Chicago Winter: 1 - EVs: 0

[RayinAK]

Originally Posted by OutdoorLover

Hi Ray - agree with everything you say, including that if you have a Level 2 charger at home and the car is at home, you don't need to go through this scenario. I do think there are real world scenarios for this test - for example you are traveling and park overnight at any kind of lodging without an available "destination charger", or you park at the airport and can't leave it on the charger for your whole trip, for example...

That is true. Numerous scenarios come into play, since every driver is doing his own driving, just like we do when driving ICE automobiles. But since EV driving is sort of a recent thing, some drivers aren't experienced enough with this driving concept. For example, I have watched a few videos of EV drivers complaining about their EV's taken a very long time to charge-even when connected to the fast charging stations, without realizing the battery internal temperature is one of the factors involved. In this case, the problem rests with the driver, not the EV. Driving ICE automobiles versus EVs requires a different mindset. The driver in the video know what to do about preheating the battery on the way to the charging station.

The battery can take extreme ambient cold temperatures, but the battery is not being heated automatically all the way along the drive. In extreme cold ambient temperatures the heat pump (s) cannot extract enough residual heat from the cabin to het the battery. All the temperature management system does is to slow down the battery from cooling too far. So in subzero temperatures EV's aren't heating the battery unless the driver chooses to do so (as done by the driver in the video). In this case he scheduled a session of preheating before arriving to the charging station, losing 11% of energy from the battery. The end result was that while the battery lost 11% or its charge to heat the itself, it allowed for a fast charge rate, plus both to heat itself using power from the power station and to heat the cabin, both at the same time the battery was being charged. L2 charges can both heat the battery can cabin at the same time, but as far as I know one can't do that at home if using 115 VAC, because there isn't enough amperage to do both at the same time.

[RayinAK]

Originally Posted by OutdoorLover

Hi Ray - agree with everything you say, including that if you have a Level 2 charger at home and the car is at home, you don't need to go through this scenario. I do think there are real world scenarios for this test - for example you are traveling and park overnight at any kind of lodging without an available "destination charger", or you park at the airport and can't leave it on the charger for your whole trip, for example...

Yes, you are correct. Those who charge at home overnight in a warm garage, even if they don't have L2 charge stations, should not have too much problems. But if parked outdoors during a cold winter, or even at work, L2 and above would make things a lot easier. It seems that parking at the airport during extreme cold or hot temperatures could be problematic for some. The same can be said about multi-apartment dwellers who park in the street. I watched a video that shows the reasons why people living in the multi apartment buildings in NYC aren't buying EVs. These people park in the streets, and have to juggle for parking several times per day. In the video numerous kinds of electric bikes and bicycles are shown. Tenants can take the bicycles to their apartments-if elevators are available. Then they can remove the battery pack, and plug it to the outlet.