Charge to level

[IronChefBoyardee]

Using my Rivian home charger that I pre-ordered, can you set the charge to shut off at 80%, 90% and not go to the full 100%. I am looking to get the maximum battery life and only expect to charge to 100% the night before an extended trip. That is what I do with my two Alta electric dirt bikes.

You would set this in the vehicle app or in-vehicle display. As others mentioned the EVSE doesn't know. Some EVSE's will let you adjust the charge rate through an app, such as Wallbox.

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[SeaGeo]

. He said, when warranted, they can and will perform OTA updates to release a small percentage of extra range for those who deserve it.

I'd love to know from Rivian what that means though. Especially if they don't let us set daily max charging values. For example, I have no problem setting my "charge to" value to 70%, and then plugging it back in at 30% routinely or something. But if there isn't a wait to keep it from charging to 100%, it's not clear to me what "good behavior" would be.

If that means an automatic 80 or 90% cut-off built into the system, with the ability to override it to a 100% occasionally, that would be great. I would assume those who might choose to charge to 100% every night night (if possible) would likely never see their range ever being extended, or "opened up".

Yeah, see that's the problem. As I interpreted my communication with CS, it doesn't seem like there is a manual option to limit charging to something less than 100% automatically. Which begs the question as to how I could override it when I actually do need to "full" buffered battery. The statement with CS was broad enough that I didn't want to jump too far down the path of asking them the ins and outs of how the BMS worked and what software features there will be as I didn't think that was fair to them. It will be interesting to see what tools Rivian provides us to help protect the battery.

 

[ajdelange]

A lot of folks like to keep their cars at 60, 65, 70% and bounce that up occasionally to as much as 100% when setting out on a long trip. If Rivian takes that ability away they are going to have unhappy customers.

OTA improvements in range are to be hoped for and even expected as they find, for example, that tweaking a PI loop tuning parameter in the inverter improves efficiency a fraction of a percent. If, however, they limit charging OTA in order to protect the battery they are going to have a lawsuit on their hands, just as Tesla did when they did this very thing. OTA adjustments that effect range are going to be done very circumspectly.

 

[AltaTruck]

This was the response I got back from CS this evening;


1. Yes, you will have the ability to adjust your charging percentage. The Battery Management System prevents the battery from damaging itself- a feature that typical starter batteries do not have. Through the Rivian app, you can monitor the charge status in real-time. More information to come on that full process.

2. Our intelligent BMS sends and receives data in real-time, continuously learning how you drive and charge. This means it is constantly optimizing and extending cell performance throughout the battery.

Like my Altas, I will most likely keep it at around 60%-80% unless starting out on a trip. I really don't want to monitor the SOC but have it capped at a set value automatically.

 

[Gearhead500]

Was chatting with CS and suggested some more advanced A/C charging scheduling logic than is what's in my ID.4 and I received an interesting piece of info I don't think I had seen before. CS said the following:

"It's worth mentioning that on the Rivian, you won't have to worry about not charging up the vehicle all the way in order to preserve battery health. Our Battery Management System is going to be one of the best on the market, and will be able to learn how/when you drive in order to optimize performance and longevity so you don't have to worry about it at all!"

Which creates a whole host of questions that I now have. None of which I felt were appropriate to ask general CS ahead of official communication from Rivian on the topic. Just thought people would find this interesting here.

Sounds like some AI will take into account my lead foot. Awesome

 

[DuckTruck]

Sounds like some AI will take into account my lead foot. Awesome

Better the A.I. than the S.P. ?‍?

 

[SeaGeo]

This was the response I got back from CS this evening;


1. Yes, you will have the ability to adjust your charging percentage. The Battery Management System prevents the battery from damaging itself- a feature that typical starter batteries do not have. Through the Rivian app, you can monitor the charge status in real-time. More information to come on that full process.

2. Our intelligent BMS sends and receives data in real-time, continuously learning how you drive and charge. This means it is constantly optimizing and extending cell performance throughout the battery.

Like my Altas, I will most likely keep it at around 60%-80% unless starting out on a trip. I really don't want to monitor the SOC but have it capped at a set value automatically.

That makes A LOT more sense.

 

[thrill]

I could see Rivian keeping the range estimate at whatever gets published as the seasons change and the battery ages by increasing and decreasing the "100%" level via OTA.

 

[flabyboy]

Was chatting with CS and suggested some more advanced A/C charging scheduling logic than is what's in my ID.4 and I received an interesting piece of info I don't think I had seen before. CS said the following:

"It's worth mentioning that on the Rivian, you won't have to worry about not charging up the vehicle all the way in order to preserve battery health. Our Battery Management System is going to be one of the best on the market, and will be able to learn how/when you drive in order to optimize performance and longevity so you don't have to worry about it at all!"

Which creates a whole host of questions that I now have. None of which I felt were appropriate to ask general CS ahead of official communication from Rivian on the topic. Just thought people would find this interesting here.

Had the same exact conversation with CS today. I was asking what the advantage the Rivian wall charger would have over a third party charger

 

[Temerarius]

Makes me think that they have a fat buffer that can be unlocked via the OTA (or even BMS) depending on how you drive and charge.

Got a lead foot and like to hit up the DC Fast Charge/Supercharger... you get the vanilla "range", be nice to your battery and the soft cap moves up.

I could see how they could use this to create a "false" 100% ceiling when charging. So even though you are asking for 100%, you are only getting 80% of the "available" value, the rest held in the buffer/used to rebalance the pack to keep it healthy.

As far as we know, that 180KWh pack is actually 235KWh (for example).

We know EV manufacturers already do this, so I could see expanding how they use this to increase the longevity of the battery.

 

[EarlyAdptr]

Had the same exact conversation with CS today. I was asking what the advantage the Rivian wall charger would have over a third party charger

Curious what their answer was to that question .... what is the advantage (if any) of the Rivian charger - vs something more generic?

 

[DucRider]

Curious what their answer was to that question .... what is the advantage (if any) of the Rivian charger - vs something more generic?

It will be a "smart" EVSE (the charger is built into the car) and you will be able to communicate with via the Rivian app vs the app provided by other EVSE manufacturers. Unknown what features will be available that way.

My utility company support the ChargePoint, Flo and "coming soon" smart EVSEs and pays me to delay charging during peak events. It also communicates with them as to rates (including TOU if you are signed up) and will give me the exact $ spent on each charging session, graphs of the charging curves, etc.
They gave me a $500 rebate, pay me $50/yr to participate in the V1G program, and I got the 30% Fed Tax Credit. The $699 EVSE became <$0 very quickly.
The Rivian EVSE likely has the capability to integrate with the grid in the same fashion, but I don't know if they will ever submit it to be an approved device.

The cheapest EVSEs are not much more than a relay with additional safety interlocks/features. You will still be able to set a charging schedule in the vehicle for TOU, etc.

Rivians price of $500 for a 48A smart EVSE is a very good deal (if you order separate from your vehicle it will be $700).

 

[flabyboy]

Curious what their answer was to that question .... what is the advantage (if any) of the Rivian charger - vs something more generic?

There wasn’t much news at all. Just being able to monitor on the app. I talked about only charging to 80% and they didn’t have any details other than the BMS would protect the battery

learned I can turn down the amperage draw on the wall charger so I can use it in my underpowered garage

they also claimed it charges faster than many of the 3rd market ones. 48 amps

 

[jtshaw]

While it's really unlikely, it could be they are using different battery chemistry that is less susceptible to damage when fully charge. Tesla, for example, says it's ok to always charge to 100% on their LFP chemistry Model 3's (which are only manufactured in China for the SR+ cars so far).

 

[SeaGeo]

While it's really unlikely, it could be they are using different battery chemistry that is less susceptible to damage when fully charge. Tesla, for example, says it's ok to always charge to 100% on their LFP chemistry Model 3's (which are only manufactured in China for the SR+ cars so far).

That would be interesting.

I'm guessing it's just miscommunication with CS. We will see soon though.

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