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2 Questions about Heating the Volt

5K views 12 replies 9 participants last post by  David B. Kelting 
#1 ·
1. How much electricity does the rear window defog use? I'm not talking auto defog or front defog, only what's used when i push the button to defog the back window.

2. How much electricity is used during a full 10 minute winter pre-conditioning? Obviously there are some factors here including the setting of the interior temp, outside temp, etc. but let's just say if I have it set to comfort and low seventies in the winter. Ballpark how many miles of range do I lose doing a remote start if not plugged in?

Thanks
 
#2 · (Edited)
1. How much electricity does the rear window defog use? I'm not talking auto defog or front defog, only what's used when i push the button to defog the back window.
If I remember right, it was around 200W - it might have been 400. It certainly eats much less than the main coolant heater.

2. How much electricity is used during a full 10 minute winter pre-conditioning? Obviously there are some factors here including the setting of the interior temp, outside temp, etc. but let's just say if I have it set to comfort and low seventies in the winter. Ballpark how many miles of range do I lose doing a remote start if not plugged in?

Thanks
The theoretical maximum is a little over 1 kWh (10% of the usable battery - likely around 3 miles in that kinds of weather) - 6 kW heater (+fans/seat heater/rear defroster, etc.) * 10 minutes

My usual experience is more like half that, but as you say, it depends on a lot of factors - outside temps as well as settings, and snow on the car will cool things faster and make the heat work harded
 
#4 ·
The theoretical maximum is a little over 1 kWh (10% of the usable battery - likely around 3 miles in that kinds of weather) - 6 kW heater (+fans/seat heater/rear defroster, etc.) * 10 minutes

My usual experience is more like half that, but as you say, it depends on a lot of factors - outside temps as well as settings, and snow on the car will cool things faster and make the heat work harded
Thanks for the quick reply! That's less than I thought actually.

What I'm trying to figure out is if for example I have 15 miles of range left and I have a 10 mile drive home, do I do a remote start or not? Situations like that.

Thanks
 
#7 · (Edited)
1. How much electricity does the rear window defog use? I'm not talking auto defog or front defog, only what's used when i push the button to defog the back window.
Some measurements gathered over the years:
Rear Defrost - 475 watts
Climate, Fan Only, Full (Climate Power: 17%) - 270 Watts
A/C, Eco, LO, Auto (Climate Power: 34%) - 1,535 Watts
A/C, Comfort, LO, Auto (Climate Power: 59%) - 1,875 Watts
Front Defrost, 72F, Auto, Comfort - 1,425 Watts
Heat, HI, Full Fan, Comfort (Climate Power 75%) - 6,250 Watts
Heated Seat Low: 15 Watts - 33% duty cycle (30SecOn/(30+60))
Heated Seat Med: 30 Watts - 60% duty cycle (60SecOn/(60+40))
Heated Seat High: 45 Watts - ??% duty cycle
Sitting in D with foot on brake (0 MPH) - 0 Watts
Creeping forward in L - 400 Watts
Pedal to Floor in Sport Mode for a moment while stopped - 49,405 watts
The High Voltage Battery heater draws 900W from the HVB

So Seats (even on High) are way better than Heat, Fan on High is way better than Defrost, Defrost is way better than Heat.
 
#9 ·
Two of my neighbors have started driving Volts. I noticed today, as I was waiting at the stoplight when leaving for work, that one of my Volt driving neighbors was bundled up with a large coat and gloves for his Volt commute. I think he either wants to save a lot of money on fuel costs, or is highly competitive in Volt Stats. It has been dipping down into the low thirties/high twenties here in Reno this week.
 
#11 ·
I noticed today, as I was waiting at the stoplight when leaving for work, that one of my Volt driving neighbors was bundled up with a large coat and gloves for his Volt commute. I think he either wants to save a lot of money on fuel costs, or is highly competitive in Volt Stats. It has been dipping down into the low thirties/high twenties here in Reno this week.
The suggestion has been made that some people with a heater problem might not realize they have a problem and just think the Volt can't provide heat when in CD Mode.
 
#10 ·
My dodge is to simply pre-heat the cabin with a foot ceramic warmer for awhile before I leave, then I usually make the trip without discomfort.
If I was in a "make it or not" situation - 10 mile drive and not much extra charge, I'd run MM till the car warmed up - about .03 gal of gas or so, maybe twice that if it's truly cold. It does show up badly on your mileage, but...it's still really cheap, and the one time you get nearly 100% of the energy in gasoline, as while the engine is running, it's not only giving you the waste heat, but also charging the battery if it's under threshold....and probably heating that too - and that's a good thing. The battery is more efficient when warm.

Preconditioning rarely works well for me, as I'm off grid solar, and drawing that much power plugged in before the sun has charged the house up isn't good.
And it can't keep up with that 6kw, even with L2 charging. I don't know just why an 800w lowes heater run off shore power can heat the cabin, when the 6kw one takes longer and takes much more power to do it, but it is what it is. I don't know if the reason is that the built in heater is also heating the battery, could be.
 
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