Optimistic charge times for Bolt EV (2017-2019)

[Fivedoor]

Here is real world data for charging a 2017, 2018, or 2019 Bolt EV in summer conditions on an Electrify America CCS charging station.

 

1% to 51% takes 35 min, average charging speed of 51.2 KW in this SOC range

51% to 66% takes 14.5 min, average charging speed of 37 KW in this SOC range

66% to 81% takes 22.6 min, average charging speed of 24 KW in this SOC range

81% to 91% takes 22 min, average charging speed of 16 KW in this SOC range

91% to 95% takes 12.9 min, average charging speed of 11 KW in this SOC range

95% to 100% takes 30 min, average charging speed of 6 KW in this SOC range

 

If  on the other hand you use A Better Route Planner it gives the following results for charging times and average charging speed within each SOC range:

1% to 51% takes 34 min, average charging speed of 52.9 KW in this SOC range <--- off by 1 min and 2 KW... close enough 

51% to 66% takes 12 min, average charging speed of 45 KW in this SOC range <---- off by 2.5 min and 8 KW

66% to 81% takes 15 min, average charging speed of 36 KW in this SOC range <---- off by 7.6 min and 12 KW

81% to 91% takes 17 min, average charging speed of 21 KW in this SOC range <---- off by 5 min and 5 KW

91% to 95% takes 7 min, average charging speed of 21 KW in this SOC range <---- off by 6 min and 10 KW

95% to 100% takes 12 min, average charging speed of 15 KW in this SOC range <---- off by 18 min and 9 KW

The higher the SOC of the battery the further off A Better Route Planner is.  I normally only charge to the second tapper point, with a cumulative error of only 3.5 min, but even though I don't like to charge higher than that, if I have to charge up to 80%, there is a cumulative error of 16 min, and on rare occasions I have to charge from low SOC to full, over a full charge from 1% to 100% A Better Route Planner has a cumulative error of 40 min of charging time.

 

I brought this up before and got a brush off... can we please get this fixed?

 

Keith McDonnell <---- long time Bolt EV owner, and frequent road tripper... last trip in Bolt EV was 3237 miles round trip... I know what I am talking about!

[Jason-ABRP]

@Fivedoor - Thank you very much for this detailed information, your timing is perfect!  I just finished (finally) analyzing the charging data for the Bolt, and you were right, our original charge curve was quite optimistic at high SoC:

I've released the updated models based on these new charge curves, so you should see much closer matches to reality now (except for under cold-weather conditions - I have yet to perform that analysis and figure out the special-case charge curves to add).

[Austin]

On 11/15/2019 at 10:59 AM, Jason-ABRP said:

@Fivedoor - Thank you very much for this detailed information, your timing is perfect!  I just finished (finally) analyzing the charging data for the Bolt, and you were right, our original charge curve was quite optimistic at high SoC:

I've released the updated models based on these new charge curves, so you should see much closer matches to reality now (except for under cold-weather conditions - I have yet to perform that analysis and figure out the special-case charge curves to add).

&

@Jason-ABRP

Hello,

I've also noticed the charge times are pretty far off on the top end. I've been using a dongle with the Android version since a few weeks after it was released (the dongles were sold out around that time), and I drive many many miles, so I hope you have some more data. Most of those times, I don't need to charge above 80%, but sometimes I do.

In particular, I'm concerned about a work trip I'm trying to schedule for tomorrow. It's 563 km round trip. It appears there are ZERO charging stations between Chico CA and Westwood CA, so I'm going to have to charge up to 93% in Chico so that I can drive up to Westwood and still make it back to Chico to charge again in order to make it home.

It's important because I give people a 2 hour window for my arrival, but the charge times are pushing me towards not making the windows I provide. ABRP is planning a 45 min charge time from 53 - 93 %, but I think that's going to be closer to 1.5 hours.

I'm happy to provide any data.

In fact, there's even a dealership around me that allows free DCFC (although their DCFC is kind of slow with a 43 KW max). If you need more 80 - 100 charge data, I could use their charger to do that.

 

Off topic - What is the system determining Navigation for the default method and for the Alternative (Beta) method? Are any methods using Waze? Because Waze sucks (I've tested in 2 different states).

Edited May 4, 2022 by Austin

[Jason-ABRP]

 @Austin,

Do you have the upgraded replacement battery pack yet? Charge times from 53-100% should be somewhat improved on the back end there.  If so, and we're still off by that much, then I'll need to take a stricter look at the data and see where the issue is coming from.

Regarding the turn-by-turn navigation, default is OSRM, and alternative (beta) is HERE.  We're not particularly enthusiastic about either option, and we're actively trying to find better options for the turn-by-turn.  If you have suggestions (who actually have API access available for projects like ours), we're happy to take them.  I think good turn-by-turn is the main thing standing between us and being a complete end-to-end EV road tripping tool.