Optimum garage temperature for your EV

[GetOffYourGas]

My Bolt salesman, who was well informed, told me to plug the Bolt in whenever ambient temperatures are below 32° and above 90.° Plus, put it in "immediate" charge mode. The first half of his advice is in the manual (page 231): "It is recommended that the vehicle be plugged in when temperatures are below 0°C (32°F) and above 32°C (90°F) to maximize high voltage battery life." Note the manual doesn't say anything about immediate charge mode, but as my experience is that is necessary for the battery conditioning to work.

To be clear, this precludes the use of Time-Of-Use charging or Departure Time charging, right? I hope this isn't true, as I don't want to be charging immediately just to have the car sit all night / day with a full battery. BUT I want the car to use as much shore power as necessary to keep the battery at a happy/healthy temperature.

 

[plj]

To be clear, this precludes the use of Time-Of-Use charging or Departure Time charging, right? I hope this isn't true, as I don't want to be charging immediately just to have the car sit all night / day with a full battery. BUT I want the car to use as much shore power as necessary to keep the battery at a happy/healthy temperature.

Yes, my salesman made that point clear, and my experience on a hot day confirmed that. In California, those hot hours are peak power consumption hours, and I would I would prefer not to be consuming power. Nonetheless, I want to protect my Bolt's battery, and I set my charge rate a 8 Amps and plug in my Bolt on hot (and cold) days.

I wish there was a way to tell the car to use the plug for battery thermal management only (that is, don't charge the battery). But perhaps that's too much of a nuance for many customers. Just how complex shall Chevy make the car? (Sort of like the Apple / Windows debate...) Me? I would like more control and information...