Heating impact on charge / range?

[JohnnyForensic]

The questionable trip will be from our house in Chicago to our vacation home in Door County, WI. The total drive, door-to-door, is 257 miles. There is an EA charging station in Milwaukee that we normally stop at and put us back up to about 80% or just over even in the warmer months that puts the longest leg (Milwaukee to Door County) at about 177 miles. On our way up, we are going to stay the night somewhere about halfway up to charge and then go on the rest of the way, but then coming home from that trip, we are planning to just go from Door County to the EA charging in Milwaukee. The majority of the drive is 70 MPH posted speed limit, so I try to stay at 70 or even just under because going over 70 really does noticeably degrade the range on these trips. We do have the AWD Extended Range, but the (not-so) trusty ol' Guess-o-meter has had us floating around the 210 mile mark for a full charge now that it has gotten cold here in Chicago, so I am worried that with the speed and the use of E-Heat, going that 177 miles could be a bit tight.

I would be very surprised with a 4X that 177 will be a problem if you leave at 100%, even with e-Heat. If it's set to something reasonable (68-70), I think you'd be absolutely fine. Let us know on the other side of the trip!

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[RickMachE]

Dog won't care about the cold.

Remember, that if you drive slower, you will use less energy. Based on the trip up, you can know what you will be using, and do the math. And then slow to 65 and compare, and then maybe 60.

On a trip this summer, we were running low, and the recommendation was to drive at 55 to conserve (from the car).

 

[bellyer]

Thanks, all! I definitely appreciate the help here.

 

[ReelSweet]

Dog won't care about the cold.

Remember, that if you drive slower, you will use less energy. Based on the trip up, you can know what you will be using, and do the math. And then slow to 65 and compare, and then maybe 60.

On a trip this summer, we were running low, and the recommendation was to drive at 55 to conserve (from the car).

Recommendation from the car? How did it tell you that?

 

[RickMachE]

Something to the effect of (and I am paraphrasing):

"Dude, you had better slow down to 55 if you expect to make it to the next charger."

At one point, we got a message "you're hosed. Find a plug now, you idiot."

 

[timbop]

I didn't state % difference just the additional battery % used.

With you stated efficiency of 2.5 mi/kwh with the eheat on and 3.1 with it off, that's a difference of about 20%:

.6/3.1 = .194 (rounded to 3 decimal places)

 

[SashaLondon]

I have found that using the heating on the fan setting 1 and the temp on 21C (about 70F) seems to be a little less energy-hungry than using the auto. Not sure If anyone has similar views?

 

[breeves002]

The car heating system is about a 6 kW resistance heater.

It is a 5kW PTC heater.

Cycling it is not going to save a whole lot of power. Once the cabin is warm at 40ºF it will run at an average of just shy of 1kW to maintain 70ºF cabin temp. This is my experience. If you turn it off and on then it has to heat the coolant back up at high power and then heat the cabin up. Yes, in theory it can save a tiny bit of energy but I honestly think it is near negligible considering how large the pack is. This is not a focus electric.

 

[ReelSweet]

Something to the effect of (and I am paraphrasing):

"Dude, you had better slow down to 55 if you expect to make it to the next charger."

At one point, we got a message "you're hosed. Find a plug now, you idiot."

Something to the effect of (and I am paraphrasing):

"Dude, you had better slow down to 55 if you expect to make it to the next charger."

At one point, we got a message "you're hosed. Find a plug now, you idiot."

 

[jgillmer]

As others have posted, the heater, if left on, will burn about 6 kW per hour driving. When I'm alone, I just use heated seats and wheel with the occasional defrost when windows fog. With people in the car (and assuming you don't want to freeze them out), just plan on an extra charging/bathroom break stop along the way.

 

[alexgorod]

Follow a big truck.
But you probably already know this.

 

[Mach-Lee]

Here, I modeled the cold weather range the best I could. This assumes about 1.5 kW of heat being used to maintain the cabin temp.

As others have posted, the heater, if left on, will burn about 6 kW per hour driving. When I'm alone, I just use heated seats and wheel with the occasional defrost when windows fog. With people in the car (and assuming you don't want to freeze them out), just plan on an extra charging/bathroom break stop along the way.

It will use more like 1-2 kW/hr unless you are well below 0ºF. Heater doesn't stay at full output for long.

 

[Billyk24]

L2 charger exists in Sturgeon Bay and at Manitowac along your route. 15 minute stop could net you 5 miles of range. Wisconsin has not spent their VW settlement charger funds yet and it makes ev driving more dificult.

 

[bellyer]

L2 charger exists in Sturgeon Bay and at Manitowac along your route. 15 minute stop could net you 5 miles of range. Wisconsin has not spent their VW settlement charger funds yet and it makes ev driving more dificult.

Yup, there are a few good ones in Sturgeon Bay and a few that aren't so great. The L2 charging would not be ideal, especially, since the stop for a little extra range would be on the leg of our trip heading back down to Chicago (or the EA in Milwaukee), so stopping in Sturgeon Bay for a top up like 20-30 minutes after leaving our place In Baileys Harbor just feels a little silly. Sheboygan or Manitowoc, I guess pulling off at a L2 charger could make a little sense if we pull off for a sit down lunch or something. I have been begging EA and a few other companies to place a DC Fast Charging stop somewhere along I-43 in the Green Bay/Sheboygan/Manitowoc areas, but I just keep getting a "Thanks. We will consider it." sort of canned response.

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