Charging Times (According to BARD)

[DroMike]

I asked BARD, the Google AI, the below question:

Q: Using a Level 1 charger, how long would it take to charge a 2023 BMW i7 EV?

A: The 2023 BMW i7 EV has a 106.1-kWh battery pack and comes with a 1.4-kW Level 1 AC onboard charger. The following table shows the estimated charging times for the i7 EV using a Level 1 charger:


State of charge........Time to charge from..............Time to charge from
..........................................1% to 100%..............................10% to 80%

0%.....................................47.2 hours.................................14.2 hours
25%................................10.9 hours...............................3.7 hours
50%...................................21.8 hours..................................7.4 hours
75%...................................32.7 hours.................................10.1 hours
90%...................................47.2 hours.................................14.2 hours


MY two questions re the above then are:

(1) Is BARD's response reasonably accurate -- especially the second line I placed in bold which claims that if I start charging an i7 with 25% battery power, using a Level 1 charger (i.e., plug a US standard 3-prong plug into a 120v outlet) that it would only take 3.7 hours to reach an 80% charge? and

(2) If I drive very infrequently, why would I want or need a Level 2 charger (240v hookup that would have to be wired by an electrician for $$$)?

- Mike

[frankchn]

It is not accurate. These models can be (1) bad at math and (2) can hallucinate information.

You can do the math yourself. A level 1 charger typically maxes out at 1.5 kW, so it will fill up 1.5 kWh of energy per hour (hence kilowatt-hours).

The i7 has a usable battery capacity of 101.7 kWh, so it will take 67.8 hours to go from 0-100%.

There is no throttling when you are charging that slow, so it is a linear relationship. 5-95% (i.e. 90% charging) will be 90% of 67.8 hours (i.e. 61 hours), etc...

[DroMike]

Well, I was a little skeptical of that information as it was contrary to what I'd heard before. That's why I asked here in this forum for real-world info. Thank you very much.

The reason I asked was that I'm now starting to lean toward the all-electric i7 instead of the ICE 740i, so was wondering if I could get away with a Level 1 (120v) instead of a Level 2 (240v) setup. I knew there was NO WAY I was going to pay for a $5,000 circuit panel upgrade for the latter, but DID in the interim find I could obtain and use the SplitVolt circuit-protected, plug 'n play dryer switcher to negate any of that, so I'm all set now.

BTW, I've caught BARD in a whole pack of lies or misinformation. I've learned to take him(?) with a huge grain of salt.

[JK479]

Originally Posted by DroMike

Well, I was a little skeptical of that information as it was contrary to what I'd heard before. That's why I asked here in this forum for real-world info. Thank you very much.

The reason I asked was that I'm now starting to lean toward the all-electric 2024 i7 eDrive50 instead of the ICE 740i, so was wondering if I could get away with a Level 1 (120v) instead of a Level 2 (240v) setup. I knew there was NO WAY I was going to pay for a $5,000 circuit panel upgrade for the latter, but DID in the interim find I could obtain and use the SplitVolt circuit-protected, plug 'n play dryer switcher to negate any of that, so I'm all set now.

BTW, I've caught BARD in a whole pack of lies or misinformation. I've learned to take him(?) with a huge grain of salt.

How fast would your car charge with just the 240volt plug? Curious if it’s still level 1 or in between 1 and 2.