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In reply to: 3 D's; Dashboard, de-misting and door locks
Lead acid batteries are usually float charged at a constant voltage, the current varies depending on the state of charge in the battery. A fully charged battery at rest will be around 12.5 – 12.8 volts. When being charged the voltage will normally be in the 13.4 to 14.4 volts depending on how hard you are prepared to charge the batteries. Measuring the current doesn’t really tell you very much. The amount of current that the battery takes will vary with the capacity of the battery, its age, the temperature and the current state of charge and the type of lead acid cells. The voltage gives you a quick check of when the battery is charging, and when it is at rest or being discharged. When a battery is really flat the charging voltage will be lower but I wouldn’t expect the 12V battery ever to get into this territory in an EV.
In reply to: 3 D's; Dashboard, de-misting and door locks
I notice that on “Direct Consumption”there appears to be no indication of current drawn re the 12v system?
I also think to measure the charge current, a meter in series to the 12 battery is the answer?In reply to: 3 D's; Dashboard, de-misting and door locks
I’ve made up my adaptor to monitor the 12V battery and it appears that my Zoe turns the 12V battery charger on from the moment that the doors are un-locked. With the car locked there is no output from the 12V (cigarette lighter) socket. As soon as the door is opened the voltage goes up to 13.5V. When driving to work this morning with the headlights on and the heater on auto the voltage dips to 13.38V. It stayed at this level for all of my 15 minute journey. The slight voltage drop is probably due to the resistance in the cable to the fuse box. I didn’t need to use the rear heated screen this morning, it’s possible that the charger might not supply enough current to cope with such short duration high current demands. An ICE cars alternator would usually charge the battery at 13.8V but ICE cars use a bit of charge when starting and they might want to charge it at a higher rate. You also don’t have the luxury of a 22KWH battery to keep the 12V battery topped up when the engine isn’t running.
It might be worth measuring your car to check that the battery is being charged at the correct rate. With the ZOEs charging system I would expect the 12V battery to last for years.
In reply to: A Few Questions From A Prospective Buyer
We also had a charger put in our garage courtesy of EDF Energy/Govt grant prior to having any EV. I believe this govt grant is now reserved only for actual EV owners going forwards and will at some point stop.
When getting this car insured you have to tell them that the battery is leased separately and give them the value of the battery which from memory is around £6200. My insurance covers the car in addition to the battery cost in the unlikely event that something should happen to it.
Key to the EV car is the low running costs.
Good luck!
In reply to: A Few Questions From A Prospective Buyer
Thanks to everyone who has responded, thus far. Your replies have gone a long way to alleviating some the concerns I’d begun to develop.
On the subject of the charging point, I don’t currently own an EV so I fully understand why Dexter would question the reason why one sits in my garage.
The reason rests upon the brother of my next door neighbour, who works for a company that promotes/provides renewable energy products. Earlier in the year, the company was taking advantage of the Government grant, offering free installation of car charging points to home owners. As such, my next door neighbour now also has a charging point sitting on the exterior wall of his house, as does the lady who lives two doors away, yet none of us have an EV.
Given that my monthly mileage is accumulated by driving upon A roads, B roads and dual carriageways, with the occasional motorway journey (if it could be called that), the figure of 150-175 miles per week certainly does make a compelling case for wanting to choose an EV as my next vehicle, even if I did solely charge it at home.
Again, my concerns largely rested upon the issue of whether the battery needed to be insured separately, therefore wiping out any potential saving I’d be set to make by not filling up with petrol.
In reply to: A Few Questions From A Prospective Buyer
However, for all its aesthetically pleasing attributes, of which there are many, I’m already beginning to develop concerns, having read a post on the forum about having to insure the battery separately to the car since most insurers currently fail to recognise the Zoe, thus increasing the cost of ownership.
No such requirement in Ireland. I have fully comprehensive insurance for the amount it would cost to replace the car and the battery. Hence it’s covered.
More worrying, though, is that certain members have also mentioned that their local Renault dealership seemed to have limited product knowledge when it came to providing solutions to problems encountered by current Zoe owners.
This seems to be common enough and varies greatly per dealer. As it would when buying a petrol/diesel car the experience will vary per dealer. Thankfully as Samsam already mentioned you can do a lot of research yourself and end up knowing more about the car than the dealer.
and the cost of electricity, when charging at home
With your mileage I think the cost of electricity will be a lot less than your petrol cost. If you do a lot of charging on the road it gets even cheaper if you have access to free chargers. In my case I charge at home before a long trip or early departure. This will then be the total cost of the trip as all chargers in Ireland are currently free. I believe the Ecotricity chargers are still free in the UK and wide spread. So while you have to pay for petrol/diesel for the entire trip you only pay for the initial charge at home with Zoe. Total charge costs from empty are very low as Samsam said if you have a night tariff but still very low even if you don’t. Cost per mile compared to a conventional car are not even on the same scale.
Word of advice, try not to over think things. Have a look where you do most your driving and if you can do this with an EV. If you can the rest of the trips will work themselves out.
Also, why have you already got a home charge point? Do you already own an EV?
In reply to: A Few Questions From A Prospective Buyer
Lack of product knowledge at dealership level is common with any vehicle. Do your homework and embarrass them.
I had an economy 7 meter fitted and I set the timer in the car to charge only at this time. I pay 4p per kwh. The zoe has a 22kwh battery so roughly 0.88p to do a full charge.
Insurance is an issue. I’m with the NFU and I helped them tailor an ev policy as it was their first time. They have insured the battery and more importantly, they have insured me against cable liability. I insure my house with them so my charge point is included too.
Don’t be scared off by the industries downfalls.
2 months into zoe ownership and loving it!
Despite being aware of its existence, I’d never really considered the Renault Zoe as a viable alternative to conventional petrol/diesel alternatives, until I stumbled upon a current offer on the website of a local dealership that held franchises for several different marques.
Upon reading through the finance figures, on paper, the offer appeared incredibly good value, particularly since hire of the battery was included within the monthly finance payment. As such, I set about conducting some research into the Zoe, choosing to read critics’ reviews (WhatCar/Parkers/AutoExpress,etc), in which the Zoe seemed to score far better than I’d expected, while also watching numerous video reviews.
Encouraged further by the critics’ reviews, I wanted to discover what the Zoe was actually like to live with on a daily basis and, hence, here I find myself.
On face value, the Zoe presents itself as very attractive proposition, taking into consideration its moderate asking price, my monthly mileage (600-700 miles p/m) and the fact that I already have a car charging point sitting on the wall of my garage.
However, for all its aesthetically pleasing attributes, of which there are many, I’m already beginning to develop concerns, having read a post on the forum about having to insure the battery separately to the car since most insurers currently fail to recognise the Zoe, thus increasing the cost of ownership.
More worrying, though, is that certain members have also mentioned that their local Renault dealership seemed to have limited product knowledge when it came to providing solutions to problems encountered by current Zoe owners.
As such, on top of the monthly finance and the cost of electricity, when charging at home, I’d like to know what other additional costs I’m likely to expect on a monthly/yearly basis. Furthermore, since its release, have forum member found that dealership knowledge of the Zoe has improved, so that they’re better placed to provide solutions to problems encountered by owners?
In reply to: The cost of charging and usage
That rather depends at what charge rate. If a cold battery will take a charge, it usually takes less charge. The length of time will depend on whether the charging has been down-rated when the electrolyte is too cold. You don’t really want to be attempting to recharge an EC or PC based electrolyte cell below -5C or so (but that largely depends on the battery manufacturer’s ‘secret sauce’), but you can discharge them safely at lower temperatures
In reply to: The cost of charging and usage
Cold battery will take longer to charge. Did a charge 2 days ago on a 22kW and it started at about 11kW. After about 30 minutes it kicked back into 22kW mode. Charged from 40% to 99% to 1 hour and 5 minutes. Bit longer but still very fast compared to our Nissan Leaf cousins. Some have reported the Leaf actually slowing down on a rapid charger as well. Their battery was at 3 degrees C at the time. Since I don’t really use rapid chargers I can’t test to see if Zoe does the same. By the time I have driven to a rapid the battery would be warmer and thus invalidate the test.
