Is It Safe To Keep A Chevy Volt Plugged In For A Week While Away?
If you own a Chevy Volt, you may be wondering if it’s safe to keep it plugged in while you’re away on vacation for a week. After all, you don’t want to come home to a dead battery, do you?
While it’s true that plugging in your Volt will help keep the battery charged, there are some dangers associated with leaving it plugged in for too long. In this blog post, we’ll discuss those dangers and what you can do to avoid them.
If you had to keep the answer as short as possible it would be this: Yes, it’s safe to leave your Volt plugged in for an extended period of time.
One of the dangers of leaving a Chevy Volt plugged in for too long is that it can cause wear on the battery. This is because the battery will continue to draw power from the outlet even when it’s not being used. When this happens, the battery can reach high temperatures, which can damage the cells and shorten the life of the battery.
Chevy typically recommends setting the maximum charger for a lithium ion battery electric vehicle to 50% of battery capacity if you are going to leave the car unused for long stretches of time.
Finally, leaving your Volt plugged in for too long can drain the power from your home’s electrical system. This is because the battery will continue to draw power from the outlet even when it’s not being used. If you have a small electrical system, this can cause problems for your other appliances and devices. To avoid this, make sure to unplug your Volt when you’re not using it.
Safe? Not Safe?
As you can see, there are some risks associated with leaving your Chevy Volt plugged in for too long, but it’s still a safe behavior. However, these risks can be mitigated by reading your owner’s manual and picking optimized settings for your car. Keeping the car plugged in is definitely better than showing up at your home or the airport (etc.) and having a car with no battery life left in it!
By following these simple tips, you can help keep your Volt safe and ensure that it continues to run smoothly.