phasing out of fossil fuels - programme

[Dr Bob]

22 hours ago, peterboat said:

I lived for many years in Auchencairn nr Castle Douglas, we were at the end of the line for power so constantly saw low power and blackouts lasting for days! When I worked for Edmundsons we stored and supplied the cable joint kits for Scottish power if I was called in to deliver the stuff sometimes it was for me so I was double quick! The kits were from GE and were mostly underground repair kits, but we had some big boxes that were for something else

Article in the guardian this morning (it's free in t'internet) about the Aussies installing a big battery

 

 

CEP Energy said it was part of a planned network of four grid-scale batteries, including two in Victoria and one in South Australia, that would have a combined capacity of 2,000MW. It was also planning 1,500MW of rooftop solar panels on industrial sites.

 

That's bigger than you bote system isn't it Pete? I wonder if they are using 2nd hand ones from EVs. Is Nick involved in designing the BMS?

[peterboat]

8 minutes ago, Dr Bob said:

Article in the guardian this morning (it's free in t'internet) about the Aussies installing a big battery

 

 

CEP Energy said it was part of a planned network of four grid-scale batteries, including two in Victoria and one in South Australia, that would have a combined capacity of 2,000MW. It was also planning 1,500MW of rooftop solar panels on industrial sites.

 

That's bigger than you bote system isn't it Pete? I wonder if they are using 2nd hand ones from EVs. Is Nick involved in designing the BMS?

There is an interesting video on fully charged about  a city in China which is going all electric Google should find it. 

We have just changed our BMW I3 Rex for the first time  I got back with 3 miles of range with the genny running,  it's taken 15 hours to charge! Admitted it's been off the road for months so maybe its doing something with the batteries as its range is increasing constantly at the moment.

We are very pleased with it and I was glad I bought a Rex and not a full BEV last evening 

[Dr Bob]

7 minutes ago, peterboat said:

There is an interesting video on fully charged about  a city in China which is going all electric Google should find it. 

We have just changed our BMW I3 Rex for the first time  I got back with 3 miles of range with the genny running,  it's taken 15 hours to charge! Admitted it's been off the road for months so maybe its doing something with the batteries as its range is increasing constantly at the moment.

We are very pleased with it and I was glad I bought a Rex and not a full BEV last evening 

Nah, you need a decent BEV with a big range!

I am a bit concerned with mine though. In the summer I am getting 350 mile range by keeping to 70mph on motorways - maybe loosing 10% going a bit faster - but in the depths of mid winter I am lucky to get 250miles. It must be using loads of power to heat the battery pack up as it likely needs to be over 10°C to charge (from the regenertive braking) so when the ambient is less than zero, that is a huge energy need.

[Alan de Enfield]

21 minutes ago, Dr Bob said:

................ in the depths of mid winter I am lucky to get 250miles. It must be using loads of power to heat the battery pack up as it likely needs to be over 10°C to charge (from the regenertive braking) so when the ambient is less than zero, that is a huge energy need.

 

 

 

Reality strikes as 

 

 

[David Mack]

42 minutes ago, Dr Bob said:

Nah, you need a decent BEV with a big range!

I am a bit concerned with mine though. In the summer I am getting 350 mile range by keeping to 70mph on motorways - maybe loosing 10% going a bit faster - but in the depths of mid winter I am lucky to get 250miles. It must be using loads of power to heat the battery pack up as it likely needs to be over 10°C to charge (from the regenertive braking) so when the ambient is less than zero, that is a huge energy need.

And in winter, how much battery power is diverted to defrosting the windscreen, heating the passenger space, increased use of lights etc.?

[Dr Bob]

22 minutes ago, David Mack said:

And in winter, how much battery power is diverted to defrosting the windscreen, heating the passenger space, increased use of lights etc.?

Quite a bit but 250 mile range is still totally adequate for our long trips to Jockland. Just one stop needed at Tebay.

[TheBiscuits]

1 hour ago, Dr Bob said:

It must be using loads of power to heat the battery pack up as it likely needs to be over 10°C to charge (from the regenertive braking) so when the ambient is less than zero, that is a huge energy need.

 

Can't it do that preheat from the mains supply before you set off?

[Murflynn]

1 hour ago, Dr Bob said:

Article in the guardian this morning (it's free in t'internet) about the Aussies installing a big battery

 

 

CEP Energy said it was part of a planned network of four grid-scale batteries, including two in Victoria and one in South Australia, that would have a combined capacity of 2,000MW. It was also planning 1,500MW of rooftop solar panels on industrial sites.

 

That's bigger than you bote system isn't it Pete? I wonder if they are using 2nd hand ones from EVs. Is Nick involved in designing the BMS?

 

not quite sure how a battery could have a "capacity" measured in units of power, unless the battery can deliver 2,000 megawatts.   I would love to know what the battery cables look like. 

 

more Journalese no doubt.

[tree monkey]

11 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

Can't it do that preheat from the mains supply before you set off?

I'm sure I've read or seen something where if plugged into a standard 240v mains the battery preheat takes more than the charger can provide, so it ends up draining the battery even when plugged in

[Dr Bob]

5 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

Can't it do that preheat from the mains supply before you set off?

Well yes you can but I dont consider that too important. It all depends on your driving requirements.

We have two types of driving.

1) Local day to day. Never more than 100 miles and usually less. For this we need to charge the car twice a month in the marina boat yard (5 hours a time @32A) - cost around £12-15 a month. Here I am not bothered in the slightest about power and range as you can plan your charging. I put the pre-conditioning on when in the boat so it is nice and toasty when we get in (but Mrs Bob moans that the pre-conditioning does not activate the heated seats!).

2) Trips up to Jockland (4-5 a year). I use the motorway superchargers but in winter the need for the car to keep the batteries up above 10°C (I guess) for break charging means that quite a bit of power is used on 5-6 hour drives. That power usage reduces range from 350 to 250 miles but we always stop for a coffee for half an hour in which time the car is back to 'full' charge again.

8 minutes ago, Murflynn said:

 

not quite sure how a battery could have a "capacity" measured in units of power, unless the battery can deliver 2,000 megawatts.   I would love to know what the battery cables look like. 

 

more Journalese no doubt.

They dont use CWDF to proof read their press releases.

I guess the batteries must be organised to give quite a high voltage to reduce the current? Not sure if you can go to very high voltage in a battery pack?

[Mike Todd]

14 minutes ago, Dr Bob said:

Well yes you can but I dont consider that too important. It all depends on your driving requirements.

We have two types of driving.

1) Local day to day. Never more than 100 miles and usually less. For this we need to charge the car twice a month in the marina boat yard (5 hours a time @32A) - cost around £12-15 a month. Here I am not bothered in the slightest about power and range as you can plan your charging. I put the pre-conditioning on when in the boat so it is nice and toasty when we get in (but Mrs Bob moans that the pre-conditioning does not activate the heated seats!).

2) Trips up to Jockland (4-5 a year). I use the motorway superchargers but in winter the need for the car to keep the batteries up above 10°C (I guess) for break charging means that quite a bit of power is used on 5-6 hour drives. That power usage reduces range from 350 to 250 miles but we always stop for a coffee for half an hour in which time the car is back to 'full' charge again.

They dont use CWDF to proof read their press releases.

I guess the batteries must be organised to give quite a high voltage to reduce the current? Not sure if you can go to very high voltage in a battery pack?

You are being a tad unfair here: our particular interests make us especially tuned to how the term 'capacity' is used in reference to batteries, not least because we have to be obsessive about how it is to be recharged and how long they can be used.

 

However, the article was discussing the battery bank as an alternative to more conventional power stations and it is not unusual to hear them described as having a capacity of so many megawatts. In that context, the 'capacity' to deliver a given an mount of energy to all of its customers is significant and, because they 'run' all the time the 'capacity' in terms of total energy is not especially meaningful.

[nb Innisfree]

i3 preheats battery for 3hrs min with 1kw heater, interior 30 mins with 5kw heater. To get battery preheated requires 100% charge which isn't good for battery so we only charge to 80% for local journeys and forego battery heating in cold weather, no harm done, just reduces range slightly. At the mo we are getting just over 1 mile per 1% of battery capacity, that's with lights and heater set at 23c, in summer that increases to approx 1.2 miles per 1%. Difficult to get really accurate figures

[nb Innisfree]

46 minutes ago, tree monkey said:

I'm sure I've read or seen something where if plugged into a standard 240v mains the battery preheat takes more than the charger can provide, so it ends up draining the battery even when plugged in

We have 4 charge levels with our EVSE, 1.5 : 3 : 3.7 : 7.4KW. The 3kw setting more or less manages to equal cabin preheat.

Battery heater is 1kw so a 'granny' charger taking 10 amps from a 3 pin plug could still charge battery while it's heating, but battery is heated along with cab heating so 7.4 Kw is needed in that scenario to allow for some battery charging

Edited February 5, 2021 by nb Innisfree

[peterboat]

20 hours ago, nb Innisfree said:

We have 4 charge levels with our EVSE, 1.5 : 3 : 3.7 : 7.4KW. The 3kw setting more or less manages to equal cabin preheat.

Battery heater is 1kw so a 'granny' charger taking 10 amps from a 3 pin plug could still charge battery while it's heating, but battery is heated along with cab heating so 7.4 Kw is needed in that scenario to allow for some battery charging

Yes we are discovering things daily with our I3, it came with 2 granny leads? I am going to use that for our normal charging as we are in no hurry and slow charging is better for battery life. I ran the batteries right down and sure enough the Rex started and worked well, it seems that every day is a learning day with I3zy (that's her name). I wouldn't mind a chat with you as forums are ok but experience is what I need currently