GO Time Heat Hypothesis

[murphy]

I just ran a quick experiment with GO time cabin heating.

I tested 85 degrees F and 72 degrees F.

72 degrees F puts far more heat into the cabin than 85 degrees F does.

I won't be able to do a complete test until sometime next week.

Anyone that has a recording thermometer could do the test with little effort.

 

The Hypothesis:

 

The 65 degree setting is actually 72 degrees, the 72 degree setting is actually 85 degrees, the 85 degree setting is actually 65 degrees.

 

The only way to tell for sure is to measure the cabin temperature rise for each of the three settings.  Unfortunately I don't have a recording thermometer so it will be a time connsuming test.

 

 

[jeff_h]

My guess is that the 65 degree setting was designed for someone to get minimal heating using their precondition, maybe so a 120V charger could also handle it?  Not sure if that's a true statement as I've seen various comments on the utility of a L1 charger with the Go Times.

 

And likewise (of the above is true that the L1 charger can handle minimal support), the 85 degree setting was designed to get a hot cabin pre-cooled 'just enough' during summers?

 

And then there's the optimal 72 setting which a L2 charger should be able to support in either climate?

[Russael]

You could also flip that - have it at 85 to get as much heat in the car as you can in wintertime so you can maybe avoid climate while rolling to your destination, and having it set to 65 in summer to cool it down plenty so you can roll home before needing to turn it on?

 

That's actually what I tried to do with the 85 degree setting - get it hot enough in there so I wouldn't have to use heat on the way to work... but it doesn't work out that way for me since the windows fog up FAST.  I just leave it at 72 and keep the climate on while on the road.  So far rolling home, I'm still able to avoid climate for the moment.  Heated seats FTW. :)

[cwiley2566]

Yeah, I have tried 72 and 85 but it doesn't seem to do much at both settings. I know in this discussion (http://www.fordfusionenergiforum.com/topic/1362-go-times/page-4) they are saying that there is a software issue and it will be fixed at some point. Just using remote start for now until a TSB shows up. 

[larryh]

It was 30 degrees this morning.  I set the temperature to 72.  Preconditioning started 40 minutes before the GO time.  Initially the temperature from the vents was quite warm, but it cooled off for the later part of preconditioning.  The cabin temperature made it to 57 degrees.  Even with the 240 V charger, I don't think the car can accept enough power to heat the cabin when it is very cold and keep the HVB fully charged. 

Edited November 26, 2013 at 08:14 PM by larryh

[SteveEnergi]

How can you tell when "preconditioning" starts?

[murphy]

On my 240 volt charger the yellow charging light turns on.

In the car the blowers come on.

[larryh]

I have a meter that monitors the power consumed by the charger.  The power measurements are transmitted to a web-based server which I can access to observe the power being consumed.  So I know how much power is being used every minute.  When preconditioning begins, power consumed jumps to about 3.4 kW.

Edited November 26, 2013 at 08:40 PM by larryh

[larryh]

I tried setting the GO time temperature to 65 degrees this morning.  The main difference that I noticed was that preconditioning started 10 minutes later than when it was set at 72 degrees.  There was not much difference in cabin temperature.

Edited November 28, 2013 at 11:52 AM by larryh

[mmmhmmmm]

When preconditioning begins, power consumed jumps to about 3.4 kW.

 

and for a lukewarmish car.

 

2nd Heated Seats FTMFW!

[murphy]

My hypothesis was disproved.

 

I ran the GO time heating test.

The car was parked in the garage.
I hung a square sheet of aluminum foil in the center of the cabin from the front edge of the moon roof.
I measured the temperature of the foil, using an infrared thermometer, after it had enough time to match the cabin air temperature.
I set the GO time for a half- hour later.
10 minutes after the GO time I measured the temperature of the foil again and recorded the power used.
I opened all four doors and allowed the car to return to the garage temperature for an hour before doing the next test.
This was done for 65, 72, and 85 degrees.

Setting            Start   End   Rise   Offset   Power Used   Fan Noise

65 degrees     39.3    53.9  14.6   -11.1     1.20 kWh        Low
72 degrees     47.4    68.7  21.3   -3.3      1.24 kWh        Medium
85 degrees     55.9    73.9  18.0   -11.1     1.47 kWh        high
 

[Lucifer]

I have a meter that monitors the power consumed by the charger.  The power measurements are transmitted to a web-based server which I can access to observe the power being consumed.

Hi Larry, what metering equipment are you using?  I'm interested.

[larryh]

I use the Current Cost EnviR home energy monitor.  It uses Current Transformer clamps to connect to the mains in the service panel or leads from a circuit breaker.  It only measures current, so its accuracy is about 9%.  It doesn't measure the voltage or the power factor (when I measure the power factor for the 120 V charger using the Kill-A-Watt meter, it usually reads between 0.99 to 1.00, so what I am really missing is the voltage which varies from 117.5 to 123.5 V, but is usually very close to 122.5 V).  The transmitter sends a wireless signal to a monitoring unit which is attached to my computer via a serial USB cable.  The results are then sent to a web server.   I use it to monitor both the total home electricity usage from the mains to the service panel and the electricity supplied to the charging station using the leads from the circuit breaker.   I also have an individual appliance monitor.  I have calibrated the measurements from the EnviR against the power meters from the electric company to make it significantly more accurate, usually within 2%.  At least the bill from the electric company closely matches the cost predicted by the monitor.   Its main purpose is not to provide an accurate measurement of electricity usage, but to help you identify ways to reduce your electric bill, which it has done.  I like the ability to see what is going on when I am away from home.  By watching the charts that are produced, you can see when various things are turning on and off, such as the refrigerator, charging station, or furnace, as well as the current temperature in the house.  So in the winter, when I am away, I won't come back to a frozen house. 

 

I also have a separately metered circuit for the charging station with a meter from the power company.  So I can accurately measure the power and energy consumed when charging or preconditioning the car.  But then I have to go outside and read it.

 

The following chart is last night from about 8:30 pm to midnight.  The small humps on the left are the refrigerator turning on and off.  The spikes at the right are the furnace blower.   The units are watts.  The baseline should have been about 120 W.  I forgot to completely turn off the home theater system which uses about 60 W in standby mode. 

 

Edited December 5, 2013 at 11:39 AM by larryh