Warming up the car remotely Cold winter

Yeah, the system offered for Toyota SUVs and Trucks by this company DEFA (through Toyota dealer installation) allows selection of four components, engine block heater, cabin heater, and onboard trickle 12v battery charger all with a single outlet plug on the front bumper and the fourth component (BlueTooth App and a control unit) that can control all three components from the phone. No price is indicated. It seems it is a dealer-installed option only. I bet it cost $$$.

 

Options like On-board 12-volt battery charger, block heater, and cabin heater, as long as they're all relying on a 120 volt AC extension cord, are all "pluses" in my opinion. An option that fires up the engine and has it idling for a protracted time, not so much.

Heated, or at least sheltered garage, is a BIG plus, saves you dealing with frosted over windshield glass.

 

Haha, if any of us on this thread have a heated garage, I don't think we would be discussing any of those options. It cost upward of $500/mo to heat our well-insulated house. I wonder what the cost of heating an uninsulated detached 2 bay garage would be???

 

I wonder if the comfort plus / DEFA system works with the OEM block heater?

Also, Bluetooth has a very limited range of about 30 feet.


iPhone ?

 

I don't know how the control hub works with the OEM block heater. It looks like it has dedicated temp probes for the controlling unit. About the BlueTooth, yes, if you usually park far away from your house, then this system is not going to work as a remote. With walls and window barriers, the limit may be less than 30 feet.

 

Even an unheated garage gives you a leg-up on the warm up process. And hey: secure 120 volt AC outlets. And...: Catalytic Converter security, lol.

We recently replaced our double garage doors (on our unheated garage), going from solid wood to steel-sheathed foam core. Primary motivation was to beat the summer heat in there (the doors helped a lot with that), but I think there's winter benefit: even unheated, the garage stays a few degrees warmer. Being attached to the house is a factor too.

On the wet coast our current natural gas and electric bills (on equal payment plans) are $87 and $93 (CDN) respectively. House is modest though, something like 1750 square feet, west coast contempary...

 

I learned something this AM. Just checked my auxiliary 12V battery voltage with the charge cable connected. It was 13.5V. Charge cord disconnected the voltage was 12.8V. In both measurements the PP was not on.

So the auxiliary battery is being charged when the charge cord is connected to charge the traction battery.

Anyone else witnessing this?

So the battery charger option with the Comfort plus system may not be required.

iPhone ?

 

Yes, it has been documented.
See my original comment #1 on this thread: Hopefully, ultimate 12v battery charging system discussion on PP | PriusChat
Any additional comment on that thread about the 12v battery charging system on PP is welcome.

The problem is, the EVSE charging is on only occasionally and only when the traction battery is actively being charged. I have been monitoring PP's 12v battery charging system behavior for over a month now, but I still can not figure out what controls the EVSE to charge the 12v battery at ~13.5v sometimes, yet on other times only maintain at ~12.6v. It is not the resting voltage of the 12v battery. The same lowish 12.2v sometimes triggers the charging at 13.5v but other time, it only brings to 12.6v and never fully charges. In any case, it is not as good as always on maintainer or occasional full charging using 5A smart charger.

 

Thx for the link and insights.


iPhone ?

 

Our detached garage is basically an outhouse that is now being used as a barn. Due to a slab foundation with a large amount of concrete it tends to stay cooler than ambient temp outside in summer, but it does not get any warmer than the outside temp in the wintertime. If I want to heat the entire structure, then the very first thing I have to do is to insulate and seal the numerous openings which would cost more than the structure itself.

I envy you if that's all the utility cost you have to pay. Our monthly electricity has been around $200/mo for ~10,000kWh but starting this month the supply part of the bill increased 90% resulting in a ~35% total increase. With the current high cost of oil, I am paying almost double of what I paid last year for our heating oil which is now almost $500/mo during the coldest months Dec-Feb.