The car will attempt to fully charge the battery before the next Go Time. It will first make sure that it charges during hours with the lowest rates. However, it necessary to fully the charge the car before the next Go time, it will charge using higher rates. If you don't set a Go Time, it will fully charge the car within 24 hours. You cannot program the car to automatically charge to a predetermined state of charge.
In the summer, the usable energy from the HVB is around 5.7 kWh before the ICE turns on (maybe up to 6.0 kWh of you are careful). For my commute to work in the summer, the car consumes about 0.23 kWh of energy per mile for a range of 5.7/0.23 = 25 miles.
In the winter time, the chemical reactions in the HVB slow down. The HVB cannot supply as much energy. When it is around 0 F, the usable energy from the HVB drops to around 5.0 kWh.
If I used the heater for my commute at around 0 F, the electric heating element would draw approximately 2.2 kWh of energy from the HVB. Thus the usable energy from the HVB to propel the car drops to around 2.8 kWh.
Finally, friction and aerodynamic drag increase by 40% when it is 0 F vs 70 F. It takes a lot more energy to propel the car in the winter. At 0 F, it now takes 0.32 kWh of energy per mile. Thus the total range of the car is now 2.8/0.32 = 9 miles.
In summary, you lose the following amounts of range to these various factors in winter at 0 F:
HVB capacity falls with temperature: 3 miles Increased friction/aerodynamic drag: 3.5 miles Heater consumes energy from HVB: 9.5 miles
The heater is the largest source of loss of range. Use it sparingly.
