Overheated garage when charging

[JohnK]

Waiting for my wall charger to arrive, I am trickle charging on 120v wall outlet. Even at this low amperage the charging is heating my garage to over 100 degrees, with ambient temps in the 80s. The garage is insulated but not ventilated. What kind of solutions is anyone using to deal with this issue? I assume that with the wall charger the problem will not go away, maybe just more intense heat for shorter periods. As it is my charger needs to run around the clock to top up the battery.

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[Tanquen]

Even without anything in the garage generating heat. If it's 80° outside and the garage is not vented and it's insulated, it's going to heat up. I think you're only option is to install a vent and maybe one of those solar powered attic fans. If your current charging setup gets you the miles you need that's preferable. Slower charging at a lower temperature is better for the battery within reason.

 

[Scoiatael]

My garage is regularly in the 90s during the day in the summer. Truck has been charging fine at 48 amps.

 

[ajdelange]

The charger is about 90% efficient so if you charge 50 kWh you will produce about 5 kWh (17 kBTU) waste heat and if the phantom drain is a couple of kWh over night about 7 kBTU more. If this isn't disposed of the garage will warm up. In Virginia the garage is air conditioned so there is no problem there. In Quebec people opening and closing the garage doors often enough seems to take care of it. Even a small window type A/C should be able to clear such a small load.

 

[Rousie13]

I try to charge at night if possible if it’s hot outside (90+) to keep the garage from getting out of the 80s. Our garage is not 100% insulated though….the door is heavily insulated, but the ceiling and one wall were not insulated when they built the house. This does help to let some of the heat dissipate though.

Also if it’s hotter in the garage than outside and it’s not humid, then I will open/crack our single garage door in the third bay.

The heat from the charging is great in the garage during winter though.

 

[Zoidz]

For this amount of heat, depending on your garage design, a passive ventilation system might be sufficient and would be in the spirit of conserving energy. A wind/convection driven roof tubine is one solution, although it may require a roofer to install it. Another possible option is a sidewall vent at the ceiling. A thermostatic open/close damper could be added to open a damper at 70 degrees to prevent cold weather drafts.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Rivian wastes a lot of energy as heat when charging at any level. Longer charging events actually waste more energy and 120v charging is generally less efficient.

 

[R1Sky Business]

Will get more efficient over time.... hopefully

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