EV Map or journey planner UK
- Thread starter N0Klu3
- Start date
Help Support BMW i3 Forum:
Gif
Well-known member
Where are you in the UK?
Ecotricity is fine if you are a customer or live in certain parts of the UK. Only AC fast chargers around me and not many of them either. £6 for around 25 miles of electricity is a pretty rubbish deal. I could buy diesel and run my SUV for half that price!
I use Plugshare to find chargers as it's pretty comprehensive but you really need to visit charging sites to be sure what you're getting and what will work and what won't.
It's taken me a few months and 3,000 miles to get to know where good charging spots are and only then I signed up for the Polar Network which seemed the best around here. I've even changed some travel / route / shopping habits now to take advantage of chargers whenever possible.
Still do the majority of charging at home overnight though as it's the cheapest option excluding FOC providers.
Ecotricity is fine if you are a customer or live in certain parts of the UK. Only AC fast chargers around me and not many of them either. £6 for around 25 miles of electricity is a pretty rubbish deal. I could buy diesel and run my SUV for half that price!
I use Plugshare to find chargers as it's pretty comprehensive but you really need to visit charging sites to be sure what you're getting and what will work and what won't.
It's taken me a few months and 3,000 miles to get to know where good charging spots are and only then I signed up for the Polar Network which seemed the best around here. I've even changed some travel / route / shopping habits now to take advantage of chargers whenever possible.
Still do the majority of charging at home overnight though as it's the cheapest option excluding FOC providers.
Thanks guys,
I'm based in Reading so 40miles outside of London.
My main charging will be from the office, but just wanted to know if I go on a journey if there was a way to plan ahead or the best company to use?
Thanks for the info and advice so far.
I'm based in Reading so 40miles outside of London.
My main charging will be from the office, but just wanted to know if I go on a journey if there was a way to plan ahead or the best company to use?
Thanks for the info and advice so far.
Gif
Well-known member
Part of my problem in Wales is that the M4 chargers are not up to scratch for the i3. Services west past Swindon are AC Rapid (not CCS) hence the lower performance for the 30 minute charge. Bristol area is full of Charge your Car where most charge a rate per hour. The advantage of Polar is that you pay your monthly subscription and most are then free to use. So as long as you are hitting them regularly it probably works out not a bad deal. £7.85 pm means you need to charge about 80 kwh per month to break even with cheap rate home prices.N0Klu3 said:
I now stop at a superstore with a charger on the way home from work to do the main shop so get over an hour per week (about half of the 80 kwh) then if I shop on weekends I choose a city centre car park with a charger which probably drags in at least the other half of the 80 kwh. Any public charging after this point is then free effectively so I'm just choosy where I stop if I can be.
Also I've learned to drive and charge cleverer with a little forethought. For instance, I started off by full charging every night at home regardless of what the following day held. If I know I'm hitting a city centre the following day where they have free chargers readily available, I leave the car partially discharged to take advantage of as much free juice as possible while I'm parked up.
Initially I found myself a little overawed by the whole thought process around public charging especially with all the different variations of hardware and pricing but now it's just become a second nature thing. The only remaining problem is the availability of the chargers particularly where they are not policed or protected by cones to stop them being ICEd. That said it's amazing how many people with a PHEV or EV seem to think the spaces are reserved for them to park even when they have no intention to charge :roll:
Get a Bartholomew's UK atlas - the map colouring is based on height, so it is easy to spot a route that doesn't needlessly take you up and over hill summits when you don't need to. In-car SatNav's rarely consider this for the' best' routing so a little bit of reasearch gives you greater range and provides an alternative way of getting to your destination!
As you're in Wales, you'll find not all routes are equal! I can often get 10-15 miles more range than normal.
As you're in Wales, you'll find not all routes are equal! I can often get 10-15 miles more range than normal.
jadnashuanh
Well-known member
It's my understanding that IF you set a destination and use the navigation, it does take elevation into consideration especially if you choose an eco route verses the fastest. Otherwise, it has no idea where you plan to go so won't advise.
Gif
Well-known member
I think that's right as when using the nav it has given me some pretty odd directions when out in the middle of nowhere and I have got Eco set as the default route option. That said, from the previous post, there is a fine line between hill climbing and extra distance I have found. You don't have to travel much further 'around' before it becomes less economical than going 'over'.
It's amazing how much difference hills do make though and how much effect the same gradients have when travelling in the opposite direction. I regularly do one particular 114 mile trip into Mid Wales. On full charge and precondition in reasonably ambient temperatures, the round trip is just out of reach due mainly to the hilly roads and the imperative to travel at a reasonable speed to cut the journey time. When I say hilly, it's nothing compared to mountains in parts of the world where some of you live or indeed in other parts of the UK.
The net height gain from where I live to the destination is only about 360 feet. Obviously, total gains and losses are much more than that but the high point is only just over 1,000 feet on the route I normally take.
The odd thing I find is that going out takes about 55% SoC but coming back only takes about 45%. Considering that the net uphill / downhill difference is only just over 700 feet that struck me as a big differential although I don't know why as I have no basis mathematically for the surprise factor. The distance is the same both ways but I wonder how much the relative gradients and the effects of regen braking in different directions plays out in that differential.
It's amazing how much difference hills do make though and how much effect the same gradients have when travelling in the opposite direction. I regularly do one particular 114 mile trip into Mid Wales. On full charge and precondition in reasonably ambient temperatures, the round trip is just out of reach due mainly to the hilly roads and the imperative to travel at a reasonable speed to cut the journey time. When I say hilly, it's nothing compared to mountains in parts of the world where some of you live or indeed in other parts of the UK.
The net height gain from where I live to the destination is only about 360 feet. Obviously, total gains and losses are much more than that but the high point is only just over 1,000 feet on the route I normally take.
The odd thing I find is that going out takes about 55% SoC but coming back only takes about 45%. Considering that the net uphill / downhill difference is only just over 700 feet that struck me as a big differential although I don't know why as I have no basis mathematically for the surprise factor. The distance is the same both ways but I wonder how much the relative gradients and the effects of regen braking in different directions plays out in that differential.
My daily commute has a much smaller elevation change in one direction to next (around 300 feet). But I also see a 10% differential in one direction vs the opposit using the same test conditions on a 26 mile trip one way. So elevation changes do have a rather large impact. I guess the weight of the car rally does cause an asymmetrical drain for climb vs regen potential.
I noticed exactly the same- I have a 300' delta over 20 miles, and there is a noticeable difference in kwh/m. I attributed to a low waste of the energy. I also commute on a motorcycle, and it's consumption is the same in both directions. Probably because it has the aerodynamics of a barn.
Similar threads
Vehicle For Sale
BMW i3S 33kWh Range Extender 2018
