It should when plugging a timer or starter distance to heat the vehicle and the icebreaking of glass panes 15 to 20 minutes before the departure during the vehicle is connected for not using the battery

It should when plugging a timer or starter distance to heat the vehicle and the icebreaking of glass panes 15 to 20 minutes before the departure during the vehicle is connected for not using the battery

That does sound like a good idea. I have my phone set to wake me up automatically at a different time (or not at all) depending on the day of the week. It would be nice if that was an option available in the Volt to set the computer to have it automatically turn the heater and defroster on whenever you set it for depending on the day of the week. For instance, Mon-Fri at 8am when you leave for work at 8:30am. Of course this only needs to operate when the vehicle is plugged in so it wouldn't require any usable battery power.

That does sound like a good idea. I have my phone set to wake me up automatically at a different time (or not at all) depending on the day of the week. It would be nice if that was an option available in the Volt to set the computer to have it automatically turn the heater and defroster on whenever you set it for depending on the day of the week. For instance, Mon-Fri at 8am when you leave for work at 8:30am. Of course this only needs to operate when the vehicle is plugged in so it wouldn't require any usable battery power.

If it was really done well, the volt could apply adaptive control based on outside environmental conditions. No need to heat as long if it's 50*F out.

Good point. Cars have had digital external thermometers for a long time. All of this stuff is pretty much just a matter of adding a few lines of code to the Volt's computer.

If it was really done well, the volt could apply adaptive control based on outside environmental conditions. No need to heat as long if it's 50*F out.

It would be nice if you could call the vehicle or send it an email or text message or access it's system online to turn on the heat or the air.

Programming the computer to do it daily is okay if you have a regular schedule. I don't use my vehicle on a daily schedule, in fact, I only use it about 2 or 3 times a week so it would be hard to program.

Having thresholds set for activation again is not good in my situation because of the infrequent use. Why have the vehicle waste energy heating and cooling itself if I'm not going to use.

It would be nice if they had different programming capabilities for different individuals.

Well it sounds like all you need to resolve this problem the simplest is a decently powered RF remote on your key chain that could turn on the HVAC system (as well as the options of unlocking/locking the doors, turning the alarm on/off etc. that are included now) at a click (which could just operate on a thermostat). You could have the remote on your night stand for when you wake up in the morning, just turn the HVAC system on a while before you go.

If the solar roof was installed, this system would probably just run as needed throughout the day without being told to. But even without the solar panel, a lot of people who don't drive 20 miles each way to work will still have a lot of unused juice for this type of thing. I don't know how seriously GM is taking the solar panel idea to run the HVAC system like Toyota is, but if they are, all the legwork will be done for this anyway (which isn't much). At that point its just a matter of adding an "activate" button to the remote pretty much.

99% of the time I find myself scraping ice off my car, it is morning, and I'm at home which is within RF range of my driveway when the vehicle will be plugged in. So I think overall, solar panel or not, a remote would relieve most of the temperature hassles people face. I'm sure people in Detroit can appreciate this (except for the auto CEOs because I'm sure they have 10 car garages).

For people who don't have the solar panel thermoregulating their vehicle all the time, the alarm clock type HVAC thing would work for people who are not within RF range of their car during work and really like their car to be all warm and toasty/ice cold for them when they get in.

It should when plugging a timer or starter distance to heat the vehicle and the icebreaking of glass panes 15 to 20 minutes before the departure during the vehicle is connected for not using the battery


Umm... what did he just say?

http://www.motorauthority.com/gallery/2010-toyota-prius/38-10-prius.html

This is out in the 2010 Prius. Notice anything different about an extra button on the remote?

I do notice the A/C button.

With current generation Prius, the fastest way to deplete the battery and run the ICE is to hit the A/C button while stationary.

That said, if it's a plug-in the ICE wouldn't need to run while warming things up.

I do notice the A/C button.

With current generation Prius, the fastest way to deplete the battery and run the ICE is to hit the A/C button while stationary.

That said, if it's a plug-in the ICE wouldn't need to run while warming things up.

Very perceptive of you:)

I am assuming that since you can only turn on the AC, the heater relies on the gas engine still. That's a downer, but I don't believe that is the case in the Volt. The Volt should have a full blown HVAC button.

It would be interesting to see what kind power it consumed to run the AC. With the Volt, there would be quite a bit of juice for AC to run intermittently. I only commute 15 miles a day (7.5 each way), I think there is a good portion of people that won't use the full 40 miles very often that will have left over juice for things like this.

And of course, if you had your Volt plugged in at home, there is unlimited juice for things like this, it should be able to keep your car warm in the winter and cool in the summer if you so choose.

I could be wrong, but i believe the prius uses a heat pump HVAC system. You set an interior temperature, and the system heats/cools as is appropriate. So maby the A/C button works both ways? Conjecture only though. just my .02.

The key chain remote idea is good. My girlfriend has a remote car starter on her Ford Focus. It works quite well, especially in the winter. It's nice to get in a warm car when it's 10 degrees out.

Being able to program a schedule for the car to warm up if, say, it's below 40 out would be nice too. And if the Volt is garaged it would not need a lot of electricity. No matter how cold it is out my garage rarely goes below 32, it's pretty amazing.

But humm....how can we take this to the next level? Maybe have your car "learn" your schedule and if it sees you leave the house every day around 7:30 it could ask you "You appear to drive the car daily Mon-Fri around 7:30am. Would like your Volt to preheat itself (and defrost windows) on cold days?"

It's amazing the amount of computer power in cars now. A car that learns and adapts to your schedule is not that far fetched.

Another idea? The "Chevy Volt" app for your iPhone (or other smart phone)....to let you remotely tell your Volt to "warm up" or "cool down" ....or let you monitor or control other functions. Maybe even track your Volt via GPS if you let your kid borrow it or it's stolen.

If the Volt has a cell or WiFi connection you might even be able to do the above and even connect to the Volts MP3 "hard drive" from your home computer and let you load music or other audio content (recorded talk shows, audio books, ect) from your computer. This might be less important as our handheld devices (phones and ipods) carry our music, calendars and address books, etc. but every Volt should have it's own IPv6 address and able to "talk" to the other devices in our life. :)

I got a little off topic there....but a button on the key fob to warm up your Volt and get the ice off the windshield should be standard I think, especially for a car that will sell in the $30k range...

This ice-zapper would be cool (so to speak) too...and maybe save battery power:
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=ice-tamers

Jeff

GM should go to Lowes or The Home Depot, pick out a few programmable thermostats, dump them on a table with a bunch of engineers sitting around, and ask themselves how they can take those ideas and encorporate them into the Volt.

The center console could be a gateway for drivers to set days and times when they want their vehicle to charge, to pre-heat, etc... Onboard thermometers can detect whether pre-heating is necessary.

If the user selects x time on y day, and it's below z degrees to pre-heat the car, the car should automatically pre-heat.

If the user selects x time on y days to charge the car, the car should automatically charge according to those parameters.

I think the real challenge for GM in the later development stages will be making the car sufficiently smart, or at least, sufficiently "flashable", so that future firmware with smart programming can be easily updated on the Volt, to give owners a car that can get even smarter well after it rolls off the assembly line.

PS: Please include a SDHC reader in the Volt.

GM should go to Lowes or The Home Depot, pick out a few programmable thermostats, dump them on a table with a bunch of engineers sitting around, and ask themselves how they can take those ideas and encorporate them into the Volt.

The center console could be a gateway for drivers to set days and times when they want their vehicle to charge, to pre-heat, etc... Onboard thermometers can detect whether pre-heating is necessary.

If the user selects x time on y day, and it's below z degrees to pre-heat the car, the car should automatically pre-heat.

If the user selects x time on y days to charge the car, the car should automatically charge according to those parameters.

I think the real challenge for GM in the later development stages will be making the car sufficiently smart, or at least, sufficiently "flashable", so that future firmware with smart programming can be easily updated on the Volt, to give owners a car that can get even smarter well after it rolls off the assembly line.

PS: Please include a SDHC reader in the Volt.
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