information on 120v charging, other than how long it takes to fully charge the battery on 120v. What about partial charge on a 120? I have about nine hours at work to charge on 120 with no accessibility issues and wonder how much charge I could get in that amount of time?? Certainly not a full charge, but wondering if it's worth it or if I should just wait until more of the fast charge stations are available and pick up a Spark EV next year...
120v charging is really not going to cut it for most drivers, although if you have a relatively short commute it might be doable? I have a 49 mile round trip commute to work and back (90% freeway) and so far with the round trip, going to lunch and making a stop at the store on the way home I have about 25% battery left. I have a dedicated 240v circuit in the garage and I'm using the GE WattStation Level 2 charger and it takes approximately five and a half to six hours to recharge at night so theoretically you are looking at about twice that time on 120v?

The SAE Standard Fast Charging option seems to be a bit of a mystery at this point and most dealers seem to be in the dark on the subject as well. The chevrolet.com website (http://www.chevrolet.com/spark-ev-electric-vehicle.html) states it is an option and that the charging stations will arrive in late 2013 (whatever that means). One dealer did mention to me that the Fast Charging option will show up in models later this summer but it has to be an add-on option for us early adopters too (I hope)?
 
I believe I saw that 120VAC charging takes around 20 hours (from empty to full). That's at the 12Amp setting. 8Amp setting would take considerably longer.
 
The car defaults to 8 amps after every drive. So, unless you change it every time, you're stuck at 8 amps. 120V x 8 amps = 960 Watts. Round up to 1kw and my car is averaging 4.4 miles/kwh so you'll get between 4-5 miles per hour on 120V.
 
When I got my EV, I thought I was going to have to run out ASAP and get a 240 charger. I'm finding my 120 charger is taking care of me just fine. I have a short commute, 12 miles round trip. Add a few errands and I probably drive 30 miles a day average. With this little car giving me a consistent range of 85 miles or better, I'm usually just "topping off the tank." If I've driven a lot, then I put the charger on 12 amps. If I've just driven a little bit, I leave the charger on 8 amps. I figure that helps the EV charge at a cooler temperature which, from what I heard, is easier on the battery. I might still get the 240 charger, but I'm certainly not feeling pressured to do it.
 
jsca72 said:
When I got my EV, I thought I was going to have to run out ASAP and get a 240 charger. I'm finding my 120 charger is taking care of me just fine. I have a short commute, 12 miles round trip. Add a few errands and I probably drive 30 miles a day average. With this little car giving me a consistent range of 85 miles or better, I'm usually just "topping off the tank." If I've driven a lot, then I put the charger on 12 amps. If I've just driven a little bit, I leave the charger on 8 amps. I figure that helps the EV charge at a cooler temperature which, from what I heard, is easier on the battery. I might still get the 240 charger, but I'm certainly not feeling pressured to do it.

I second you there. I just picked up my Spark EV a few hours ago and am in no rush to grab a charging station. We do get the $500 instant rebate for one through Bosch, but I think that with my 42 mile round trip commute, I should be fine recharging on the 120V. I'm eager to see what the power bill will look like next month. :)
 
mcev said:
jsca72 said:
When I got my EV, I thought I was going to have to run out ASAP and get a 240 charger. I'm finding my 120 charger is taking care of me just fine. I have a short commute, 12 miles round trip. Add a few errands and I probably drive 30 miles a day average. With this little car giving me a consistent range of 85 miles or better, I'm usually just "topping off the tank." If I've driven a lot, then I put the charger on 12 amps. If I've just driven a little bit, I leave the charger on 8 amps. I figure that helps the EV charge at a cooler temperature which, from what I heard, is easier on the battery. I might still get the 240 charger, but I'm certainly not feeling pressured to do it.

I second you there. I just picked up my Spark EV a few hours ago and am in no rush to grab a charging station. We do get the $500 instant rebate for one through Bosch, but I think that with my 42 mile round trip commute, I should be fine recharging on the 120V. I'm eager to see what the power bill will look like next month. :)

I'm also able to survive with only the 120v charger. I think I'm going to order the Bosch 30A with the $500 rebate. It'll come out to under $100. I'll install it later if I need it but definitely want it for the next EV I get after the Spark.

I got hit pretty hard with my electricity bill. PG&E is taking their sweet time switching me over to the new rate plan.
 
mcev said:
jsca72 said:
When I got my EV, I thought I was going to have to run out ASAP and get a 240 charger. I'm finding my 120 charger is taking care of me just fine. I have a short commute, 12 miles round trip. Add a few errands and I probably drive 30 miles a day average. With this little car giving me a consistent range of 85 miles or better, I'm usually just "topping off the tank." If I've driven a lot, then I put the charger on 12 amps. If I've just driven a little bit, I leave the charger on 8 amps. I figure that helps the EV charge at a cooler temperature which, from what I heard, is easier on the battery. I might still get the 240 charger, but I'm certainly not feeling pressured to do it.

I second you there. I just picked up my Spark EV a few hours ago and am in no rush to grab a charging station. We do get the $500 instant rebate for one through Bosch, but I think that with my 42 mile round trip commute, I should be fine recharging on the 120V. I'm eager to see what the power bill will look like next month. :)
Depending on how cold it gets where you are, you may be fine in summer, late spring and early fall, but fall short if using L1 the rest of the year depending on your use of the heater and defroster, lights, wipers etc. You may be in a situation where you have an increasing deficit during the week, but will be able to make it up over the weekend assuming you don't drive much then. Or you may not make it to the weekend, and have to find somewhere to charge L2 to get caught up.

The real problem with L1 often comes when you've just driven the car and used most of the battery, then need to go out again shortly after. Only having L1 can delay you for hours or even make such a trip impossible on the same day, depending on the distance.
 
Gra makes a good point. Does heating take more power than cooling? I'm hoping that keeping my car in the garage will minimize the amount of defrosting I have to do. By the time I drive home, frost isn't a problem. I'm also looking forward to those heated seats. :) But what has really amazed me is how little power the AC has used. That cab is small and cools almost immediately. When I look at the circle bar graph that shows use, very little of the circle is AC.
 
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