GM Volt Forum banner

The Heat Sure Cut My Range...

11K views 22 replies 20 participants last post by  daryllafferty 
#1 ·
I'd been getting 43+ miles on battery since I got my Volt.

It's been in the high 90's, and I'm using air-conditioning and still driving the same speed...and my mileage has dropped to 32-33! I didn't realize the air-conditioning sucks up that much power.
 
#2 ·
That's quite a hit. On hotter days we usually spend about 3-5 miles on AC. I say spend because it's so worth it :cool: When only one person is in the car we'll only spend a minute or two on Comfort before switching to Eco. With a fully loaded car we usually spend the first 5 minutes on Comfort, switch to Eco and occasionally switch back to Comfort for a few minutes.
 
#3 ·
Been over 100 here and I only use ECO and AUTO fan. I've only noticed 3ish miles extra being used. I used the blue/red arrows to adjust the temp. 73-75 will essentially adjust the fan speed. I point 3 vents toward myself and close the forth. I have a post/thread with pictures of this but simple to understand and *very* effective.
 
#4 ·
Me too.

It's been in the 110's here in Phoenix, and I'm down to about 35 miles range.

This is not bad though. My AC and TMS are running all the time in this weather....
 
#5 ·
Losing power for a week cut into my EV mileage a bit..... Good thing I had the ICE to fall back on, although waiting in line to buy gas is something I hadn't done for more than 40 years.

I'm very grateful to all the power company linemen from as far away as North Dakota who have come to help restore our electric network. Yesterday I passed a long convoy of bucket trucks with "Kansas City Power and Light" logos on the side. At one time, over 350,000 addresses were without power here in the Mountain State. As of 8 PM tonight there are still over 100,000 without power.
 
#7 ·
WVhybrid- we finished up our storm repairs last Monday (Duke Energy), we had crews from all over helping us. KCPand L was one of them in my staging area . So those boys have been away from home repairing storms since last Friday the 29th. My personal best was 18 days in Louisiana when I was still working as a lineman, many contract companies may work 6 months at a time out of town. They should be able to put a hefty down payment on a new Volt when they get home.
 
#6 ·
Also see a big reduction in miles. At night when the temperature drops the milage goes back to normal (45 miles per charge) but during the day if its 100 degrees, I run the fan on HI in comfort mode, and get about 30.
 
#10 · (Edited)
I've needed to run errands over the long holiday in triple digit temps and yes my battery mileage has dropped from a daily average of 43 miles to 35. Granted when I say triple digit temp's I'm talking about temps in the 105 to 110 and having to park the Volt outside in the sun vs garaged between errands as is usually the case with my life style, has taken a big chuck out of my all electric range.

Understand our average temps this time of year in St Louis is about 94 degrees and we've just had 8 straight days of TRIPLE DIGIT temps so this is most likely worst case for many folks.

Last evenin I went out to the garage to check the garage doors and the Volts TMS was running. The temp inside my garage was 98 degrees. That's how far the heat has permeated into our house and tha was after sunset last night.
 
#17 ·
I drove home from the 4th of July holiday this past week. It was in the 90's. I had my AC running + Stereo and I drove 60.2 miles miles before my engine started. So hot + AC + Stereo = 60 mile range for me. (Cuz most of my trip was downhill.) ;-)

Driving habits matter more than AC.
 
#13 ·
Mine too. Put in the new Nano-carbon Suntek window tint. GREATLY reduced the IR hitting all my interior. I plan to do the front window and then figure out how to insulate the roof. My black roof pumps heat straight down through. For the record though, I believe AC in my gas car lost considerable Miles Per Gallon too. When living in Alaska, my mileage dropped down from 19 MPG to 9 MPG that's how cold it is. The gas issue is not much better.
 
#14 ·
I did put a new super wax on the roof hoping to push some of the sun's rays away from that gorgeous, but black absorption roof. Our sun intensity here at 6,000 feet in Colorado is INTENSE. I hope to insulate just below the metal roof skin soon. With nano-carbon window tint, and insulation, I shouldn't even take much of a ding anymore. I can drive on ECO pretty much even in a heat wave.
 
#15 ·
Quick calculation, in my car, I lose about 6 miles in my gas car due to AC needs, and its still hot. I have a black roof on both my gas and EV car. Not sure I'll do that again. In my EV, I lose about the same, EV or Gas mode.
 
#18 ·
It's been hot and humid here in Ottawa (console said outside was 43c (110F) a few times, but usually 33-36c (~95F)) for well over a week and we're getting 60 - 70km per charge with the car in Comfort mode. So we've not noticed any impact.

The biggest hit we've taken is the -40c weather we get for a while in winter. And, yeah, there is some sick symmetry to living in a city that goes from -40c to +40c.
 
#20 · (Edited)
So a couple things seem to help, a remote start while plugged in to a 240 charger before your trip does 2 things, cools the cabin and cools the battery. It seems to help as the wife and I are still seeing estimates in the mid to high 40s.
 
#21 ·
For those that park outside with the Volt plugged in : are you getting a better range by doing one or 2 remote starts in the morning on these 100 + days ?

My round trips are less then 25 miles so I have not tried of keep any data.

I charge when I get home so the battery is long cooled down before leaving the house. The battery may still warm/hot for people using delayed charging.

What temperature can we say we start to see a heat related range hit ?
 
#22 ·
Well we park indoors but the garage temps have been over 100F easily on those days we hit 112-114F. I suspect starting with a cooled battery can do nothing but improve the situation.
 
#23 ·
I have fallen from about 38 to around 33 in the summer heat. But more than the decreased mileage, I notice the NOISE!

When I remote start my car, I can hear it from 20 or 30 feet away, and it sounds as loud as a revving ICE. I'm actually a little embarrassed, that people are thinking, "That electric car isn't so quiet after all".
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top