I drove a Volt today.

Enjoy it while it lasts.

DBCassidy

 

The Volt has an active cooling system, the PIP does not require it because it is a smaller battery and a different type of battery. The Leaf is making some changes.

 

Correction. Both Volt and PiP have active cooling. Volt uses liquid (coolant) but PiP uses air (2 fans). Leaf is passive - nothing is done to regulate temp.

Regular Prius with NiMh also has active air cooling with just one fan.

 

Does PiP also actively cool it's battery while parked in the hot summer sun? What does the PiP's user manual say about this kind of situation?

 

Thanks, I have been meaning to watch it.

 

Yes, housing is a bit less expensive and other living expenses are somewhat moderated by the student population.

There are a few "net zero" builders in the $250-$400k range as well. Austin Energy has a generous rebate program for solar, about $3/watt if you give up your srecs to the city. It is less expensive for the City to expand solar and remote wind through incentives than to build another power plant, as long as they can keep up with the demand growth. New construction homes and condos are using a fraction of the energy than ones built just a decade ago.

We do have property taxes to pay for things like public schools.

 

I don't think PiP actively cool it when it is parked, turned off and plugged in. The manual suggests to avoid it when the battery is full, in order to prolong the battery life. I guess leaving it parked in the sun when the battery is not full isn't that bad.

PiP charging can be set to finish by certain time. So it can be done right before you go home (5pm). It will avoid the full battery at noon (peak heat) as the charging will start at 2pm and finish by 5pm.

 

Unfortunately that would also put the charging closer to peak electricity demand in many areas. Better to charge for a couple of hours in the morning and then complete charging nearer the end of the day.

 

keep in mind that the battery in a PiP is normally not ever "full", even after a full charge from the wall.

I'm surprised that the PiP doesn't actively cool the battery while charging, even with just fans, especially on L2. The charge rate per cell in the PiP seems like it would be higher than the Leaf with 1/4 the number of cells. Does it take longer to charge a PiP in hot weather?

 

Fans help, but if the ambient temperature is high, like daytime in a SW desert, the cooling will be reduced to the narrower temperature gradient. Then, if the fans don't run without the car being on, it can be worse than passive. I expect Toyota engineers considered this, but an active air system can restrict airflow when the battery needs to cool passively.

Being a PHV is the real difference here. The battery likely has a more conservative discharge limit than a BEV, and in times of extreme heat the ICE can kick on earlier to reduce the strain on the battery.

 

Right, a full battery for PiP is around 85%. Avoiding heat at that SOC helps, I guess.

If the battery temp is too hot or too cold, it'll operate like a regular Prius -- EV mode will not be available. I am sure everything is programmed to protect the battery. The suggestions given in the manual are to prolong the battery with external actions that can't be programmed. It looks like they through of everything.

Remote A/C is a standard feature in PiP. If the A/C is started with a remote, it'll stop charging and run the A/C for 5 mins. I guess the charging would continue after that. I am not sure if it will start automatically if the battery gets too hot under the sun.

 

Chevrolet Volt Again Ranks Best in Consumer Reports' Owner Satisfaction Survey - WOT on Motor Trend

 

Thanks for the Clarification.

 

When you are in an emerging technology you always back the Company with the Good Track record who backs the product. In part why I decided on a Prius Hybrid was the 10 years or 150,000 Mile battery warrany. That is secod to none. Honda Hybrid is only 70,000 Miles or 5 Years. What is the Volt warranty. Perhaps 3 years 36,000 miles?

 

The PIP and Leaf had very high marks as well. My wife was a publisher of a magazine, I'll let you on to a little secret. Editorial always makes the case to support the largest advertisers. Moror Trend will never bite the hand that feeds it.

 

It was a consumer reports survey.

 

I listened to Prius Chat for the first time on Apple Podcast. Episode #1 streaming from my phone to my Prius JBL Stereo. Part of the naration was the first gen 3 Hybrids three years later have the same resale value as the consumer paid for the car. making aprofit on your investment in a car purchase is almost unheard of. That is in part to the Reliability Heritage if the Prius, the doubling of gasoline prices in the past 4 years, and the migration of financialy strapped American consumers from Luxury to Reliability and Practiciality. They also mentioned the large amout of people who came from luxury brands to the Prius. Now I'm not predicting the future, but if the past is any indication well the Prius is a Good investment. The Volt value is dropping like a rock in a lake.

 

I think in CARB states like California it is longer.

 

I think you are not taking into consideration the effect of the Federal Tax Credits on the PHEVs, like the PiP and Volt, on the resale values. The Volts are holding value just fine when you account for the credits.


2012 Best Resale Value Awards: Electric Car - Kelley Blue Book

 

John they can take 100 surveys, and pick the one that supports the advertiser. Just saying editorial never bites the hand that feeds it. Also the Volt is so new that if you ask those same consumers in 3 years they will be singing a different song. Autoweek a few years back in Europe Hyundai got a better Customer satisfaction than Porsche for teh first time Porsche lost the #1 spot. When the researcher read the Comments the majority was if the Hyundai broke down and the warranty covered it the client was satisfied. The Porsche owner if the Carrera broke down and the warranty covered it the consumer was ticked his $100, 000 car broke down. He believes it should never have a problem at that price point. Consumer surveys are about expectations more than experiences.