On board power monitoring and charging info system

As this is all about power capacity power consumption and power reserves left it just makes sense that the #Aptera should monitor and report on everything related to power.

Most speed limits on the interstates here are 70mph. If you're not going at least 75, you're a hazard on the road. Arkansas just increased the speed limit on interstate 55 north from Memphis to the Missouri line to 75mph.

This is going to be an adjustment for me. I rarely do less than 75mph on the highway and honestly usually set the cruise between 80 and 85. Guess the speed demon in me is going to have to slow down if I want to get anywhere in the 400mi Paradigm.

@Kerbe #12705 I have not. Will check it out.

I did a 524-mile trip in my Bolt a while back. On the outbound leg, I went 71 MPH, traveled 166 miles, and used 43.9 kWh. On the return leg, I don't have all the data, but I traveled faster (76 MPH) and used less energy (I think around 5% less) by following trucks nearly the entire way back. For the trip over-all, total distance was 523.9 miles, total energy consumed at the battery was 128.5 kWh (140 kWh at the plug), and I made it home with an estimated 41 miles left (170 miles traveled, 231 estimated range at start of return leg).

My normal driving is at 35-60 MPH on main roads, and at the same temperatures as the trip, can get around 200 miles with 90% charge (54 kWh starting capacity). My Bolt's lifetime efficiency at the battery is 4.2 miles/kWh. At the wall, my Bolt is averaging 3.73 miles/kWh, and the i-MiEV averages 3.78 miles/kWh. The Bolt gets driven more aggressively, has many more highway miles, and has more cabin heating/cooling use than the i-MiEV.

In the i-MiEV, highway speeds drop my range considerably. I can get an easy 65-70 miles on main roads in the summer (40-50 MPH with red lights), but this drops to 50-55 miles on the highway at 65 MPH. Obviously with drafting, I can get better range (about 60 miles), but the i-MiEV is about as aerodynamic as a sheet of plywood at high speed. All I can say is, though, with the difference between 0.35 (i-MiEV) and 0.32 Cd (Bolt) being very apparent behind the wheel, I can't imagine what 0.15 will be like.

(My range claims are a mix of observed and estimated ranges as reported by the car's instrumentation. My max range per charge could probably be pushed further if I knew exactly where the bottom end of the Bolt's charge is. I don't purposefully push the car to nearly running out of charge. Also, differences between at-the-battery and at-the-plug consumption is mostly charging losses and battery cooling that occurred while quick charging.)

For those of you with extensive BEV experience, can you comment on highway speed and battery consumption on your current vehicles (i.e. consumption at 70mph vs 75mph etc.). I know each vehicle will be a little different depending on a number of factors.

@PV1 Have you tried "A Better Route Planner"? https://abetterrouteplanner.com/

Nissan has a switch in the LEAF to lock the charge cable to the car. This can be annoying at charging stations when sharing plugs, as a fully charged LEAF could be sitting there with the cable locked.

Chevy treats any level 1 charging as though it is from the "portable cord", and both the Bolt and Volt have a setting to trigger the car's alarm if it is unplugged (on by default). If the cord remains attached to the vehicle but loses power, the car will either beep or chirp the horn quietly a few times (also optional, but on by default). They treat level 2 as a charging station and won't alarm if unplugged. I'd actually prefer if Aptera would mirror Chevy's approach regarding this if they use the J1772 connector. It provides a good balance between security and allowing 3rd party plug sharing. Most connectors have a provision for a lock if more security is needed.

On vacations, I park the car on the level 1 cable, making sure the cable is in one of the tire grooves. Good enough to stop an opportunistic thief without smashing the cable (I use a long cable on vacation which, sadly, doesn't support a lock). That said, I've never had any problems with people messing with my car or cables, even when no security precautions are taken (quite the opposite, actually, where other EV drivers plug my car into a station when they are done charging).

As for in-car tech, Tesla's on-board routing is pretty slick, but truthfully, I'd prefer Apple CarPlay/Android Auto and Plugshare from a phone. This would save Aptera a lot of development and headache. Just show me the details and let my phone do the navigation. Although, I'd love an "advanced" view to show individual motor power, battery cell voltages, component temperatures, incoming solar power, and other fun stuff that no other OEM will let us see.

Most of the information you want is already available via various phone apps. Tesla's proprietary navigation system is based on Google Maps - most other EVs use wonky "in-house designed" navigation system that then cost hundreds of dollars per year to update. If you've connected your phone to your vehicle using Apple CarPlay or Android Auto your car really doesn't need to have redundant systems all its own. As to cord theft - the only time your cable is involved is when you're charging at Level 1 or Level 2 at a receptacle instead of an EVSE, like when you're staying overnight at a friend's house and you've plugged into their outdoor outlet or the dryer receptacle in their laundry room. If you're charging at a public EVSE, the cable is attached to the EVSE, like the hose attached to a gas pump.

It's 10% or more losses when wireless charging. A simple J-1772 charge plug would be the most available. The CCS DC Fast Charge would also be perfect. Why reinvent the charging. Universal and simple is best.

Yes topic “3” induction charging... I wonder if the Plugless system could be adapted to Aptera as

here is a 2016 video:

https://binged.it/2mGNBGk

If the vehicle is connected to the internet, I hope it is, it would be cellular & possibly WIFI as well when a network is available. Hope it can get Over the Air software updates. Hope there will be detailed data on the center screen and logs to download of battery cell voltages, degradation data, access to all temperature sensors, coolant pump RPM, everything.

2. Good idea, Chevy Volt has the option to honk the horn for a while when cord in unplugged. Other may have this or lock on the receptacle so it can't be removed. If Aptera does, I hope it is optional.

3. Wireless inductive charging? Not sure if that is practical with the shape, distance to the ground, and space restrictions.