How much energy does it take to have a toasty warm cabin before getting into the car and driving off? Here is a view of energy consumed (kWh) and rate of energy (kW) to precondition the cabin (not battery) in 43 degree (6 C) ambient temperature garage. 20 minutes and 1 kWh later the car is warm and ready to go. It cost me 14 cents to warm the car while parked in the garage and plugged into my Juicebox Level2 charger. I also avoided losing about 4 miles of range since I didn’t have to use the main battery to warm the cabin while driving.
If we get another cold spell and the garage gets into the 30’s, I’ll re-test to compare the energy consumption at lower temperatures.
