[Hobbit1066]

in the week ive owned the car its been little short trips to shops and back. Today i decided im leaving the bike in the garage and taking the car
-1C , thankfully the Niro had zero ICE but the other was fully encrusted.
having not used the heater yet was interesting to say the least - either blew my head off or like a fly passing wind, thankfully sussed it.
through the town on to the motorway - right lets see whats what - cruise on why are you fighting me - oooooooooohhhhhhhh not sure i like that or not - return trip shall tell.
heated seat on , heater on when i need it (man it kills the range) even turning the speed up the fan.
so far its seems as Economical as say my bike in terms of percentage of range used.
bike roughly does 240/260 to a tank (£30 to fill), so far the Niro has used 17% to cover half the daily commute of 96miles meaing full charge is looking to be close to 250 miles even on the motorway , plus side i didnt feel like an icicle when i got to work lol.

 

[Todor]

250miles at -1C, I would say that is good. For comfort and ease.

Anyway, enjoy the car, it will do the job of commuting with ease.

I just did some calculations and your fillup is £30 vs £8. /Smug face

 

[Richard Wood]

Couple of points:
1. There's a lot more energy in the top end of the battery than the bottom - as the voltage drops (405V down to 320V-ish) - the percentage relates to amp-hours (180Ah) not kilowatt-hours (64kWh). Only 40-50% = 6.4kWh - top 10% = about 7.2kWh, bottom 10% maybe 5.9kWh.
2. Much increased drag and rolling resistance compounded by higher electrical resistance in the battery are the big range killers at low temperatures. After the initial heavy draw, the heater settles down to around 500W (UK temps). Try also running at lower cabin temperatures but with heated seat on low - takes less overall. Once the ambient temperature gets above 10-12°C, things improve dramatically.

 

[Hobbit1066]

Couple of points:
1. There's a lot more energy in the top end of the battery than the bottom - as the voltage drops (405V down to 320V-ish) - the percentage relates to amp-hours (180Ah) not kilowatt-hours (64kWh). Only 40-50% = 6.4kWh - top 10% = about 7.2kWh, bottom 10% maybe 5.9kWh.
2. Much increased drag and rolling resistance compounded by higher electrical resistance in the battery are the big range killers at low temperatures. After the initial heavy draw, the heater settles down to around 500W (UK temps). Try also running at lower cabin temperatures but with heated seat on low - takes less overall. Once the ambient temperature gets above 10-12°C, things improve dramatically.

Once I got warm I had heater off and seat on 1 - thanks for the info

 

[JDleaf]

Wasn’t clear if you did this or not, but if you do a preheat while it’s plugged in before you leave, you'll be smiling even more!

 

[Edd Beesley]

Once I got warm I had heater off and seat on 1 - thanks for the info

Yep seat on 1, steering wheel on, then the cabin temp you can set to 19C, driver only if it's just you (or you don't like your kids so much) and you'll be comfy.

 

[Electrickery]

It's always amazed me just how inefficient bikes are compared to cars, I know they are built for speed and high revs, but relative to size / weight they don't seem particularly frugal!

 

[Hobbit1066]

It wasn’t plugged in at all was just sat on the drive waiting to go - I’m guessing then if I warm it up whilst charging I won’t need to worry about heaters or seats - sooooo much to learn

It's always amazed me just how inefficient bikes are compared to cars, I know they are built for speed and high revs, but relative to size / weight they don't seem particularly frugal!

my other bike is worse 90miles to 3gallon if I ride like I stole it - air cooled 1.7tr lol , the V4 does that range regardless of riding style - it’s the bike the fuzz used to use

 

[SoulGW]

Pre-condition pre-condition pre-condition.

Little tip - when the car is plugged in and you are about to leave, use the app to set internal temp to 27 or so degrees.

if left for about 15 min like that, not only will every window be frost free, but all the internal plastics (seats, wheel, carpets, everything) will be warm. Then I set off and turn off the heater. (Bear in mind that if you set the heater to 21, the car will use energy to drop all the heat you've put in the car back out with air con! - so make sure you turn the heater OFF)

So wait until you feel a bit cool, then turn on the heated seat and wheel, and then when you still feel cool, turn on the heater at 22deg. You may well have done 5 or 10 miles by this point, but then have the fan on low, the heater on 21 / 22 deg and you'll not only be super comfy, but you won't have used any range at all up in heating the car until you flick on the heater.

 

[Hobbit1066]

I’m guessing then that when I wake up go plug car in and do this ? I don’t charge it that often tbh it’s a week in to ownership, playing with I figured the seat doesn’t deplete the range as much as the heater, so I left it on level 1 and stayed comfy that way. Got
To
Figure the heater out so I can properly use it and not watch 20miles vanish at a
Button push lol

 

[Hobbit1066]

as I work shifts and our offices offer rudimentary charging 3pin plug I’m assuming I can use this when at work to warm it up before heading home to sleep ?

 

[Edd Beesley]

I mean you can, but you're worrying about pennies in a car that cost £35,000.

 

[Hobbit1066]

I mean you can, but you're worrying about pennies in a car that cost £35,000.

Not really it’s more my comfort at 6am after 9hrs at work lol

 

[Todor]

Not really it’s more my comfort at 6am after 9hrs at work lol

Sorry, meant to answer your earlier statement.

But the car doesn't need to be connected so that you can pre-heat. Your pre-heat will draw from the battery obviously, but again, you will have to judge how important is your comfort for you as long as you have the range for your next trip.

 

[SoulGW]

What is your daily commute?

I don’t have a charger at all at home, but I have a Soul (same drivetrain as yours) so I plug a granny plug in at work, and then it easily does home and back to work’s electric in the day whilst plugged in (in fact does it in about 2-3 hrs).

So I preheat not plugged in. If your commute is such that home and back to work will exceed the amount the 3 pin can do at work (2.3kw for say 8hrs is about 16kw - more than enough for many people’s commute) plug in when you get home, set the timer to allow charging between say 2am and 10am - then you will be pre-heating off the mains.

Give us more info about your daily use and we can give more tips. But remember the golden rule

ABC

Always
Be
Charging.....

 

[prawlin]

@SoulGW I would caution against setting your preheat to the max temperature of 27°C. There have been some reports of burnout of the PTC heater element. This causes major hassles getting it repaired under warranty. Of course you should be able to operate the heater controls any which way you like, but myself I wouldn’t tempt fate in this way, bearing in mind the known failures. You may be increasing the risk of the resistive heater failing. I would just leave it on Auto at desired temperature, say 21°C. (there was also a reported instance of the side window glass cracking during a preheat!)

@Hobbit1066 on your first post, There is little you need to learn with the CC heater system. Simply leave it on full auto and set the temperature knob (which is thermostatic) to your desired comfort temperature. The CC system will get you to that temperature automatically and as efficiently as possible. The powerful fan will very soon gradually reduce and I doubt your head will fall off In the mean time .
Peter

 

[SoulGW]

Thank you - I think I’ll set it about 23 then, it’s a good point.

 

[PS54321]

We made our first all D/C run yesterday about 120 miles from Norwich to Cambridge and back on the A11/14. Cruising at 70 mph average 3.6m/Kw. A/C and heat on all the time as it has been since we got the car last July, set at 22c.

Turning the heat on and off? Really? Sod that!

 

[prawlin]

We made our first all D/C run yesterday about 120 miles from Norwich to Cambridge and back on the A11/14. Cruising at 70 mph average 3.6m/Kw. A/C and heat on all the time as it has been since we got the car last July, set at 22c.

Turning the heat on and off? Really? Sod that!

Completely agree. The heat virtually turns itself off anyway once you reach the desired temperature. Pointless turning it off. Plus some cabin ventilation is healthy and good. Winter or summer just leave it on full auto and set your desired temperature. The car will look after literally everything else. It will heat or cool and dehumidify fully automatically. Peter.

 

[Hobbit1066]

thanks for all the replies - its not quite the same as my gulag sucking megane, im pretty hardy as i ride in sub zero temps 90% of the time and probably will do next round of shifts.
i commute 96miles a day mostly duals and motorways its varied on time starts as well from 6am though to 21:00.
i tried the pre heat this morning and it was having absolutely non of it suggesting i may have something set wrong ? it kept telling me the vehicle was unplugged - well durhhhh i knew that LOL, so in the end i grabbed my polar tech and drove to work with heated seat and wheel on and left the heater alone as i was comfortable, still warmer than the bike LOL