gday wrote:So I can set charging times and climate times but I was hoping I could just select to keep the battery warm all the time. It seems the only way to it is to tell it to keep the whole car warm My goal was to keep only the battery warm so as to keep it healthy. I checked the temperature in the cells today and they went down to 2 C which I don't think is good for them - I had it plugged in but not charging. I am currently warming the car via climate control and hope to add an electricity monitor in the next few days to get some idea of costs involved in doing this way. I thought I read somewhere that the heater is 2kW but I am not sure if that is just the cabin heater.
Actually, the optimal idle storage temp. for a Li-Ion battery is just above freezing, with approx. 50% charge.
2c is basically optimal I think.
Where the concern comes in from low temps is when trying to charge or use the battery. Then it is more limited in terms of the current it can accept or discharge until it warms to its nominal operating temperature range.
When I pre-heat my 2016 Soul EV in the morning it warms the battery pack to approx. 9-10c. If I drive on the hwy on a cold day the pack may reach 16-20c by the time I get home (35kms).
So not desirable/required to keep the pack warm all the time if not charging or driving. There may be some issues with extreme cold temperatures (-20c or less) but I'm not certain of that.