to charge or not to charge, that is the question...

[Luci]

I do not drive everyday so I have been re-charging only when I return from taking the car out and about. What is the best protocol? To charge daily, even when only to top off to 80% from the slight amount of discharge from prior day or to only charge as needed as long as it stays withing the 20-80 rule? Comments welcome!

 

[hydbob]

I just charge when it gets low (near 20%) and up to 80%.

 

[Not Sam]

Yeah, there's no technical reason to keep the car charged to 80%. It's fine to keep it within 20-80 at your convenience.

That said, with my Tesla I got in the habit of just plugging it in every time I drove in the garage, which saved me a couple of times when I forgot I was going somewhere that needed more range. It's easier to remember something I do every time than to remember to do it only when I need to. YMMV.

 

[Adnillien]

I am an odd case, I have free Level 2 (6kW) charging at work. I only charge when I go into the office and then only up to 80%. I rarely charge at home.

 

[MPawelek]

What is the address of your work place? Asking for a friend…..

 

[Adnillien]

What is the address of your work place? Asking for a friend…..

Funny thing is that Plugshare actually shows it even though it is for employees only. I am not sure who is reporting checkins for it.

 

[Sandvinsd]

Yeah, there's no technical reason to keep the car charged to 80%. It's fine to keep it within 20-80 at your convenience.

That said, with my Tesla I got in the habit of just plugging it in every time I drove in the garage, which saved me a couple of times when I forgot I was going somewhere that needed more range. It's easier to remember something I do every time than to remember to do it only when I need to. YMMV.

We charge our Nissan Leaf nightly but only because we use a significant portion of the range every day, and it charges to 100%, both because you cannot specify. a ‘charge to’ percentage and because we need every bit of range. With the Lucid, I plan to only charge on weekends up to 80% unless I need it more often.

 

[DeaneG]

We charge our Nissan Leaf nightly but only because we use a significant portion of the range every day, and it charges to 100%, both because you cannot specify. a ‘charge to’ percentage and because we need every bit of range. With the Lucid, I plan to only charge on weekends up to 80% unless I need it more often.

Our 2011 Leaf had an option to charge to 80% and was the default setting, but Nissan removed the option from later years as EPA testing, done at defaults, resulted in lower range for marketing purposes.

 

[Maverick]

We charge our Nissan Leaf nightly but only because we use a significant portion of the range every day, and it charges to 100%, both because you cannot specify. a ‘charge to’ percentage and because we need every bit of range. With the Lucid, I plan to only charge on weekends up to 80% unless I need it more often.

I think that's an interesting statement as it pertains to this thread. Up until the Lucid range, for a lot of people, after a day of driving, it only made sense to charge because of range limitations. If it's a normal day of commuting for me, I regularly go an additional day and could probably charge every third day. Skipping days may be strange for long time EV drivers just because of the lower ranges on the car in everyday driving. Just a thought.

 

[Mountain Man]

I am an odd case, I have free Level 2 (6kW) charging at work. I only charge when I go into the office and then only up to 80%. I rarely charge at home.

Same here. Free “gas”!

 

[SaratogaLefty]

I have never charged at home. I haven't even opened up the charging "package" in the trunk. All of my charges thus far have been at an Electrify America station. A couple times up to almost 100% prior to long trips but most in the mid eighties. So far I'm only charging once a week or so. Almost 1400 miles on the car and I've had it just over a month.

 

[LRSIII]

On a somewhat related matter, what level is the Air charged to when it was delivered to you? 100%? 80%, some other random number?

 

[hydbob]

On a somewhat related matter, what level is the Air charged to when it was delivered to you? 100%? 80%, some other random number?

100 for me

 

[dawktah LucidGT]

By the same token there is no issue leaving it plugged in and sitting for long periods, weeks? If so what level should you set it 80%

 

[BradSholl]

If this has been asked and answered, I apologize...but what mode and pattern of charging will yield the best battery longevity? I would think level 3 rapid charging puts more strain on the battery. But do small frequent charges have any effect on battery memory? Is it perhaps better to let it fall to 20% and then level 2 charge to 80% over night for battery health?

Engineers..what say you?

 

[Coltonw011]

If this has been asked and answered, I apologize...but what mode and pattern of charging will yield the best battery longevity? I would think level 3 rapid charging puts more strain on the battery. But do small frequent charges have any effect on battery memory? Is it perhaps better to let it fall to 20% and then level 2 charge to 80% over night for battery health?

Engineers..what say you?

We have always been told that constant fast charging will degrade the battery pack faster than the lower level 2 charging. In my experience this hasn’t been true. My current 2019 MS has unlimited supercharging and I have almost exclusively charged with them for 3 years. Easily 95% done on fast charging. I have only lost 10 miles of RR in that time frame. With an effective battery cooling system you can expect better battery life off fast charging than years past.
I’ve also been a 90% charger for the entire life of the car and will continue to with the Air. Frequently charging to 100% will be a bigger battery killer imo - as you approach a full charge, there is less space to push those electrons - which is why charging time increases when charging to 100%.
In summary - charge how you wish. Tech and cooling has improved substantially to keep your pack cool enough. You also have a pretty robust battery warranty with this car, hopefully it never has to be used, but there’s that!

 

[Pete44]

On a somewhat related matter, what level is the Air charged to when it was delivered to you? 100%? 80%, some other random number?

They were going to charge to 100% but I asked them to keep it to 80% since I was only driving 10 miles to house.

 

[LRSIII]

They were going to charge to 100% but I asked them to keep it to 80% since I was only driving 10 miles to house.

I was thinking the same thing. Plus, I want to check the charging operation with my charging cable at my house when the car is delivered. Hard to do that if the Lucid already is at 100 percent. I’ll talk to the Lucid folks when it goes for pre-delivery prep and inspection. Thanks.

 

[Steveinarizona]

I was thinking the same thing. Plus, I want to check the charging operation with my charging cable at my house when the car is delivered. Hard to do that if the Lucid already is at 100 percent. I’ll talk to the Lucid folks when it goes for pre-delivery prep and inspection. Thanks.

Good idea but remember that the last 20% charging rate is slower for all BEVs. So don't expect to see it filling up quickly.

 

[MikeTz]

A simple way of looking at charging. Lucid purchases the batteries from third parties. The battery cell supplier has restrictions on charging/discharging rates, and operating temperatures. The Lucid BMS algorithm keeps the current flow, and temperature in check at all times. A modern high-quality cell can be cycled 1200-1500 times during its useful life. The low number is the life expectancy DC charging at 100 % and the high number is charging at 20-80%. Given the size of the battery pack, either method should provide at least 300,000 plus Miles. So plug and charge any way you like. You are going to drive your Lucid for a very long long long time.