Countering cold, winter weather effects for those living in the northern states.

[Billyk24]

Need to learn next month if Rivian will have a battery that is not exposed to cold winter wind rushing over the top, bottom and sides while driving leading to conductive heat losses. Or if there will be an option to install a winter battery cap to prevent such. It is no fun to "pre-condition" your battery pack/cabin in your garage prior to driving only to see the battery pack temperature drop on a steady basis while motoring along the highway in single digit f weather. Not sure how well the R2 will warm the battery pack on route to a DCFC. Hope the R2 has a dual heating element (heat pump and resistive item) for these conditions.

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[emoore]

Are you asking if this happens or you have experienced this? Because I have not seen the battery temperature drop during driving in cold weather. if anything the truck warms it up and DCFC pre conditioning is more than sufficient to get it up to optimal charging temperature.

 

[Billyk24]

Are you asking if this happens or you have experienced this? Because I have not seen the battery temperature drop during driving in cold weather. if anything the truck warms it up and DCFC pre conditioning is more than sufficient to get it up to optimal charging temperature.

MY2021 EV (Mach E) does drop while driving in cold winter weather. The battery pack is exposed and this design feature hinders winter weather range/charging curves.

 

[Billyk24]

MY2021 EV (Mach E) does drop while driving in cold winter weather. The battery pack is exposed and this design feature hinders winter weather range/charging curves. It is not uncommon to have low 30f battery temperatures (in single digit f or colder) one hour after leaving a garage with a low 50f temperature.

 

[horseback]

MY2021 EV (Mach E) does drop while driving in cold winter weather. The battery pack is exposed and this design feature hinders winter weather range/charging curves.

Very understandable. But it seems like that would be a really good feature in the summer, to keep it from getting too hot. Where is the happy medium?

 

[Audiotek]

@Billyk24

Please share your personal experience in your own Rivian.

In minus -20 or minus -19 degrees my nmc large Pack battery saw a (29%) decrease in range.

 

[Mos Eisley]

The R2 will have a heat pump. "No fun to precondition?" You set it on a schedule; it's not a chore.

 

[Doug]

@Billyk24

Please share your personal experience in your own Rivian.

In minus -20 or minus -19 degrees my nmc large Pack battery saw a (29%) decrease in range.

I live in MN and if you have -20 and 25 - 30 mile an hour wind you may see 50% range loss. Other times around 0 and sunny with no wind and starting warm it is more like 20% or so. There is a graph that has been posted numerous times in this forum of someone who makes a regular 160 mile trip in all different weather so you can see the effect of temperature.

 

[Golfer04]

I pre-condition every morning and in 10 degree F weather the battery temp always drops. One hint to slow it down is to drive in AP or Snow mode. It gets fluid flowing around the entire system. I'm not sure the heat pump does anything except add noise.

 

[Billyk24]

The R2 will have a heat pump. "No fun to precondition?" You set it on a schedule; it's not a chore.

That is not the problem/question. The question is once you leave the garage and enter the cold winter weather of 10f, what will the R2 battery pack temperature do? How well is it insulated/protected from bitter winter weather? If not very well, then those of us living in the cold northern states may need to rethink about going forward with a R2.

 

[kenyee]

FWIW, I think folks in really cold areas need the new battery tech that China just started getting into production.

R2 was designed with older battery tech... Doubt it'll retain battery capacity better than the R1...

 

[sparked]

That is not the problem/question. The question is once you leave the garage and enter the cold winter weather of 10f, what will the R2 battery pack temperature do? How well is it insulated/protected from bitter winter weather? If not very well, then those of us living in the cold northern states may need to rethink about going forward with a R2.

First real winter for R2 customers won't be until late this year. Not sure there will be much independent winter testing till then.

R1 and R2 have higher ground clearance. Wonder if that could hurt thermals just like it does with efficiency and range?

 

[Shaqdeez]

I wish Rivian had a smart schedule to have the car charged to your limit by a specific time. That way daily, your battery will be warm/conditioned by the time you leave every day. That will make a massive difference in efficiency during the cold weather winter months.

Smart scheduling meaning if you charge at night with 64% and set your charging to a limit of 80% and you want it to reach the 80% at 8am. Then the car would actually start charging at like 4 am even if you plugged it in the prior night at 9PM.

 

[Cycliste]

Visiting ‘cold’ areas, say -10 C for California mountains or 10 C for LA, is way better than living in bitterly cold areas. Just move. Problem solved.

 

[Billyk24]

Visiting ‘cold’ areas, say -10 C for California mountains or 10 C for LA, is way better than living in bitterly cold areas. Just move. Problem solved.

Problem solved. Drop the R2 reservation and go to another brand.

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