Energy detail, energy added

[luma]

My Bolt battery was half depleted but the Energy Detail said:

Energy used since last full charge: 18.67 kWh
miles since last charge: 44.0.

Since using half the battery would mean at least 30 kWh since the last full charge, this does not seem possible. So it must have reset by accident or it glitched, right?

More generally, I'd like to know how much energy I'm using by driving, which is why I was looking at the energy used since last full charge. Are most people finding that it works? If Hilltop Reserve is on, does that count as a full charge? Also is there any wasted energy when you charge your battery, or do you get 1 kWh charge for every kWh you take off the electric grid?

Another option would be to count how many bars go up by charging, but that is only accurate to 5 kWh.

Thanks for any help!

 

[SeanNelson]

Since using half the battery would mean at least 30 kWh since the last full charge...

Not if you used "Hilltop Reserve" mode or the option on 2019 models to charge to less than 100% when you charged the battery.

 

[luma]

Good point. I was using Hilltop Reserve with a 2018 Bolt. The number still seems a little low, but I'll keep a closer watch and see what happens.

What new charging options does the 2019 have?

 

[SeanNelson]

What new charging options does the 2019 have?

Instead of "Hilltop Reserve" it has a slider that lets you choose to charge the battery to anywhere from something like 60% to 100% in, I believe, 10% increments.

 

[cwerdna]

What new charging options does the 2019 have?

Instead of "Hilltop Reserve" it has a slider that lets you choose to charge the battery to anywhere from something like 60% to 100% in, I believe, 10% increments.

No, It's actually what looks like 40% to 100% in 5% increments. Skip to 2:00 of https://insideevs.com/2019-chevy-bolt-gets-welcome-software-updates/.

I have a '19 and can confirm that I can't go below what seems like 40%. The hilltop reserve switch is gone.

 

[keijidosha]

My Bolt battery was half depleted but the Energy Detail said:

Energy used since last full charge: 18.67 kWh
miles since last charge: 44.0.

Since using half the battery would mean at least 30 kWh since the last full charge, this does not seem possible. So it must have reset by accident or it glitched, right?

More generally, I'd like to know how much energy I'm using by driving, which is why I was looking at the energy used since last full charge. Are most people finding that it works? If Hilltop Reserve is on, does that count as a full charge? Also is there any wasted energy when you charge your battery, or do you get 1 kWh charge for every kWh you take off the electric grid?

Another option would be to count how many bars go up by charging, but that is only accurate to 5 kWh.

Thanks for any help!

"Half" using Hill Top Reserve should be around 27 kWh, so at 18.67 you are indicating diminished capacity. Charging efficiency depends on several factors, but is about 90% efficient using L2 at ideal temps. Your Miles per kWh works out to 2.36, also a low value.

You do not say where you are located, but cold weather, HVAC use, and preconditioning could also account for this.

 

[stuartm]

My Bolt battery was half depleted but the Energy Detail said:

More generally, I'd like to know how much energy I'm using by driving, which is why I was looking at the energy used since last full charge. Are most people finding that it works? If Hilltop Reserve is on, does that count as a full charge? Also is there any wasted energy when you charge your battery, or do you get 1 kWh charge for every kWh you take off the electric grid?


Thanks for any help!

No, charging is not 100% efficient. You are converting electric energy to chemical energy and in any conversion some energy is lost (e.g. as heat), (Even in transmission some energy is lost) Wikipedia says electricity to Lithium Ion battery(which is what the Bolt is using) is an 80%-90% efficient conversion. The other parts of your question(s) have already been answered.

 

[GetOffYourGas]

My Bolt battery was half depleted but the Energy Detail said:

Energy used since last full charge: 18.67 kWh
miles since last charge: 44.0.

Since using half the battery would mean at least 30 kWh since the last full charge, this does not seem possible. So it must have reset by accident or it glitched, right?

More generally, I'd like to know how much energy I'm using by driving, which is why I was looking at the energy used since last full charge. Are most people finding that it works? If Hilltop Reserve is on, does that count as a full charge? Also is there any wasted energy when you charge your battery, or do you get 1 kWh charge for every kWh you take off the electric grid?

Another option would be to count how many bars go up by charging, but that is only accurate to 5 kWh.

Thanks for any help!

"Half" using Hill Top Reserve should be around 27 kWh, so at 18.67 you are indicating diminished capacity. Charging efficiency depends on several factors, but is about 90% efficient using L2 at ideal temps. Your Miles per kWh works out to 2.36, also a low value.

You do not say where you are located, but cold weather, HVAC use, and preconditioning could also account for this.

I'm not sure where you got 27kWh from. I get 22.8kW.

Hilltop reserve charges to 88%. 88% of 60kW is 52.8kWh.

If the car really has "half" remaining, that's 50%, or 30kWh remaining.

The difference is 22.8kWh.

18.67kWh used still suggests diminished capacity. A cold battery cannot hold as much energy, which may contribute. How precisely "half" full was the battery? Did you eyeball the number of bars remaining, or use the app to view a percentage? Hilltop charges to 18 of 20 bars showing. Each bar represents about 3kWh. If you used 18.67kWh, that's just over 6 bars. I'd expect to see 11 or 12 bars remaining.

 

[keijidosha]

I'm not sure where you got 27kWh from. I get 22.8kW.

Hilltop reserve charges to 88%. 88% of 60kW is 52.8kWh.

If the car really has "half" remaining, that's 50%, or 30kWh remaining.

The difference is 22.8kWh..

I agree with your numbers (I incorrectly used 90% for Hilltop and half of that charge value)

 

[Telek]

Get OBD2 and check it out for yourself

You can check out my page for full details - bit.ly/ChevyBoltPIDs

You might have a battery problem.