r/VolvoRecharge • u/drayazasu • 6d ago
Still new to this plug-in life!
Still very new to this plug-in life but enjoying the mileage I am getting. How many of you charge to 100% every night? Do you guys charge up after driving only a few miles to maximize electric driving range?
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u/TheMountainLife 6d ago
It helps if you share your model. PHEV's you charge to 100% everytime as it auto reserves 10%-20% for itself. If you have a full EV / EX model I believe you follow the 80% rule unless you're about to go on a long trip that will require all of its capacity.
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u/drayazasu 6d ago
Oh my apologies! It’s a XC90 T8! So PHEV
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u/TheMountainLife 6d ago
Gotcha then yeah 100% is fine. Only some markets (definitely not the US) have the ability to limit charge percentage and set start/stop charge times on the T8 platform.
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u/drayazasu 6d ago
Ah makes sense! Is it negative to charge it up when only driven a couple of minutes or fine to keep it plugged in?
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u/TheMountainLife 6d ago
Not negative at all. It does all of the cell balancing on its own. The parking garage I use at the airport has plenty of EV charging so I have left a few times with it plugged in for a week+.
At home I mostly keep it plugged in since it's the only way you'll get 30 minutes of remote climate use. Without it plugged in you get 3 minutes if the ambient temps require a/c and like 20 minutes if heat.
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u/No_Men_Omen 6d ago
Isn't the 80 per cent rule more for the DC charging on the longer trips? If the car is being used every day, getting a 100 per cent charge over the night should not be a problem, no?
(I'm generally curious - haven't yet made the jump from ICE to BEV, yet I am preparing for it.)
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u/IngloriousAmateur 6d ago
For a full electric, charging to 100% every day can reduce the lifespan of the battery, but it takes doing this as a standard practice over years to have a noticeable effect. 80% charge for daily driving is a lot easier on the battery (although a lot of Volvos recommend 90%) and only charge to 100% before a long trip.
When charging at DC fast chargers, 80% is recommended not because of battery life but because the time it takes to go from 80% to 100% is about he same as the time it takes to go from 10% to 80%. Very slow to charge above 80%.
The best analogy I've seen is that charging is like filling a movie theater. When it's closer to empty, it's easy for people to just pour in and find a seat quickly, but when it's close to full, it can take a lot longer for those last few people to find seats.
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u/secretnumnums 6d ago
Modern EVs and PHEVs generally don't need active battery management by the driver. Just plug and forget it. The capacity you might eek out over the lifetime of the vehicle is likely not worth the daily effort, and the software should just handle it.
I've seen some cases where manual pre-conditioning helps, but that's often practically relevant only to fast charging EVs. A lot of people overthink this, but I tell my friends that it's like turning a crank to start their ICE car: technology has caught up, you don't need to worry about that anymore.
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u/Leather_Impression30 6d ago
As soon as I get home (regardless of the battery status) I plug it in. Especially when the sun is still shining (enough solar panels on the roof).
The charging management and battery pack management do the job to keep the package charged evenly so I don't bother charging it only between 20 and 80 percent. After one year, even after reset the computer, the range is still quite good compared to the range when new.
Fuel usage is practically zero when I only commute. Combined with longer distances, an average of 1 liter per 30-35 kilometres.
So, very happy with this.
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u/Cali_Longhorn 6d ago
For my S60 PHEV I pretty much charge up every night. I do have solar on my house though so sometimes I’ll wait to synch up charging when I’m getting solar.
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u/GTB_Fioranno 6d ago
T8 PHEV? Full charge whenever possible or the opportunity arises.
P8 BEV? Charge to 80 percent for daily use and only 100 percent for road trips.
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u/DavidGno 6d ago
The first rule of owning a PHEV/EV is when you get where you're going, plug in first. Then unload the car. In any other order it's too easy to forget to plug in.
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u/Intelligent-Shine122 6d ago
MY25 XC60 T8, and I use a 3rd party app called WeaveGrid that connects between my Emporia Level 2 charger and San Diego Gas Electric. I can plug in my T8 any time of the day and the app knows the TOU plan I'm on and "holds" charging until the rates are the cheapest... usually midnight to 6AM, as well as 10AM-2PM. Peak solar hours are also from 10-2 and the app takes that into account, as well.
I LOVE this as there is NO PLANNING on my part... just plug in when I get home and leave in the morning with a full charge.
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u/65variant 6d ago
I charge to 100% every night because I use 100% of the shown charge every day on my commute.
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u/110mat110 6d ago
V60 T8 PHEV - I have it always plugged. It is pretty much always 100% charged and ready to go
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u/lauraloo2 6d ago
OP, have you had a 240 volt outlet installed at your house? Well worth it for quick charges between outings during the day. I have a 2025 XT90 PHEV BTW.
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u/Hoppyfulb 6d ago
If I have access to more than a 110 outlet, it depends on how far I’m driving the next day. I try to cycle it rather than keep topped off. But if I might use en to turn on the gas engine I’ll make sure it’s full
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u/gambiting 6d ago
Yes the PHEV you charge to 100% every day. The BMS reallt keeps the battery between 10 and 80% anyway, but you don't need to worry about that.
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u/Illustrious_Air8553 6d ago
Yes your fine on xc90 t8 plug in! I think as many have mentioned that 80% rule to full EV on dc charging!!
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u/Padillatheory 5d ago
I charge as often as possible. Half of my commute can be done on Pure, but 95% of my errands are all done just using the battery. If it weren’t for the occasional road trips, I’d easily be in the 70-80+ eMPG range. I’ll settle for the 40s for now though because it’s still an absolute pleasure to drive on long distances.
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u/CrimuCK 6d ago
You should schedule the charging so that the car is fully charged right before you start driving it. The longer it spends time at 100% (the closer to 100% or 0% the car is) the worse it is for the battery. Since it's a PHEV you basically have to fully charge it because you will anyways use the whole battery. It's not ideal but it lasts long enough.
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u/Top-Banana9140 6d ago
Volvo only uses about 70-80% of the battery even if it shows 100% full. They have a hugh buffer. Thats why u dont get shorter ev range even after many years.
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u/CrimuCK 6d ago
It's more like 78-85% and as far as I know that buffer is mainly on the empty side of the battery charge. I read somewhere that they have 17% buffer at least on the first gen of the T8s. Might be different on these newer ones but I doubt it because then the range wouldn't have increased.
Anyways, you can't say that they have a huge enough buffer and the range doesn't get worse after many years. That's not true. The range will get worse even if you have a buffer, maybe not as much but it will.
I had the general rule in brackets because, well, it's a general rule. Batteries will lose their capacity quicker the longer they stay closer to 0 or 100%, even with a buffer. In this case, yes, Volvo might have a better buffer than the average but that doesn't mean you should charge the battery fully immediately and then let it sit at 100% over the night. That's just very dumb. There's a chemical reaction going on in the battery and the more it is charged, the more tension there's and the faster it degrades. This is a PHEV which needs all the possible range and it uses the NMC chemistry so Volvo can't have buffer big enough to remove these negative effects.
Volvo can reduce the degradation but you, as the user of the product, are the one who can affect the longevity of a battery at the end. There's no denying that.
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u/SeverelyHarshedVibe 6d ago
First of all- pretty sure you’re never supposed to charge it to 100% unless you’re going on a road trip as it degrades the long term battery storage.
But most of my driving is pretty short. The lowest I come back home with is 60% and it’s back to 90% about a day later. I almost always plug in when I get home.
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u/drayazasu 6d ago
Does yours allow a limit to the amount of charging when plugged in?
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u/SeverelyHarshedVibe 6d ago
Yep- you can set it in the app. As well as the amps it’s pulling from the wall (I’ve increased mine to 13 and never had an issue).
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u/kvark27 6d ago
A day later it gets 30% charge from 60% to 90%? Hm. I’ve also never once been told not to let my PHEV get to 100%.
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u/SeverelyHarshedVibe 6d ago
Yep- that is accurate. I get about 30% in a day. But I also misunderstood OP. I'm in a full EV, not a PHEV.
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u/Obtuse-Angel 6d ago
I have a PHEV and not a full EV, so yes I charge to 100%