During our most recent heat wave, I have been using the remote activated A/C in both our Prius Prime (via key fob) and BMW i3-REx via iPhone App. I enjoy the irony of how our efficient, low-carbon cars help us deal with the consequences of global warming. Bob Wilson
Yesterday, I ran the A/C while plugged in to monitor how much grid verses battery consumption took place. Seeing that have such a minor impact to immediately available range was exciting. Keeping the car cool in the summer and warm in the winter while making a quick stop at the grocery store is a nice perk.
I've noticed when I turn on the Climate from my phone while the car is still plugged in it stops charging and uses the battery to run the AC for 10 minutes then takes an additional 20 minutes to re-charge the battery back up to 100%. Anyway, when you are in 100 degree weather with a heat index reaching 110 and it's over 120 inside your car that climate prep is necessary. Sure that 10 minutes only gets it cabin temp down to the low 100s but it's better than 120.
I open the windows before it charges at-not-100 degrees at night. But that's me, and the weather here -- and, and, and I haven't yet figured out how to get the AC to turn on and cool it down when charging. Baby steps. The good news is that I'm getting well over 30+ miles in EV so far, and 15 minutes could save me 15% on my auto insurance.
Yeah, ok. I have AAA and tried to switch to Geico. turns out Geico doesn't give quotes online. You have to request a paper requisition, then after filling that out and mailing it back to them they notify you online what your payment will be. long story short after going through that circus Geico was twice what I'm currently paying AAA.
Just tried the test on a second charger. With my charger at home (JuiceBox 40 Pro), the grid draw took place while the A/C was running. With the ChargePoint station at work, the grid draw didn't begin until after the A/C had finished. In both cases, I started with full battery-pack. The difference I noticed was 3.6 kW verses 3.1 kW. (Home provides more power.) Anyone know what the A/C draw on max is ?
The rates are right: 211 VAC - commercial high voltage because they take two legs of three phase 240 VAC - home high voltage because of the split legs transformer Measuring the A/C load in the middle of a heat wave, I could park the car in 90F, sunny alley, roll down the windows and plug-in. Driving over in HV mode, I could preserve the SOC so the initial charge is close to 100% so topping the battery would be pretty quick. While plugged in, I can set the A/C to max and use the key fob to enable A/C the monitor the JuiceBox metrics. Bob Wilson
