Talk:Chevrolet Volt (second generation)

Gen1's was 3.3kW, as cited on the article, Gen2 is 3.6kW FYI — Preceding unsigned comment added by NotBond007 (talk • contribs) 02:39, 7 June 2017 (UTC)

Charging capabilities claim

I need a source for this claim:

To increase the electrically driven miles, the Volt would need better charging capabilities. The Volt's onboard charger can only handle 3.3 kW though, which is sufficient for overnight charging at the owner's home but falls short of the capabilities of public chargers. The Volt also lacks a DC quick charging connector.

The Chevy Volt first-generation pulls 10.9kWh in 10 hours from the 120V charger, adding 4 miles of range per hour. The first-generation can recharge in 4 hours from a 3.3kW, 240V source, adding 10 miles of range per hour. The second-generation Volt increased this to a reported 14.0kWh usable range, meaning the 3.3kWh charger can fully-charge the car in 5 hours 8 minutes.

By comparison, a 30A charge circuit (27.5A) supplying 6.6kW (current standard) can charge the Volt in 2.5 hours at a rate of 20 miles of range per hour of charging. A 40A charger (requires a full 50A circuit) providing 9.6kW (e.g. Tesla charge circuit capacity) can charge the car in 1 hour 45 minutes at a rate of 29 miles of range per hour.

While this is impressive, it doesn't suggest that faster charge capabilities will increase electric range. The Volt targets daily commuters, and has a few main points of consideration:

• Commuters with a charge port at their place of employment can recover 100% of their all-electric range in 5 hours, which suggests more than a 50% recharge is possible before any reasonable lunch break;
• Commuters using only the charge port at home who leave from work to directly drive elsewhere will not likely be affected by charge capabilities due to a lack of charging from work to their destination, coupled with an ability to add ten miles per hour of charging to their all-electric range;
• Commuters who stop at home first likely have some time to idle, and can recover significant range, thus are likely to either drive mostly-electric or to drive longer distances and end up off all-electric

The Volt can only go 53 miles between charges. Access to a charge port at stops would seem to extend this range greatly at the current charging rate; while lack of access would result in more gasoline miles. Higher-rate charging doesn't seem likely to impact this; electric range seems more of a major factor.

Given this, the statement that faster charging will capture those last 10% of non-electric miles requires a citation from a reputable source which has taken the above considerations and provided the research to determine the real-world impact of battery capacity, charge circuit capacity, driving behaviors, and availability of public charging infrastructure. --John Moser (talk) 19:02, 23 March 2017 (UTC)

The Gen 2 Volt has a 3.6kW charger, i.e., drawing about 16 amps max at 240 (or 208) volts. Some find that availability of faster charging would help in a number of circumstances - mostly centered around public and workplace charging. In the case of workplace charging, there is often contention by a large number of plug-in drivers for a limited number of EV charging stalls. Time limits, such as two hours per car, are then imposed. For drivers with longer commutes, this may not be enough to fully charge the car. A faster charger would allow more electric miles to be added - raising the effective EV range. A similar situation exists with public charging. Often times billing is done by time - rather than by delivered kWh. This discriminates against the 3.6kW charging in the Volt by doubling the cost of charging compared to a vehicle with a 7.2kW charger. Either way the beauty of the Volt is that in the end, when the battery is depleted, the ICE starts up and gets you to your destination.

BTW, 53 miles per charge is really an average value, not an absolute. I've gotten over 70 miles, and less than 50 miles on a charge. Depends a lot on driving conditions, and HVAC use - especially cabin heater. (EV owners soon learn that when it is cold out, to try using heated seats and steering wheel before using the cabin heater. They draw far less battery power than the cabin heater, and are often all you need.) Wws (talk) 03:49, 17 May 2018 (UTC)