Charging tips for MINI Cooper SE owners

Tom Moloughney said:
Hi everybody. We've made a video that explains charging the Cooper SE.

It's aimed at newbies, but worth watching even if you already understand EV charging, in my opinion.

https://insideevs.com/news/570996/how-to-charge-the-mini-cooper-se/
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Thanks Tom! By default the Level 2 rate is on reduced (~15A or ~3.2kW) so it's really important for new MINI SE owners to change the settings in "settings charge current" to maximum for Level 2 (~30.8A or ~7.4kW) after taking delivery of the vehicle. The only other special case beyond main panel/breaker limitations is using "reduced" level 2 charging to maximize free solar PV charging at home.

Anecdotally, the MINI Cooper SE forum members are reporting about 60% energy efficiency for Level 1 charging, 78-80% Level 2 and 90% for DC Fast charging. We think it's mostly standby losses to battery thermal management and the onboard charger (and BMS energy waste at the final 99 to 100%).

Edit: For those who really want to read up on the (bi-directional) charging losses on the BMW MiniE: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544217303730 also a reason why the Ford F-150 Lighting "intelligent backup power" is TERRIBLE financially for households.
 
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teslarati97 said:
Thanks Tom! By default the Level 2 rate is on reduced (~15A or ~3.2kW) so it's really important for new MINI SE owners to change the settings in "settings charge current" to maximum for Level 2 (~30.8A or ~7.4kW) after taking delivery of the vehicle. The only other special case beyond main panel/breaker limitations is using "reduced" level 2 charging to maximize free solar PV charging at home.

Anecdotally, the MINI Cooper SE forum members are reporting about 60% energy efficiency for Level 1 charging, 78-80% Level 2 and 90% for DC Fast charging. We think it's mostly standby losses to battery thermal management and the onboard charger (and BMS energy waste at the final 99 to 100%).
Click to expand...

Good catch on the default setting. I remember when I got my BMW i3 it was also set to reduced charging power from the dealer.
 
moofpup said:
I thought Nissan and Mitsubishi used CHAdeMO connectors.
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Yes, I state that in the video. Nissan has used CHAdeMO for the LEAF since it's inception, but they are switching to CCS for their new EV the Ariya. Mitsubishi doesn't even sell an all-electric car, they have the plug in hybrid Outlander that does accept CHAdeMO, but it barely charges faster than a L2 charger because the battery is so small.
All of the OEMs are transitioning to CCS in North America. CHAdeMO stations will still be available for legacy CHAdeMO cars, but they will eventually be replaced with CCS stations over the next 5-7 years.
 
Thank you Tom! I enjoy watching all your videos, especially those on the SE. The trip you did with Kyle opened my eyes to the SE. Your review on the Wallbox 48Amp was the video that I based my purchase on when deciding what to buy.
 
Very good video, would have been very helpful when I first got my SE (which is also my first BEV). My only minor critique is I think too much was spent talking about Tesla chargers. I don't think non-Tesla EV owners generally care about them, unless that's an east coast thing. It seems like J1772 charging infrastructure is to the point now where it rivals Tesla destination charging locations.

Use of the MINI app I think is a much easier way to control the charging behavior, that'd be a good subject for a follow-on video. There's also some power user topics, like toggling charge state and climate conditioning when parking, and the secret behavior of controlling by departure time when charging starts within the low-cost window.
 
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