[wannabe]

Hello.
Has anyone figured out the off-peak charging for the BMW 330e (first generation)? I have had the car (2016 330e) for over a year but have finally got a smart meter with the Octopus Go tariff (highly recommended, PM me for a £50 off link if you want to switch to them). It gives 5p/kWh overnight from 0030 to 0430. (With an EVBox charger).

This is what I’m trying to do. I generally leave around 0630 and I want the car preconditioned, and with a full battery. The charging pattern would ideally be to fill the battery between 0030 and 0430, with a small top-up as it pre-conditions around 0615-0630.

I haven’t figured out how yet.

Attempt 1) I set the off-peak from 0030 to 0700 so that it can still top up while it pre-conditions, and the departure time at 0630. But then, it only starts charging around 0400 and I mostly miss the cheap time.

Attempt 2) I set the off-peak from 0030 to 0700, and two departure times: 0430 and 0630. But then, it preconditions twice (once in the middle of the night), not ideal.

I have some other ideas but has anyone figured it out? I guess that if I fixed the off-peak times 0030-0430 it would precondition from the battery for the 0630 departure and I would start with a depleted battery.

I have some other options to play with in the wall box charger timer but haven’t gone there yet.

I’m sure others have the same issue, has anyone figured it out?

 

[dk6780]

There are now three threads for this!

Set the car to charge immediately.
Set your charge point to turn on at 00:30 and off at say 15:00 (you'll need to override this on occasion to charge during the day but it should be before you normally return from work)
Set departure time to 06:30
Plug in
Lock
Wake up to a nice warm fully charged car

 

[wannabe]

There are now three threads for this!

Set the car to charge immediately.
Set your charge point to turn on at 00:30 and off at say 15:00 (you'll need to override this on occasion to charge during the day but it should be before you normally return from work)
Set departure time to 06:30
Plug in
Lock
Wake up to a nice warm fully charged car

That is my attempt 1. Unfortunately it charges at the end of the window around 0400-0630

 

[dk6780]

Are you sure that you have set the "charge immediately" option on i-drive?

 

[wannabe]

Aha sorry I misread. Yes, I guess I need to combine the charging times on the EVBox charger with the controls in the car. I was hoping that wasn’t necessary - BMW caters for preconditioning and also for off peak charging but evidently if you combine these it falls down. If only Saab had designed it, it would have been thought through properly...

 

[dk6780]

You could have bought a LEAF that does it simply, but then you'd have other things to worry about!

 

[wannabe]

Not for me, yet but my next car will be full EV I hope. For now the PHEV works fine : I have improved my fuel economy and carbon footprint without any compromises. I charged it overnight even before I had the smart meter but couldn’t see the exact times.

 

[dk6780]

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" ?

 

[A_Camera]

You could have bought a LEAF that does it simply, but then you'd have other things to worry about!

It's simple in the BMW also... Besides, we have a Leaf and I find it pretty annoying regarding the charging and departure climatization, but perhaps that depends on what you are mostly used to. For example, in the Leaf, why on earth is there a LED indicating the departure heating, but it is NOT a button you can push and turn it off quickly and manually when you just want to turn it off temporarily for one occasion. All that deep diving in menus just make me crazy when I have to do some temporary stop in the sceme now and then. Also that freaking start up screen which you have to accept or decline every time you start the car. What a stupid idea... The HMI is definitely not the strongest argument for buying a Leaf, even if there are some illogical functions in the BMW also, but it is far better than the Leaf.

 

[A_Camera]

Not for me, yet but my next car will be full EV I hope. For now the PHEV works fine : I have improved my fuel economy and carbon footprint without any compromises. I charged it overnight even before I had the smart meter but couldn’t see the exact times.

Exactly. I am filling the tank every second month with 25-30 litres petrol instead of every second week with 50-55l each time. So yes, it's a dramatic change, but while the Leaf could mean even lower petrol usage (read = zero) the Leaf is not an alternative, not even the latest model.

Yes, maybe the next will be a real EV, but definitely not a Leaf unless something revolutionary happens in the future models.