Electric heating - really not very good!

[gobiman]

I've been following the various threads on the PHEV being poor in the cold and the ICE kicking in. Out of curiosity I went out this morning half an hour or so before the school run and turned the car on, cranked up the heating and left it on - still attached to the charging point. The engine didn't kick in (it was only 3 outside) but after half an hour the car was barely any warmer. My thoughts are -
1. The internal combustion engine seems far more efficient at warming the car than the electric heater which, in this particular case, is pants.I'm not sure if this is a generic failing or specific to the PHEV and I do wonder how pure EV owners get on. The only good news is that petrol is generally much quicker than diesel for this. Also those with the GX3 really shouldn't feel short-changed in this area.
2. For me (in central London), this isn't a major issue merely a disappointment. However if I lived in a colder place, I would be pretty hacked off - as I've seen in the posts from Polish Pilot.
3. The literature, whilst not specific, does give the impression that you can pre-heat the car all from the mains, and then jump in a fully charged and toasty warm car and be on your way. The reality is a little different.
I will follow further posts with interest!

 

[maby]

Being attached to the charging point does change the car's behaviour - I'm not sure that it will heat as a result of what you did. You cannot turn the car on in the strict sense while it is plugged up to the mains - this is to protect against driving off with the cable still connected or filling your enclosed garage up with CO.

It certainly will if you turn on pre-heat via the smartphone application and I have gone out on a cold and icy morning to get into a (relatively) warm and ice free car.

 

[jaapv]

On my car at 0 degrees the it is toasty warm within ten minutes ( which is about 4 Kms in the morning traffic.) The ICE will shut down by that time as well. Settings -demist for the first three minutes approx, no aircon, temperature 22, fan three bars, air distribution feet and windscreen.
When driving it down to minus twenty with driving snow last winter I had no complaints.
And yes, I have electric heating, and I do not use preheat.
I think we are seeing an expectations mismatch here.
As mentioned above, you cannot switch the car on with the mains plugged in, so it is no surprise that it did not heat up that way. Use the preheat facility for that purpose.

 

[gobiman]

Thanks - more experimentation required

 

[DrSlackBladder]

I have no complaints regarding the electric heating; both the timed preheat (which is very effective at defrosting) and the normal electric heating (without ICE kicking in). I'd say the PHEV warms up just as quickly as my old BMW 520d. The seat heating isn't as powerful as in the BMW, but this is a welcome change as the BMW seats were often too hot!

 

[maby]

I must say that I'm not aware of any way to engage pre-heat from the controls in the car - if you don't have a smartphone or tablet, you may be in trouble!

 

[tjacobsen]

I have to park in the driveway as the garage is reserved for the Miev and today we had -7 but the pre-heat did it's job clear windows and nice and warm inside the car
met the neighbor who was hard at work with the ice scrape on the windows and engine running and that put an even bigger smile on my face
the only improvement I would ask for, if any, is that the pre-heat could be ran at more than 10 min, let's say 20 .. but the limit is probably set in order to protect some components or the battery so it's more a case of nice to have than must have.

 

[DrSlackBladder]

I must say that I'm not aware of any way to engage pre-heat from the controls in the car - if you don't have a smartphone or tablet, you may be in trouble!

I haven't yet bothered with the app; timed preheats set via MMCS work a treat! I have two timers set for each working day, one before each leg of my commute. During each journey I go into timer settings and choose the next one needed, as only one per day can be active. Very happy with it!

 

[maby]

I must say that I'm not aware of any way to engage pre-heat from the controls in the car - if you don't have a smartphone or tablet, you may be in trouble!

I haven't yet bothered with the app; timed preheats set via MMCS work a treat! I have two timers set for each working day, one before each leg of my commute. During each journey I go into timer settings and choose the next one needed, as only one per day can be active. Very happy with it!

Ah, OK. Can you set an ad-hoc preheat, or does it have to be scheduled on a timer? Some of us who are lucky enough to work from home do not have the predictable life style that fits in with a timer!

 

[DrSlackBladder]

I must say that I'm not aware of any way to engage pre-heat from the controls in the car - if you don't have a smartphone or tablet, you may be in trouble!

I haven't yet bothered with the app; timed preheats set via MMCS work a treat! I have two timers set for each working day, one before each leg of my commute. During each journey I go into timer settings and choose the next one needed, as only one per day can be active. Very happy with it!

Ah, OK. Can you set an ad-hoc preheat, or does it have to be scheduled on a timer? Some of us who are lucky enough to work from home do not have the predictable life style that fits in with a timer!

No, you can't just switch on a preheat without using the timer. But to be honest once you're used to it, it takes only seconds to set.

 

[Sharky]

It has taken me a while but I seem to have sorted something that works for me.

I have my charging on the timer 12 midnight to 6:00pm and heating set on timer at 7:00am this all fits in with my usual working week. I will then set the car to heat again manually 10-15mins before getting in. So far I have had frost free windows and a comfortably warm car to get into. Some times I might use the car before 07:00. So I just tell it to manually warm 10-15 before getting in.

I have had messages on the App that tell me it won't heat, due to not enough charge or that the cycle has been interrupted (me opening a door). If I was worried about reducing my range (which I'm not) I can flick it back to charge to top up anything lost.

For me it all seems to work well, could it be better..... well yes, nothing is perfect but it does work!

 

[maddogsetc]

No, you can't just switch on a preheat without using the timer. But to be honest once you're used to it, it takes only seconds to set.

Actually you can switch it on without a timer, just press the 'climate control on/off' button.

One thing I'm still not clear on though - and the manual is no help at all on this - is whether the defrost setting is just defrost or if it will also warm the cabin? It seems silly to have to choose between heat and defrost on a cold morning unless defrost is actually heat plus defrost. That said, the heat option is not that effective anyway in my experience but defrost is really helpful so I have switched over to defrost as the default option for the winter.

I'd agree with others that the cabin heating is quite effective once on the move (although not so good for rear seat passengers), but only if you are willing to burn a bit of petrol. In fact it seems to me that owners who use the car for very short journeys only (like the chap, can't recall username, who was able to make one charge last a week) are actually going to be stuck with either a cold car or a very inefficient one over the cold months because the car consistently burns petrol every morning for the first few miles or so.

 

[DrSlackBladder]

No, you can't just switch on a preheat without using the timer. But to be honest once you're used to it, it takes only seconds to set.

Actually you can switch it on without a timer, just press the 'climate control on/off' button.

Won't that only work with car "on" and key present though?

 

[jaapv]

No, you can't just switch on a preheat without using the timer. But to be honest once you're used to it, it takes only seconds to set.

Actually you can switch it on without a timer, just press the 'climate control on/off' button.

One thing I'm still not clear on though - and the manual is no help at all on this - is whether the defrost setting is just defrost or if it will also warm the cabin? It seems silly to have to choose between heat and defrost on a cold morning unless defrost is actually heat plus defrost. That said, the heat option is not that effective anyway in my experience but defrost is really helpful so I have switched over to defrost as the default option for the winter.

I'd agree with others that the cabin heating is quite effective once on the move (although not so good for rear seat passengers), but only if you are willing to burn a bit of petrol. In fact it seems to me that owners who use the car for very short journeys only (like the chap, can't recall username, who was able to make one charge last a week) are actually going to be stuck with either a cold car or a very inefficient one over the cold months because the car consistently burns petrol every morning for the first few miles or so.

Well, I would say the hot air coming from the windscreen vents won't just stop there. It will certainly permeate the cabin.

 

[user 422]

No, you can't just switch on a preheat without using the timer. But to be honest once you're used to it, it takes only seconds to set.

Actually you can switch it on without a timer, just press the 'climate control on/off' button.

One thing I'm still not clear on though - and the manual is no help at all on this - is whether the defrost setting is just defrost or if it will also warm the cabin? It seems silly to have to choose between heat and defrost on a cold morning unless defrost is actually heat plus defrost. That said, the heat option is not that effective anyway in my experience but defrost is really helpful so I have switched over to defrost as the default option for the winter.

The difference between HEAT and DEFROST is that in DEFROST mode it will switch on the REAR window demister as well as the front screen blower...

 

[Hypermiler]

[/quote]

Won't that only work with car "on" and key present though?[/quote]

No, it always works.
Cheers
H

 

[maddogsetc]

No, you can't just switch on a preheat without using the timer. But to be honest once you're used to it, it takes only seconds to set.

Actually you can switch it on without a timer, just press the 'climate control on/off' button.

Won't that only work with car "on" and key present though?

Nope, I mean the button on the App., not in the car.

And yes Jaap, I appreciate it will permeate the cabin as well, but not as effectively as it would if it used the feet and face vents as well. Also, it might not generate as much heat if it's only intended to defrost the screen - would require much more heat to warm the cabin as well.

 

[jaapv]

Well, I must admit the one thing I really miss from my last car is the electrically heated windscreen. Despite the prismatic effects it had in low sun.

 

[DrSlackBladder]

Ha, we're going round in circles! Maby was asking if the preheat could be activated without app and without timer. I still think it's a "no".....

 

[maddogsetc]

Ha, we're going round in circles! Maby was asking if the preheat could be activated without app and without timer. I still think it's a "no".....

Okay, maybe (no pun intended!) I misinterpreted, but the question was:

Ah, OK. Can you set an ad-hoc preheat, or does it have to be scheduled on a timer? Some of us who are lucky enough to work from home do not have the predictable life style that fits in with a timer!

Rightly or wrongly I focused on the issue of ''does it have to be scheduled on a timer?", to which of course, the answer is no. Hopefully, in the round we've now answered his question, whatever the question actually was! :lol: