Give up charging during winter?

if saving money is your only goal, maybe. have you done the calculations?

 

I am not sure I understand what you are saying. You come home, your battery is somewhat depleted, why wouldn't you plug it in and charge it? Sure, you are getting closer to 20 than 30 miles to go on the battery, but why would you want to turn on your ICE when it is not necessary?

 

I would still plug it in unless your electricity is crazy expensive as is often the case in the northeast or CA. When we were visiting in Ohio in cold weather, I tried to always start out with a full charge. If we needed heat, I just let the engine run when it had to. With your heat pump, I'd think you could use that most of the time and if it won't keep up, just don't worry about it and take advantage of whatever gas savings you can get. Unless the electricity cost more than the gas; then you have to decide which green factor is more important to you.

 

I agree with this. And as far as I know, and have tried, you can charge below the freezing point (32F).

 

Yap, even during inclement weather!

 

I've been letting my Prime warm up in the morning (Chicago: 5 degrees w/ wind chill) before driving. My goal is to let hte ICE warm up the cabin so that when switching off/onto EV the heat pump can take over yet (deally) not have to work as hard to keep an already heated cabiin relatively warm.

FWIW, I've started to give up on worrying about MPG during artic blasts such as the one we're in right now here. Saving on gas is great but when my feet are ice blocks, I'll spend the money for the warmth. BTW - I don't see a reason to not charge every night. Mine is set to charge at midnight so that it's ready for the morning trek to work. The battery will still come in handy for throttle power when needed.

 

It all depends on how expensive your electricity is. If it's cheaper per mile than gas, then of course, keep plugging it in. Remember that the gas engine gets a lot worse gas mileage in winter too. Cold is just less efficient.

My old gen 3 prius got around 40mpg on cold days, and close to 50mpg otherwise, and my prime gets 50mpg on cold days and 60 on warm. (without charging) With charging I get over 80mpg on cold days, and about 100mpg on warm.

 

Hi Bonjour,

During my first winter (december 2017) I have got 41 km after full recharge. During summer, 58km.

Durant l'hiver j'obtiens 41 km après recharge, durant l'été, 58km.

C'est normal

 

I guess if you're going to stop charging part of the year, winter is the time to do it. It's the time of year you need more warmth in the cabin, and for various reasons you're getting less miles per charge.

 

Engines idle fast and are not as efficient when cold. They also pollute more. If you have to use the engine, wouldn't it be best to pre-condition the climate with electricity and then use the engine when you begin driving (so that it can provide power as well as perform other functions, which should be more efficient and environmentally-friendly overall)?

 

Electric heat just doesn't perform that well in general (takes a lot of time and energy to get hot). An ICE produces a lot of heat relatively quickly.

 

Touché. Only gets into the 20s (F) here in eastern NC . That's just below the cut-off for heat pump usefulness...

 

I'm teetering on just using this gasoline stuff when it gets into the teens (F) and below. I'll be more likely to use the car's Charge Mode if driving a distance with HV gas rather than use my houses electricity or my charge cord, which will likely be as stiff as a garden hose at 10 degrees. Plus, all the hassle with chipping off the window ice/snow/fog, etc. before and at work for the commute home will be torture on the EV range anyway. My view on the Prime is that it is a 9 month EV car in my latitudes, and an HV car the winter 3 months.

 

13 here this morning, i'm hoping to make it to church and back on ev with no heat.
mrs. bisco has learned to dress warmly.

 

59 here this morning. You'd better hurry up an start your migration, Bisco!

 

I'm near Allentown, PA. Not nearly as cold as Upstate NY but pretty close. I still plug in to charge but as soon as I get in the car I switch to HV mode and to get the engine running to warm up the car. I tried preconditioning the car while it is plugged in but it didn't do much to get the interior warm. I use the EV mode after the car is warmed up. I use whatever I can from the charge, usually about 23-25 miles. Since the car has been warmed up using gasoline, I'm still getting a decent range on the electric.

 

As I get closer to retirement im dreaming of becoming a snowbird and spending at least January and February somewhere with humane temperatures. I’ve been 'auditioning' target locations. I was reading up on New Bern NC, a small coastal city where a former neighbor now lives on a boat. I was delighted to hear that 2 of the 5 B&Bs in town have charging stations. Unfortunately, I think they’re Tesla chargers, but nonetheless it was good to see this progressive touch in smalltown N.C.

 

If you are paying less than $0.20 per kWh, ansolutely plug it in to save some money. If you pay more than that then you'll need to do some math to see if you save money.

One trick is to set a timer to finish charging when you leave for work. Charging the batteries creates heat so the cabin will be a little warmer when you need it.

 

43 days, but who's counting?