Cold weather heater usage...measured..kind of

[jmueller065]

Ok its for a Volt and a Leaf:
http://news.fleetcarma.com/2014/01/22/electric-vehicle-heating-chevrolet-volt-nissan-leaf/?utm_source=ElectricVehicles&utm_medium=Gplus&utm_campaign=aux-load

Nevertheless it is a very interesting report of real-world measured data from cars (7375 trips in Leafs, and 4043 trips in Volts).

The money graph:

Since our heater is such an electron monster I would imagine that the FFE graph is closer to the Volt's than the Leafs--at least for colder temperatures. Our A/C is pretty efficient so the right side of the graph may approach or even better the Leafs.

 

[hybridbear]

Has anyone tried grille blocking or other techniques to improve winter efficiency? For both our Fusion Hybrid & Prius this has a big impact. I've even found that for my parents' C-Max Energi that grille blocking reduces how much of a hit the range takes in EV mode due to the heater. Even though the heater loop is located near the back of the engine compartment, blocking the grille in winter reduces how much cold air flows through that part of the engine compartment and thus reduces how hard the electric heater has to work. I'm curious what Focus Electric owners have done.

Our last couple winters have been extremely cold, this past winter was the coldest in about 80 years and 3rd or 4th coldest on record IIRC, and heat will have a big impact on range. We park in a heated underground garage at our apartment so the car would always start warm and the battery would always start warm (underground temps in the winter are usually around 55F, 50F at the coldest when outside temp is -20F). I know that those two factors would mitigate a lot of the range issues in winter, but I'm still curious about how to reduce heater power consumption in winter while still having cabin heat.

 

[michael]

Ok its for a Volt and a Leaf:


Since our heater is such an electron monster I would imagine that the FFE graph is closer to the Volt's than the Leafs--at least for colder temperatures. Our A/C is pretty efficient so the right side of the graph may approach or even better the Leafs.

Actually I'd guess it's somewhere in between. I suspect Volt owners aren't as willing to freeze or swelter as much as are pure EV owners...there's no risk of running out of juice. I know I"m much more careful about the heating/cooling in my FFE than in my Volt.