[Flamesofgold]

     Featured on BIMMERPOST.com

Hey I set my car for 6 amp max amperage in the app.

Question does this affect preconditioning climat control? Is the 6amp enough or will it draw some from the battery?

I checked my charger and it seems to pull electricity during the preconditioning times. But I want to make sure

[unfoundnemo]

Originally Posted by Flamesofgold

Hey I set my car for 6 amp max amperage in the app.

Question does this affect preconditioning climat control? Is the 6amp enough or will it draw some from the battery?

I checked my charger and it seems to pull electricity during the preconditioning times. But I want to make sure

It depends on how cold it is really. 6A @ 240V = 1.44kW. That's probably okay if you're talking like 50 degrees, but yesterday it was 20F here and I averaged ~7.2kW while pre-conditioning for about 20 minutes (used 3% of battery = ~2.43 kWh in 20 minutes). I also noticed the car using 12.1kW while in drive-ready state but not moving when I wasn't pre-conditioned around that temperature, so if it's sufficiently cold, you might still draw from the battery even at 48A.

[kbsilver]

I have also noticed as high as 15KW (momentarily) while preconditioning. There are two 7KW electric heaters. I only charge the car when needed, it's not kept plugged in. As the car has instant heat, I've not yet felt the need to precondition (garaged in NJ). The extra energy use from the battery to condition the car while driving is insignificant unless the beginning of a long trip.

[Cosmo_Kramer]

Originally Posted by unfoundnemo

It depends on how cold it is really. 6A @ 240V = 1.44kW. That's probably okay if you're talking like 50 degrees, but yesterday it was 20F here and I averaged ~7.2kW while pre-conditioning for about 20 minutes (used 3% of battery = ~2.43 kWh in 20 minutes). I also noticed the car using 12.1kW while in drive-ready state but not moving when I wasn't pre-conditioned around that temperature, so if it's sufficiently cold, you might still draw from the battery even at 48A.

How can you tell it was 12.1kw during standing still it was shown on the dash? BC button?

[cruzer666]

Originally Posted by kbsilver

I have also noticed as high as 15KW (momentarily) while preconditioning. There are two 7KW electric heaters. I only charge the car when needed, it's not kept plugged in. As the car has instant heat, I've not yet felt the need to precondition (garaged in NJ). The extra energy use from the battery to condition the car while driving is insignificant unless the beginning of a long trip.

I4 has 2x 9kW continuous flow heaters to assist the 2kW heat pump in extremely low temperatures. That’s a total of 20kW combined theoretical heating capability. In practice it would take extremely low temperatures to use it fully. That’s 68,000 BTUs.

To appreciate the overengineering level, that’s enough to provide heating for a 1400sqft house in a colder area of the country.

[unfoundnemo]

Originally Posted by Cosmo_Kramer

How can you tell it was 12.1kw during standing still it was shown on the dash? BC button?

Yes, on the dash. When you're stopped, the value it's reporting changes from mi/kWh to kWh/hr. In warmer temps I would typically see this around 0.6-0.8 on a cold day with the car already up to temp, I'm seeing around 1.2, but of course you'll get much higher values when the heat pump is really working.

[hotrod182]

I'm seeing about .5 to 1.2 when idling here in SoCal weather. That seems substantial, but is less than a typical hair dryer. But even running climate control, i have seen it go to 5kw.

[cruzer666]

Originally Posted by hotrod182

I'm seeing about .5 to 1.2 when idling here in SoCal weather. That seems substantial, but is less than a typical hair dryer. But even running climate control, i have seen it go to 5kw.

#thingswedontworryaboutinanICEcar

I’ve seen it as low as 0.3 where climate was either off or almost off. That’s 300W to keep the car in drive ready state… pretty good!