Cabin pre-heating - possible or not?

[simonb]

Had this response from a BMW igenius


"Basically both cars are able to do the preconditioning function. However on the pure electric car you are meant to have the heat pump option in order to do that. So far from what we can see, the car is able to precondition without the heat pump.

The benefit of the heat pump is it allows the car to heat much more efficiently which is beneficial to the battery performance."

 

[Plug]

Good. Glad to see they've finally changed their advice about this. The fog is clearing !

 

[hotshothar]

Hi All

I have a document from BMW which explains this, but no idea if it an be uploaded to this site but see the quotes from the document below.

Page 1 - THE NEW BMW i3. CABIN PRE-CONDITIONING: STANDARD FOR ALL BMW i3 MODELS.
Overview. The Winter package helps to maximise the potential range of the BMW i3 in the most extreme temperatures by providing seat heating for on the move, and pre-conditioning the battery temperature.
The cabin can be pre-conditioned by blowing warm or cold air into the cabin, this can be activated by the BMW i Remote App or BMW iDrive.
This is standard on all BMW i3’s.
*not available for the BMW i3 with Range Extender.

Page 2 -THE NEW BMW i3 – OPTION AND PACKAGE HIGHLIGHTS. WINTER PACKAGE (ZWT).
Comprising: −Seat heating, front −The most efficient way to heat occupants in the front of the cabin. −High-voltage battery preparation −To ensure the battery is at the optimum operating temperature before you set off to optimise the range and performance of the vehicle. −Active air flap control −Located in the lower are of the front bumper these automatically open and close to allow the vehicle to reach the optimum operating temperature faster while on the move and reduce the drag co-efficient of the vehicle.

Page 3 - THE NEW BMW i3 – OPTION AND PACKAGE HIGHLIGHTS. AUXILIARY CABIN HEATING SYSTEM (4T9)*.
Functionality: −Similar to the air conditioning in the summer, the innovative auxiliary cabin heating system also uses the energy of the ambient air in winter. Compared with a conventional heating system up to 50% higher energy efficiency in heating is achieved at constant heating comfort. −Without the auxiliary cabin heating system (4T9) option the BMW i3 cabin is heated using an electric continuous-flow water heater.
*Not available for the BMW i3 with Range Extender.

 

[ecoangel]

Good one hotshotar

Also note your electricity bill will rise in winter when pre conditioning from the mains!

You are effectively heating an outside building on wheels with little insulation compared to a passive haus!

I wondered why I used a bit under 19kWh on an i3 battery depletion of around 12 kWh!