Charging velocity 16A vs 32A and what does it mean

[tobiassej]

Hi guys

Charging a BEV with fast charging AC means usually in europe that you can charge 7,4 kW (230 volt and 32 ampere).
But if the charger has 380 volt and up to 63 A. Does it then means that i can charge 32 A with 380 volt (12kW)?

Was considering charging here:
http://chargemap.com/points/details/hyper-u-baule

At what speed can I expect to charge?

Best Tobias

 

[jadnashuanh]

The actual charging circuits are IN the i3, just like you could plug a 40W lightbulb into a circuit that could provide 2000W, it won't draw more. Depending on the market, the i3 may not have 7.4Kw recharging capability...that's standard in the USA, but optional in some other markets, so you may be limited to 16A, regardless, or 3.7Kw. FWIW, the EVSE is just a fancy on/off switch with some safety circuits built into it. It sends out a signal telling the EV plugged in how much power it has available, so that the EV won't try to pull more from it, but a larger EVSE than the vehicle can handle won't hurt things, but it also won't charge the vehicle any faster.

Most markets do not support 3-phase recharging, but yours may.

 

[alohart]

It looks like the 380 v. 63 a. capability is for DC fast charging using a CHAdeMO plug which isn't compatible with an i3 equipped with DC fast charging. BMW chose the SAE Combo standard for DC fast charging. If the charger had a compatible SAE Combo plug, your battery pack could be charged from near empty to 80% in less than 30 minutes.

 

[jadnashuanh]

If you're talking about DC fast charging, that's a whole different story...the i3 (and any vehicle that can take DC charging) then is not using it's on-board ac-dc power supply...it's getting high current dc voltage in directly, which then can charge the batteries directly. In that case, it's irrelevant how many phases being fed into the fast charger, since IT is the power supply, and is outputting DCV. In that case, it's easier to make the DC output smoother when you use more phases.

TO use that feature, your vehicle must have that option installed at the factory, AND, you have to find a compatible DC fast charging unit. Europe has standardized on CCS units, but since CHADEMO came out earlier, there are maybe more CHADEMO units installed. Many of them are being updated to be dual-mode so that they can charge with either standard, and essentially all new ones will be CCS compatible and may also be dual mode capable.

Europe gets a little confusing compared to the USA, in that here, all i3's come with the ac-fast charging option, so to us, it's not a consideration...in Europe, the max charging rate of an i3 is half of ours UNLESS they opted for the ac-fast charging option. And, because of the higher wall socket voltages, the supplied EVSE is all you'd need unless you have the ac-fast charging option, since it is capable of charging the i3 at its maximum rate.

 

[PhilH]

in Europe, the max charging rate of an i3 is half of ours UNLESS they opted for the ac-fast charging option.

I'm in the UK, and here this is simply not true. I have a completely standard i3 in terms of charging (no DC fast charge, no other fast charge options) and it charges at around 7 kW when plugged into my 32A wall charger.

 

[jadnashuanh]

in Europe, the max charging rate of an i3 is half of ours UNLESS they opted for the ac-fast charging option.

I'm in the UK, and here this is simply not true. I have a completely standard i3 in terms of charging (no DC fast charge, no other fast charge options) and it charges at around 7 kW when plugged into my 32A wall charger.

What is 'standard' on any BMW is up to the local importer...to get the 7,4Kw max recharge rate on the i3 requires a factory option...now, whether it is standard in your country or not, I've not reviewed, but it is NOT standard everywhere.

 

[psquare]

In the UK (and in the rest of Europe, afaik) the only option on charging one can choose is DC Rapid charging (CCS).

Re AC charging: I have a home EVSE (Type 2) which is 32A and it can recharge an almost flat battery in 3.5-4h. The same charge using the BMW-supplied EVSE (i.e. from a standard wall socket) would take about 12h.

DC-Rapid (CCS) -as stated above- can recharge unto 80% in 25 mins and 100% in about 40 mins.

 

[PhilH]

According to the i3 price list, there is an option:

Fast charge preparation – AC: 4U8

This is shown as a part of the standard package in the UK price list.