EV Monthly Plan - Minimum % Charge

Hi ​@Celadoor ,

IIRC the system will ALWAYS Smart Charge at the reduced rate unless you explicitly override with the Boost/Urgent Charge button. OVO will cover you in the situation you described by using your allowance first.

Thanks for this.  I still wonder what effect the minimum % that you set in the app is? I understand the point of the Maximum.  I set my Max to say 80%.  I set my schedule to 7am, now it will find the greenest time to charge, while still getting me to 80% on time.  But what does the minimum do?  

In the scenario I described above, would it immediately charge to 30% at 4pm, during the most non-green-time, but take those kwh’s from my monthly allowance?  because if that’s true.  Then if i set my minimum to 90% - then whenever I plug it in, it would charge to 90%, no matter what time of the day or night, and still only use my allowance - which seems kinda pointless - because it means I can “urgent” charge without using the “urgent charge” button - and without the downside.  

Sorry if I’m being dense and missing something obvious 

You’re actually in luck, I’ve just checked with the team.

The minimum charge setting (where it exists) basically just specifies what the lowest charge level you want to accept by the Ready Time should be. It’s optional and you can leave it alone if you want.

However, using it will still trigger Smart Charging and get the CA rate and/or use your allowances first - it doesn’t let you cheat the system so you don’t need to worry.

Thanks for this, appreciate the definitive answer! 

Sorry, I do have a follow up, but appreciate that i’m being a pest now :D  If Minimum is the lowest you want to accept by ready time.  And Maximum is what you really want it to be.  I don’t really understand how you could have a case where your car only charges to your Minimum and then stops. What situation would prompt that?

e.g. I set my min to 60% and my max to 90% and ready time to 7am.  In what situation would it *only* charge to 60% and not 90%?  wouldn’t it always (assuming enough time) charge to my max?  And if there is some situation where it only reached my minimum, what would have happened in that same situation if I travelled back in time, and set the Minimum to 90% instead of 60%?  Would it have hit 90%? 

The only cases where it won’t get even close to max are if you basically set impossible targets like go from 0-100% in the next five minutes. :)

So if I want to guarantee my car will actually get to 80%, I need to set both the maximum and minimum to 80%?  Last night I set the car to charge at about 4pm, it was at 18%, minimum set to 20% and maximum 80% with a ready time of 7am.  This morning it was at 66% - so it’s not got close to 80%, but that seems to be because the minimum was set at 20%.  If I’m reading the posts above correctly, there is no downside to setting both values to the charge I actually want?

Nope, you should set the minimum to something like 20-30% and max to 80%. From there, simply plug in and allow a reasonable amount of time for the system to get a charge in. Do NOT set both the same!

If you think something isn’t working, give the team a call on 0330 175 9678 and they can dig the logs.

Thanks, that’s helpful, but how does that align with your comment above:

“The minimum charge setting (where it exists) basically just specifies what the lowest charge level you want to accept by the Ready Time should be.”

The minimum I want is not 20-30% - it’s 70-80%.

Hey ​@Celadoor,

 

Welcome to the community i’ve assigned an EV badge to your profile to show you’re part of our EV community! 

 

I want to clarify the importance of when to set a minimum charge setting for your vehicle. This feature is essential for preventing the battery from dropping below a user-defined level, especially if you need to ensure that there is enough power for emergencies or regular use.

 

When you set a minimum charge level, the vehicle will charge at the full rate until that level is reached. Once it hits the minimum, you can then take advantage of reduced charging rates.

 

Consider whether you truly need a minimum charge level. If you decide it's unnecessary, don’t set it. However, if you recognise its value for your situation, be aware that charging costs may increase if the battery falls below this level.

 

 

Thanks for this - so it sounds like having a min of 20% and a max of 80% - whilst on the premium plus monthly plan, may incur charges at the standard rate, if I plug in when the battery is under 20% and we’re at say a peak time with no available “cheap / green” energy??  

Can you also let me know what App the screenshot is from? I have the OVO Charge app and it doesn’t look anything like this.

Hey ​@Celadoor,

If you set your minimum charge level to 20%, any charge level between 0% and 20% will trigger an “urgent charge and would incur additional costs.” This means that since you’ve specified you don’t want the charge to dip below this level, it becomes a priority to boost the charge back up! If you decide that a minimum charge level isn’t for you, no worries, you can always manually start an urgent charge if you're in a hurry and need the car ready sooner. 

Some people really like having a minimum charge option, while others might not find it as helpful. It’s all about what works best for you! 

As for the screenshot, it’s a bit dated, but it was meant to show you the information behind the minimum charge limit. You can find the most up-to-date info in the app by following the steps below.

“Go to “Home” and then “edit smart schedule”
In schedule settings you can update your ready by time and edit your min and max battery capacity”
 

Hey ​@Celadoor,

 

Welcome to the community i’ve assigned an EV badge to your profile to show you’re part of our EV community! 

 

I want to clarify the importance of when to set a minimum charge setting for your vehicle. This feature is essential for preventing the battery from dropping below a user-defined level, especially if you need to ensure that there is enough power for emergencies or regular use.

 

When you set a minimum charge level, the vehicle will charge at the full rate until that level is reached. Once it hits the minimum, you can then take advantage of reduced charging rates.

 

Consider whether you truly need a minimum charge level. If you decide it's unnecessary, don’t set it. However, if you recognise its value for your situation, be aware that charging costs may increase if the battery falls below this level.

 

 

Ah, that makes more sense.  So the minimum charge setting doesn’t specify the lowest charge level I want to accept by the Ready Time, it’s an option to trigger an immediate urgent charge so that the car will always be at or above that level when plugged in.

That still doesn’t address why the car isn’t ready by the specified time in the morning (sometimes by 1-2%, sometimes by 15-20%), so I guess I’ll need to speak to the team on the number above to work that out?