EV mode V/S EV Mode Charge

Discussion in 'Clarity' started by Patdown45, Jan 23, 2019.

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Has anyone compared your mileage on EV mode to EV mode Charge?

  1. No to little difference

    1 vote(s)
    50.0%
  2. More than 25% decrease in mpg not worth doing

    1 vote(s)
    50.0%
Multiple votes are allowed.
  1. Patdown45

    Patdown45 New Member

    The outside temperatures have been in the single digets in Fahrenheit in my area in the last couple days thus causing the engine to start and run my question is if the engine is running anyway it might as well be charging the battery however is it using more gas while running and charging the battery to the point where the cheaper to just charge it at home and save some gas has anyone did a comparison on these modes of e v mode and Ev mode charge?
     
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  3. Patdown45

    Patdown45 New Member

    My current charge at these temps only get me about 35 miles which cost a $1.00 to charge so cost per mile on electricity is 0.0285. The cost on gas at 2.25 per gallon getting 40 mpg is 0.05625 per mile so about double the cost per mile.
     
  4. jdonalds

    jdonalds Well-Known Member

    We experience 42-44 mpg without charge turned in, and about 30 mpg with it on. More than 25% drop in mpg. Not worth it.
     
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  5. JCA

    JCA Active Member

    The engine is certainly going to use more gas when charging while driving the car, though not as much more than if the engine wasn't otherwise running. And it's probably never going to generate electricity as cheaply as you can get from home.

    To really experiment, you'd have to drive an charge, then drive the EV miles you added by charging (or just add those to the MPG calculation). It'd be interesting to compare continuous HV-mode driving (keeping the battery level relatively constant) vs cycling between charging while driving and running that mileage down in EV mode on a long trip.
     
  6. jdonalds

    jdonalds Well-Known Member

    I did exactly that on a 300 mile round trip. Then compared it with pure HV on the same trip. No gain. What I concluded was it all depended on how many segments you drove on HV vs EV.

    You don't get a 100% charge from HV Charge, only up to 70%.
     
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  8. Patdown45

    Patdown45 New Member

    Interesting, I thought the EV Charge mode will only recharge to 57%
    I will start a logbook with doing several trips of the same distance. I will have to use the trip meter and top up the gas every trip to get comparable results I suspect the 20 to 25% more gas consumption sounds reasonable....at a .001 or .002 per mile extra in gas consumption it is not looking promising as it is a very slow charge that is going back into the battery, as it is not a 1 for 1 as in 1 mile of driving will not put back a extra mile of battery range. Will repost my results back here in a few days.
     
  9. jdonalds

    jdonalds Well-Known Member

    You are right. It's 57%.
     
  10. ukon

    ukon Member

    I own a clarity with out charging facility as I rent. I do charge thrice a week at work.

    After a bunch of experiments over 1500 miles, I think there is no reason to use HV charge mode. The only instances where I will use it:

    1) I am going uphill of more than 1500 ft inclination. An example is Lake Tahoe which is 5500ft inclination from Sacramento. Some parts of Oregon. But regular CA-1 of 800-1200 ft changes does not need charge. It might make the drive more pleasant but from efficiency standpoint makes no sense.(On technical terms 3%+ grade is just fine for the car. ~5%+ grade over distance, you will hear angry bees and very unpleasant drive)

    2) I am going away on vacation for weeks/months and want to maintain a 40-60% soc while I am away.
     
  11. AlAl

    AlAl Active Member

    I've used it a handful of occasions. From my use, running charge-mode while the car is travelling a steady speed on the highway, it generates roughly as much electricity as it would have otherwise burned as fuel.
    MPG's will drop to ~30-35mpg during the charge phase, but planes out to roughly 42mpg's after using the electricity the ICE has generated.
    Generally, I can squeeze out better efficiency out of the engine in HV mode, so long as the battery isnt depleted; HV-charge is used out of the sake of comfort, in my case
     
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