What % should I routinely charge a MG ZS EV LR to?

[Edward]

I have had my MG ZS EV LR for about a week and so far I have charged it to 100% every night.

On average, I probably use about 5-15% battery charge per day to get to and from work and do a few local trips.

The iSmart app seems to indicate that you should normally charge the car to 80% and only charge to 100% in preparation for a long journey.

Can anyone tell me if this is correct (that I should only routinely charge to 80% and only charge to 100% ahead of long journeys) and if so why this is?

I wondered whether charging the batteries to 100% every time might shorten their working life or whether it takes more energy to charge the last 20% (I understand the last 20% of charge takes the longest, not sure if this means it costs more per percentage of charge).

 

[drmcw]

The app and car are correct. Charge to 80% for the LR version. Charge to 100% if you need the extra range i.e. doing a long journey or for balancing the battery which you should do every now and then. A battery left at 100% for extended periods of time will have a shorter life than one that isn't.

 

[Mihir]

@drmcw is spoton. Avoid charging it to 100% unless you need to for a long journey or you are battery balancing about once a month. LR have NMC battery chemistry which degrades over time compared to the LFP battery chemistry found in SR. There a lot of posts on the forum discussing this. Have a look at the podcast from this week where a lot has been discussed and explained around charging and battery balancing etc.

 

[Edward]

Thank you both. Very clear explanation. I’ll have a listen to the podcast.

 

[Jomarkh]

My 5 has a NCM I normally charge to 80-90% daily for my commute then monthly do a 100% charge to balance the battery.

 

[RetiredPope]

For the LR I would go further and say if your normal use is only 15%, charge to 60 or 70%. The higher you charge the quicker the battery capacity will degrade with the LR battery chemistry.

 

[N2STY]

For the LR I would go further and say if your normal use is only 15%, charge to 60 or 70%. The higher you charge the quicker the battery capacity will degrade with the LR battery chemistry.

To much thinking going on just charge your car and enjoy it the 7 year warranty is there to give you peace of mind the cars indicated 100% is not a 100% charged there is a buffer to stop degradation or at least slow it down I personally (LR) charge to 90% every day apart from once a month I take it up to 100% or for the occasional long journey

 

[Lovemyev]

Thank you both. Very clear explanation. I’ll have a listen to the podcast.

It's a "video" pod cast that is very informative and is attended by different MG owners and is regularly attended by Miles Roberts, who is the MG innervations manger for the Chorley group and is very knowledgeable on all EV matters.
If you like the content, please consider subscribing and supporting as it's totally free to join and you will be notified when the next pod cast is due to be released.
Your usage pattern suggests that charging to 80% SOC will cover your needs just fine, so I would follow the advice for long range owners ( like myself ) and save the 100% charging for longer trips and in order to carry out a balance cycle, which is recommended to be once a month if you are charging via some D/C rapid charging, which can cause some imbalance in the pack due to the heat generated.
You can not perform a balance cycle on any D/C rapid unit, only on a A/C unit like a wall box or on a three pin Granny unit, powered from a domestic socket outlet.
If you ( like me ) only ever charge from home, then balancing may not even be required once a month on the long range model.
As others have kindly pointed out already, the standard range and long range have totally different battery chemistry and are therefore treated in a slightly different manner regarding charging suggestions.
Here the link to last weeks pod cast, there is section that talks about the two different battery types and explains why they are treated differently.
Make yourself a drink first, as the pod cast is about one hour long.
Previous pod casts can be found on the home screen of the forum.
Enjoy the video and your EV !.

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[Bodgerx]

@drmcw is spoton. Avoid charging it to 100% unless you need to for a long journey or you are battery balancing about once a month. LR have NMC battery chemistry which degrades over time compared to the LFP battery chemistry found in SR. There a lot of posts on the forum discussing this. Have a look at the podcast from this week where a lot has been discussed and explained around charging and battery balancing etc.

This isn't correct for the SR.

It's nothing to do with the longevity of the battery for LFP. The MG manual advice on the balancing charge is no different between the batteries.

The only reason to go to 100% on the SR more regularly (and MGs disabling of the 80% limit) feature is so that GOM has a better clue of the state of charge.

 

[N2STY]

The only reason to go to 100% on the SR more regularly (and MGs disabling of the 80% limit) feature is so that GOM has a better clue of the state of charge.

Not just MG Tesla started this charge to a 100% on LFP for more accurate battery management not just for gom range

 

[Lovemyev]

Tesla Bjorn has recently released a MG 4 video and goes into some great detail why manufactures decide on the use of LFP or NMC packs.
If it has a motor and a battery, he has probably test driven the hell out of all of them .