Warm an EV before driving off?

Shel_B

Shel_B

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Many of us warm up our ICE cars before driving off when the weather is cold and sometimes a short bit even when the weather is warmer.

Is there any need to do something similar with an EV? Might there be a need to get the battery to a good operating temperature, or perhaps drive easily in cold weather for a while until the motors or other systems get warmer?

What do the EV owners here do?
 
Not necessary. They may be already be programmed to do that automatically.

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Shel_B said:
Many of us warm up our ICE cars before driving off when the weather is cold and sometimes a short bit even when the weather is warmer.

Is there any need to do something similar with an EV? Might there be a need to get the battery to a good operating temperature, or perhaps drive easily in cold weather for a while until the motors or other systems get warmer?

What do the EV owners here do?
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Use the charger to warm the battery and cabin so its 68 degrees in the cabin when I drive away at 6am.
 
Shel_B said:
Many of us warm up our ICE cars before driving off when the weather is cold and sometimes a short bit even when the weather is warmer.

Is there any need to do something similar with an EV? Might there be a need to get the battery to a good operating temperature, or perhaps drive easily in cold weather for a while until the motors or other systems get warmer?

What do the EV owners here do?
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I run scheduled climate control. It gets the interior up to temp and heats the battery pack a bit. All good things.
 
There are ways to program a scheduled time to leave. It will turn on climate control and precondition the battery. The battery part might be somewhat important in that it prepares the battery to safely receive a faster charge from regenerative braking.

Climate control can be turn on and/or adjusted through the Tesla app. It might be a good idea if it's parked outside where the windows are frosted. My dad actually called me up asking how to turn on the front and rear window defrosters since he didn't quite know how to navigate through the menu options. However, the app (which my dad can barely understand) has a way to turn climate control on/off, change the temp setting, vent the car, defrost the car (but not individual front/rear defrost, as well as a camp mode and dog mode setting. Not sure exactly what defrost car does. I suppose turning on the heated seats could be nice if it's outdoors.

All this stuff can be turned on just a few minutes before leaving, but it's nice to have all of it available through the app rather than having to go to the car and either wait or get back indoors.
 
Doing all that stuff in advance isn't really a new thing. I remember a commercial for a GM car that showed a family arriving at an airport and using some sort of controls to start the car and make sure it was warm well before they got to the car. The car itself was parked on the top floor of a garage and there was snow. It was over a decade ago and probably before cars were connected to apps. I think it had some sort of remote with a long range.
 
Occasionally I’ll use the climate precondition feature on the Volt for my comfort if it’s super hot or cold outside.

But no I don’t warm it up. My commute is basically immediately full throttle to merge on the highway, exit two minutes later, and then I’m pretty much at work. Or I can take slower streets if I’m trying to be efficient that day.
 
I turn the heat on as I walk out to the vehicle, does that count? I’m only really worried about my comfort. The car will do what it needs to as I drive it.
 
Why? It has an electric motor. Maybe preheat the cabin for comfort that's about it, unless you plan on beating the hell out of it. Maybe then I'd drive it easy for a few blocks.
 
Shel_B said:
Is there any need to do something similar with an EV?
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Nothing at all. You can beat on it the moment you drive off.

In below freezing temps power may be limited until the battery warms up and many EVs have means to warm the battery pack coolant.
 
demarpaint said:
Why? It has an electric motor. Maybe preheat the cabin for comfort that's about it, unless you plan on beating the hell out of it. Maybe then I'd drive it easy for a few blocks.
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There are assorted things that supposedly could benefit from preconditioning. Especially getting the battery heated for efficient regenerative braking. The Tesla app can be used to set a regular departure schedule. As far I as can tell that’s the only way and there’s no way to set a one time departure time.
 
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y_p_w said:
There are assorted things that supposedly could benefit from preconditioning. Especially getting the battery heated for efficient regenerative braking. The Tesla app can be used to set a regular departure schedule. As far I as can tell that’s the only way and there’s no way to set a one time departure time.
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Right but using the climate control setting also starts the process.
 
Kiwi_ME said:
Nothing at all. You can beat on it the moment you drive off.

In below freezing temps power may be limited until the battery warms up and many EVs have means to warm the battery pack coolant.
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On my Volt preheating off the wall would allow for more battery on the road.

Both the battery heater and cabin heater would run so the windshield would be clear and battery heater off for better driving range.
 
Kiwi_ME said:
Nothing at all. You can beat on it the moment you drive off.

In below freezing temps power may be limited until the battery warms up and many EVs have means to warm the battery pack coolant.
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The battery would heat up under normal usage, right?

I mean, for years we preached "just get into the car and go, just drive lightly until it's warmed up". Well, in this scenario, if you could drive lightly for a couple miles, you might get more range? I mean, unless if your preheating of the battery is done by the wall that you are still plugged into, any preconditioning is taking range anyhow.

Now, if the cold battery can't absorb regenerative braking as good, ok that's a loss. Still, since the regular brakes are there, it's just a loss of range, not a loss of ability.

And just how much of full tilt is lost from having a cold battery? I thought most of these EV's had stupid fast 0-60. Eroding that is likely zero change to most of the driving public, especially those who love to merge onto the highway as slow as they can.
 
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