Cold Weather Impact

14587 Views 33 Replies 20 Participants Last post by bubzki, 7 mo ago

Dantrium

Discussion Starter · Jan 29, 2019

Someone had asked about cold weather impact. It's only -19F right now, so this initial post just confirms what I have already experienced in these temps so far this winter. The temp has been dropping all day, it is forecasted to bottom out at -37F tonight, so that will be the real test.

In the garage (heated ~62F) the GOM gave me 166 miles, which is what I see every day. A few weeks ago 177 miles was normal, but the temps have been near zero or below for the past few weeks, so I am now at ~166 miles. The car was plugged in, but it was 'preconditioned' before I left because I left an hour earlier than I had planned.

Outside temp was -13F. I drove 2 miles (with a quick stop at 1.2 miles at the gas station to grab a Dr. Pepper), and 10 minutes later, the car still showed 100%, but now the GOM gave me 112 miles. It should be noted I have found the car does not adjust it thermometer to temperature changes very quickly. In the garage the car registered 61F; at the completion of my journey (~10 minutes) it was registering -9F, although the actual outdoor temp was -13F. I have never had a car this slow to adjust before.

I plugged the car in with the stock EVSE and checked on it about an hour later. I had not cancelled my previously scheduled preconditioning, so 3 minutes after my set departure time the car showed that it was charging, with the battery at 97% and the GOM at 110 miles and it was adding 0% charge per hour...

I checked again 2 hours later and it was now showing 100% with 109 miles, still charging at 0%.

I set a new departure time for Noon and at 1139 it showed charging at 0%, current level 93% with 105 miles of range.

I ended up not leaving and here it is at 1215, charging at 1%/hr, current level 96% with 100 miles of range.

I can add the pictures if anyone cares. But so far it is exactly as I would expect.

I will see what it does tomorrow. I might leave it outside without plugging it in just for fun.

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epirali

· #2 · Jan 29, 2019

I honestly wouldn't leave it outside not plugged in if it gets very cold. It will be fine, but it will use the charge to maintain battery temperature to prevent any damage. Tomorrow night I plan to make sure all my battery cars are in heated garage nicely tucked away....

Calidave

· #3 · Jan 29, 2019

Many thanks, very interesting. Do you attribute your typical ~177 mile range to cooler winter temps as well (or mix of driving style, etc.); whereas folks in warmer climes are seeing 200+?

Is part of the take-away here also that the I-Pace remains suitable for some daily / local commuting even in extreme cold (while EVs with less capacity might be knocked out)?

Dantrium

Discussion Starter · #4 · Jan 29, 2019

epirali said:
I honestly wouldn't leave it outside not plugged in if it gets very cold. It will be fine, but it will use the charge to maintain battery temperature to prevent any damage. Tomorrow night I plan to make sure all my battery cars are in heated garage nicely tucked away....

But my poor little Smart TwoFour doesn’t want to be alone outside in the cold. Besides, now that I have a high priced city car, the Smart is my highway car so I should be nice to it?

phila

· #5 · Jan 29, 2019

Dantrium said:
Someone had asked about cold weather impact. It's only -19F right now, so this initial post just confirms what I have already experienced in these temps so far this winter. The temp has been dropping all day, it is forecasted to bottom out at -37F tonight, so that will be the real test.

.

I would call that some proper extreme cold! Where do you live?

Dantrium

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jan 29, 2019

phila said:
Dantrium said:

Someone had asked about cold weather impact. It's only -19F right now, so this initial post just confirms what I have already experienced in these temps so far this winter. The temp has been dropping all day, it is forecasted to bottom out at -37F tonight, so that will be the real test.

.

Click to expand...

I would call that some proper extreme cold! Where do you live?

Minnesota

Reactions: 1

Dantrium

Discussion Starter · #7 · Jan 29, 2019

Calidave said:
”
Many thanks, very interesting. Do you attribute your typical ~177 mile range to cooler winter temps as well (or mix of driving style, etc.); whereas folks in warmer climes are seeing 200?

“Is part of the take-away here also that the I-Pace remains suitable for some daily / local commuting even in extreme cold (while EVs with less capacity might be knocked out)?”

Yes, I’m sure it is the temps. My overall driving ‘style’ is rated at 97% on the car, so there isn’t much I can do to get better fuel efficiency. The consumption has been very consistent in the 3600 miles I’ve driven the car and goes up and down with the temp.

“Is part of the take-away here also that the I-Pace remains suitable for some daily / local commuting even in extreme cold (while EVs with less capacity might be knocked out)?”

Suitability is an individual decision. I imagine anyone could make anything work, but it would be dependent on how hard they want to try.

I personally really like the convenience of an ICE vehicle that I know can go 200 miles even when it is super cold, it only takes a couple minutes to add another 200 miles and you can do it without worry because gas stations are plentiful! ?

I’m learning to live with the short-comings of a BEV, but I still don’t like them!?

Reactions: 2

phila

· #8 · Jan 29, 2019

I would be very careful with leaving that thing outside and unplugged for extended periods of time in such cold climates. EVs are great, but they are more made for the California winters, not the Minnesota ones. Glad you have a heated garage

Dantrium

Discussion Starter · #9 · Jan 29, 2019

phila said:
I would be very careful with leaving that thing outside and unplugged for extended periods of time in such cold climates. EVs are great, but they are more made for the California winters, not the Minnesota ones. Glad you have a heated garage [img= class=inlineimg]/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif[/img]

I normally do not plug it in when it is outside, I do it today just to see how it behaved. I would like to see if there is much difference when I go from -20F to -37F. I do not think it will change much

sgtpeper

· #10 · Jan 29, 2019

In Denver today it was about 25-30 F when I took the car out.

I drove up to the Genessee area which was probably a good 1k-1500 in elevation change.

I started the day with 100% charge and 217 miles on the GOM. I drove a total of 30 miles and now show 151.

The whole way up it was still showing around 200. When I went in to show the first home and came out 10 minutes later it had dropped to 155 miles of range.

I also show I used 19% of the charge.

Meldev##44

· #11 · Jan 29, 2019 (Edited)

Having some way of monitoring the battery temperature would be a nice option.

I was hoping someone would start this topic, and they did.

Dantrium

Discussion Starter · #12 · Jan 29, 2019

Meldev##44 said:
Having some way of monitoring the battery temperature would be a nice option.

I would also like the ability to see actual battery capacity versus a percentage.

Reactions: 1

Dantrium

Discussion Starter · #13 · Jan 29, 2019

Quick, unplanned trip. Car has not been plugged in, no preconditioning. Left the heated garage (62F) for a quick trip... I’m honestly impressed with this 79.4kWh/100miles. On an earlier trip of ~2 miles I was at 110kWh/100miles

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jsimon7777

· #14 · Jan 29, 2019

In a much warmer climate, averaging in the 60s recently, our car turned on with 210 miles left. That's after driving it hard and putting it away wet.

Reactions: 1

Dantrium

Discussion Starter · #15 · Jan 30, 2019

2

No appreciable difference in predicted range in -34F vs -22F.

I again left the garage with 100% charge, but no preconditioning. I did not plug it in outside today and without turning off my preprogrammed preconditioning time to run an hour later, the remote climate ran for 30 minutes.

Current outside temp is -29F and the car shows 96% charge with a 93 mile range.

I expect both those numbers to drop quickly once I get in the car to leave...

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phila

· #16 · Jan 30, 2019

That is really cold, like really, really cold...I wonder how a 24kwh Nissan Leaf would cope in those conditions

WattAJag

· #17 · Jan 31, 2019

You guys will really love it in the summer!! Don't get spoiled and forget "reality" next Nov.

sciencegeek

· #18 · Jan 31, 2019

Dantrium said:
No appreciable difference in predicted range in -34F vs -22F.

I again left the garage with 100% charge, but no preconditioning. I did not plug it in outside today and without turning off my preprogrammed preconditioning time to run an hour later, the remote climate ran for 30 minutes.

Current outside temp is -29F and the car shows 96% charge with a 93 mile range.

I expect both those numbers to drop quickly once I get in the car to leave...

Wow you guys are really getting hammered up there. Good thing it will warm up to a balmy 20F on Friday >

Yikes you're a serious EV pioneer if your first months of ownership are under those conditions!
Great that you're having a good attitude about it. <100 mile range is just fine for daily use for most of us ...

ryzvy

· #19 · Jan 31, 2019

@Dantrium Did you notice any drop in battery charge when you parked it outside in the cold? It was pretty cold (for DC) last night, about 9 degrees, and I noticed my battery dropped from 85% at 11 PM last night to 76% at 9 AM this morning. Maybe the car used the charge to keep the battery warm? I did run the climate for about 15 minutes this morning to heat the interior before checking the charge. I then took a 30 min ride (4 miles) in 12 degree weather and my consumption was 86.6 kWh/100 mi. I had the climate running for the whole time.

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Dantrium

Discussion Starter · #20 · Jan 31, 2019

ryzvy said:
@Dantrium Did you notice any drop in battery charge when you parked it outside in the cold? It was pretty cold (for DC) last night, about 9 degrees, and I noticed my battery dropped from 85% at 11 PM last night to 76% at 9 AM this morning. Maybe the car used the charge to keep the battery warm? I did run the climate for about 15 minutes this morning to heat the interior before checking the charge. I then took a 30 min ride (4 miles) in 12 degree weather and my consumption was 86.6 kWh/100 mi. I had the climate running for the whole time.

My car has only done that to me once, in which it lost a significant stated SOC parked, without using any preconditioning/remote climate. On a normal day it will sit outside for 5-10 hours and will only show a drop in SOC (~5%) after the remote climate has run.

Yesterday after sitting out for ~6 hours with the temp of -22F, I averaged ~114kWh/100 miles on a 3 mile trip with average speed of 19mph...

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