Hot Garage

[Airbesar]

My situation is that we park under the house on a concrete slab with the sun never hitting the car or around it and a wall or two preventing hot air from blowing in much when the temp is high. So I'm probably in the wrong thread, except that the discussion is relevant to the question of whether the car conditions the battery when not plugged in, or not set for charging, or when the SOC is more than 30%. And even if I'm not in an overly hot garage, those questions are relevant for me because Sacramento has highs over 100 several times a year - 108 a few times this year.

However, this is in the Ask Chevrolet category. I wish we could get some official word from Chevrolet that resolves these questions on how the car works.

 

[plj]

A EV buddy told me that early Teslas would use a lot of power for battery conditioning, and sometimes owners would find their car that had been sitting for a long time had exhausted its battery. They complained, and Tesla re-programmed the battery conditioning. (Mind you, this discussion is only hearsay.) Perhaps Chevy realized that they needed to limit the amount of battery energy used in battery conditioning. So, it seems likely the car needs to be plugged in and in immediate charge mode for battery conditioning to occur.

 

[devbolt]

You do not have to have the car plugged in for battery conditioning to take place in hot weather. At least two posters on this board have talked about this. They reported that during a hot weather spell, their energy consumption screen reported a certain percentage was used for “conditioning”. Remember, this is the screen that shows how much power you’ve used since the last full charge. It doesn’t report power drawn from the wall for heating/cooling the pack, or anything, for that matter. Just how much power you used for driving, climate control/accessories, and battery conditioning.

 

[gpsman]

You do not have to have the car plugged in for battery conditioning to take place in hot weather. At least two posters on this board have talked about this. They reported that during a hot weather spell, their energy consumption screen reported a certain percentage was used for “conditioning”. Remember, this is the screen that shows how much power you’ve used since the last full charge. It doesn’t report power drawn from the wall for heating/cooling the pack, or anything, for that matter. Just how much power you used for driving, climate control/accessories, and battery conditioning.

Maybe you mis-understood.

The car has to be either:

A) be plugged in for battery conditioning, and this power does not get recorded since it did not come out of the battery

B) be turned on, aka "Ready" with the green car icon lit, driving, or not driving, the green icon needs to be on, and this power consumption does get recorded since it came out of the battery

I've never seen it use battery power while parked. It would be very very unwise, impractical, and illogical to have it consume battery power while "turned off" and unattended by a human being. I would not expect any car to do this. I would not want any car to do this. Pretty darn near certain the Chevy Bolt will not do this.

 

[devbolt]

You do not have to have the car plugged in for battery conditioning to take place in hot weather. At least two posters on this board have talked about this. They reported that during a hot weather spell, their energy consumption screen reported a certain percentage was used for “conditioning”. Remember, this is the screen that shows how much power you’ve used since the last full charge. It doesn’t report power drawn from the wall for heating/cooling the pack, or anything, for that matter. Just how much power you used for driving, climate control/accessories, and battery conditioning.

Maybe you mis-understood.

The car has to be either:

A) be plugged in for battery conditioning, and this power does not get recorded since it did not come out of the battery

B) be turned on, aka "Ready" with the green car icon lit, driving, or not driving, the green icon needs to be on, and this power consumption does get recorded since it came out of the battery

I've never seen it use battery power while parked. It would be very very unwise, impractical, and illogical to have it consume battery power while "turned off" and unattended by a human being. I would not expect any car to do this. I would not want any car to do this. Pretty darn near certain the Chevy Bolt will not do this.

If the car is plugged in and battery conditioning has to take place, the energy required to do that will not be recorded on the Energy screen. The Energy screen is only for showing power that is drawn from the battery, not the wall, and certainly not while plugged in.

User iankh in the thread http://www.mychevybolt.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=6173 posted this:

I thought I'd provide an update since it's been a while.

I'm still commuting every week from Palm Springs to Carlsbad and topping up in Carlsbad has not been a problem, In theory, my Bolt, Faraday, says he's got enough juice for the return trip, but I still prefer to top up. Not quite sure why the 2 DC Fast sources I use, Chargepoint and EVgo only allow a top up to 80%. What's behind that.

Today it's a chilly 104F here and will be up around 108F when I next make the journey. Fortunately, it's not that hot when I leave at 4:00 AM. On the way back, it's pretty cool by the coast and doesn't start to warm up until I hit Hemet. I am wondering how the AC is going to impact my range?

Also, last week, here in Palm Springs, something new appeared in the energy usage, "Conditioning". What's that about? I thought that applied to cold weather. It has only happened when I've parked outside in a parking lot, and only when it's been about 100F or so.

Another user here reported that they bought their car from out of state during winter and had it shipped cross country. The car was fully charged when it left the dealer in CA. When the poster got the car, he saw that some had been used for conditioning during the trip:

http://www.mychevybolt.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=5907&hilit=Battery+conditioning+%25&start=10#p17759

All I can tell you is this:
I bought my car in CA. Shipped to Ne. Took 4 days. Salesperson charged the car to full before it was shipped. Went through Colorado and Wyoming in 1st week of January. It was cold. When I received the car when looking at the energy screen it had used "battery condition" for a certain percentage. So to me it must use the "battery conditioning" while unplugged if cold enough.

 

[EldRick]

So to me it must use the "battery conditioning" while unplugged if cold enough.

That is correct. It will warm the battery if necessary to protect it. Battery power will also be used to try to cool the battery when it is too hot. Chevy does not want to you have to cash in on the battery warranty just because you live in Sacramento or Minnesota.

 

[gpsman]

This is INCORRECT.

The car MUST be plugged in, OR in the "ready" (on) condition to warm or cool the battery.

It's in the user's guide. "Always plug in when cold weather is forecasted."
While not specifically spelled out, it's in the my Chevy App. "send me text message reminder to plug in when cold". YES / NO

Everything else is folklore.

-John

So to me it must use the "battery conditioning" while unplugged if cold enough.

That is correct. It will warm the battery if necessary to protect it. Battery power will also be used to try to cool the battery when it is too hot. Chevy does not want to you have to cash in on the battery warranty just because you live in Sacramento or Minnesota.

 

[GetOffYourGas]

This is INCORRECT.

The car MUST be plugged in, OR in the "ready" (on) condition to warm or cool the battery.

It's in the user's guide. "Always plug in when cold weather is forecasted."
While not specifically spelled out, it's in the my Chevy App. "send me text message reminder to plug in when cold". YES / NO

Everything else is folklore.

-John

So to me it must use the "battery conditioning" while unplugged if cold enough.

That is correct. It will warm the battery if necessary to protect it. Battery power will also be used to try to cool the battery when it is too hot. Chevy does not want to you have to cash in on the battery warranty just because you live in Sacramento or Minnesota.

That is your interpretation, and not what is actually stated. Others have claimed that the car will condition the battery while unplugged down to a 30% SoC. If that second statement is true, it still explains both the user guide and the chevy app - you don't want to let the battery run down and then be left with a discharged car AND an unmanaged battery.

 

[gpsman]

While I concede it is possible to heat/cool while left unplugged and unattended, it is not documented anywhere, and when Chevy is asked the simple, direct question, they are elusive.
Chevy has said clearly, and repetatively, "plug in to condition the battery in both hot and cold conditions".

They have also stated the car will work, but in reduced capacity, down to negative 40 degrees without battery conditioning.

They have also stated the supplied 120 VAC EVSE will supply enough power for battery conditioning.
And that is all they have said.

So to me, the "conditioning" is all about optimizing performance, and is not really a requirement.

Off topic note:

I also own a first generation Ford Hybrid with NiMH battery pack. It has a plug-in 120 VAC battery heater. (Cooling only occurs from the belt driven A/C.)
This heater was eliminated in second and third generation vehicles, not even available as an option in Canada and Alaska, as it was field proven to be unnessesary.

 

[plj]

I have some evidence that the vehicle cools the battery. The myChevrolet app reports that its lifetime efficiency is 3.3 mi/kWh (at around 3000 miles) , and its efficiency is typically greater than 4 mi/kWh. (That lifetime efficiency has been increasing, tho I don't know what it used to be.)

My car was built in October 2016, and I bought it in July 2017. It sat in California's Central Valley. I bought it with 40 miles on the odometer. (I didn't notice the build date until after I bought the car. I encourage other buyers to look at the build date, on the driver door jamb. )

Algebra shows the efficiency in those first 40 miles was 0.24 mi/kWh, or 167 kWh was used in those 40 miles.

Hence, I believe that much of the battery used in in those 40 miles and 9 months was for battery conditioning.

 

[plj]

My solution to keeping the battery cool in a hot garage is to use a "Lux WIN100 Heating & Cooling Programmable Outlet Thermostat" ($38) which I set to turn on when the temperature is above 90 degrees F. I plug the GM 110V EVSE into that and the car. I set the car to "Immediate Charge," at 8 amps.

When the temperature is above 90, the Lux turns the current on, and the Bolt shows charging via the green dash indicator. As the garage cools off at night, the Lux turns off the current, stopping the charging.

On a 90+ day, I opened the hood and felt the coolant hoses. Indeed, some are hot, telling me the car is cooling the battery.