Pre-heating the car when still connected to the net

[widodh]

On a Dutch forum some users started to bash on EV's since heating would cost you range.

That is true, so I thought, can't we pre-heat our cars while they are still connected to the grid? This would be nice for the Model S, 10 min before you leave, you could pre-heat the car, or let the AC do it's job, thus saving you much needed energy from the battery.

Wouldn't this be an idea for the Model S?

[dpeilow]

It was done on 90s EVs and it's also done on the LEAF. So most do it and I expect the Model S will be no exception.

[widodh]

Ah, didn't know the LEAF has it. I expect the Model S to have this feature, would be very nice if you could remotely control this via your smartphone. If the car keeps it's 3G/4G connection up all the time, that should be possible.

[Doug_G]

With the current firmware, the Roadster keeps the battery warm while it is plugged in (unless in storage mode).

[vfx]

Yeah, It's too bad the car smarts do not have any control of the interior HVAC. If it did the Scott's SMS device would work on all this.

[ckessel]

It's hard to imagine the preheat/cool is going to save more than a minuscule amount of range. I can see it'd be convenient, but it doesn't seem very relevant to range.

[Doug_G]

It would help the range somewhat in extreme cold, but I think they mainly do it more to keep regen working.

[stopcrazypp]

It's hard to imagine the preheat/cool is going to save more than a minuscule amount of range. I can see it'd be convenient, but it doesn't seem very relevant to range.

Maybe not for the interior, but the battery preheat is pretty important. You drop capacity significantly in the cold, and its not because of heating requirements, but rather the characteristic of batteries. That's why Nissan won't sell their Leaf in certain regions until the cold weather package is out.

[WarpedOne]

2kW for 10 minutes is 330 Wh which is enough for about one mile of driving.
You gain much more by driving a bit less agressive, do one passing less or drive behind another vehicle for a while.

People lack perspective.

[Cobos]

Well it all depends on how cold it is outside. A engine block heater is usually in the 500-1000W range. My experience with cold soaked cars inside a flimsy garage needs at least 2 hours to get just the engine slightly heated. Heating the cabin would have taken another hour I believe. That's from -10C to -15C during the night. So for winter areas the pre-heating is a very usefull feature not to mention a great luxury feature that ties into the 4G connectivity they brag about.

I see this as an essential feature.

Cobos